California Assembly Bill AB2092 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2092AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman FEBRUARY 18, 2010 An act to add Sections  85215   85053.5, 85215,  and 85216 to the Water Code, relating to water. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2092, as amended, Huffman.  Delta Stewardship Council: planning and administration: long-term financing plan.   Delta Plan: financing.  Existing law, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009, establishes the Delta Stewardship Council as an independent agency of the state. The council is required, on or before January 1, 2012, to develop, adopt, and commence implementation of a comprehensive management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta Plan), meeting specified requirements. This bill would require the council to develop a  long term financing   long-term finance  plan to pay for the costs of implementing the Delta Plan  and for the ongoing administration of the council  by January 1, 2013.  The bill would require the long term financing plan to include fee proposals to pay for private benefits associated with implementation of the Delta Plan.  The bill would prohibit the council from adopting  a fee   new fees  for these purposes unless authorized by statute. The bill would require the council, before adopting and collecting  fees or long term   long-term  revenue sources, to seek to obtain early funding contributions from entities that may benefit from implementation of the Delta Plan and to track those contributions to provide credit against future  fee or  funding requirements. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:   (a) The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a critically important natural resource for California and the nation and serves Californians as both the most valuable estuary on the west coast of North America and the hub of the California water system.   (b) The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed and water infrastructure are in crisis.   (c) In 2009, the Legislature and Governor adopted a comprehensive water package that included new policies and programs to address the crisis.   (d) Senate Bill 1 of the Seventh Extraordinary Session adopted the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009, which created the Delta Stewardship Council and directed the council to develop a comprehensive Delta Plan to address the coequal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem.   (e) Long-term funding is needed to support the implementation of the Delta Plan.   (f) A finance plan for implementing the Delta Plan should recognize that public and private interests should contribute in proportion to the benefits received or negative impacts caused.   SEC. 2.   Section 85053.5 is added to the   Water Code   , to read:   85053.5. "Beneficiary pays principle" means the allocation of costs to public or private interests in approximate proportion to benefits received or negative impacts caused.   SECTION 1.   SEC. 3.  Section 85215 is added to the Water Code, to read: 85215. (a) By January 1, 2013, the council shall develop a  long term financing   long-term finance  plan to pay for the costs of implementing the Delta Plan  and for the ongoing administration of the council. The financing   that includes all projects, programs, and related administrative costs identified in the Delta Plan. The finance plan shall be developed through an analytically based, transparent, and open process.   (b) The finance plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following information:   (1) An annual expenditure plan for implementation of the Delta Plan.   (2) An estimate of all existing state and federal funds, including General Fund moneys, special fund moneys, fees, and other sources of revenue reasonably expected to be available to support expenditures.   (3) An evaluation of existing programs and projects to determine if funding could be redirected to the Delta Plan, including, but not limited to, funding previously directed at the CALLED Bay Delta Program.   (4) A definition of public and private benefits.   (5) An analysis and description of the basis for allocating program and project costs among private and public interests.   (6) An enforceable mechanism that ensures that fees, contractual payments, cost-share agreements, and contributions are expended as intended, and not diverted to other purposes.  (c) The finance plan shall recognize the broad public benefit to the state and nation of restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem.   (d)     The finance  plan shall identify and evaluate the benefits to all groups resulting from the implementation of the Delta  Plan, including, but not limited to, potential benefits to all of the following:   Plan. The finance plan shall identify and evaluate the negative impacts caused by all groups to the Delta that the Delta Plan seeks to address. Benefits to, and impacts caused by, but not limited to, all of the following shall be identified and evaluated:  (1) The public. (2) Urban and agricultural water users diverting water in the Delta. (3) Urban and agricultural water users diverting water in the Bay-Delta tributaries and watershed. (4) Delta landowners, including, but not limited to, reclamation districts and public and private landowners, and building and transportation interests. (5) Delta recreational users. (6) Dischargers into the Delta or its tributaries, including wastewater dischargers. (7) Commercial fishing. (8) Other interests with infrastructure or operations in the Delta.  (b) The financing plan shall allocate program costs based on the benefits identified in subdivision (a). The plan shall include fee proposals to create revenues to pay for the private benefits associated with implementation of the Delta Plan.   (e) The finance plan shall allocate costs based on the beneficiary pays principle and pursuant to the analysis required in subdivision (d). Financing proposals to pay for public benefits or impacts shall include, but not be limited to, new and existing state and federal funding including proceeds from the sale of bonds. Financing proposals to pay for private benefits or impacts shall include, but not be limited to, new and existing fees, contractual payments, and cost-share agreements.   (f) The council shall review the finance plan at least once every five years and update the plan as the council deems appropriate.  (c)  Upon completion, the council shall present the plan to the Legislature for approval.  The council shall not adopt  a fee   new fees  pursuant to this section unless a statute is enacted that authorizes the council to adopt a fee pursuant to this section.  SEC. 2.   SEC. 4.  Section 85216 is added to the Water Code, to read: 85216. (a) Prior to the establishment or collection of  a fee or  a  long term   long-term  revenue source pursuant to Section 85215, the council shall seek to obtain early funding contributions from groups that may benefit from the implementation of the Delta Plan, for purposes of funding the council's planning and administrative activities. (b) The council shall track early funding contributions and shall provide credit for those contributions against future  fee or  funding requirements.