California Assembly Bill AB2011 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2011AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gatto FEBRUARY 23, 2012 An act to add Section 79784.5 to the Water Code, relating to the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2011, as amended, Gatto. CalConserve Water Conservation Retrofit Program. Existing law creates the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, which, if approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide election, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. The act would make $250,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Fund of 2012, for direct expenditures, grants, and loans for water conservation and water use efficiency plans, projects, and programs. The bill would require up to $50,000,000 of those water conservation and water use efficiency funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, to be allocated to the Department of Water Resources to establish the CalConserve Water Conservation Retrofit Program to provide grants to local water agencies for the implementation of local and regional water conservation  revolving  loan programs, as prescribed,  to   that  assist customers within the service area of the water agency  , consistent with the act,  to carry out water use efficiency retrofit projects  , consistent with the act  . This bill would become operative only if  the Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012   a general obligation bond act  is approved by the voters at a statewide general election.  This act would be repealed on January 1, 2015.  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. It is the intent of the Legislature, in requiring the establishment of the CalConserve program, to create a sustainable funding source for water use efficiency retrofits. It is the further intent of the Legislature that CalConserve help  cities and counties   urban retail water suppliers  achieve compliance with water use reduction mandates in Section  10608.16   10608.24  of the Water Code, and help homeowners and commercial, industrial, and institutional entities  voluntarily  achieve compliance with state-mandated standards for water use efficiency for indoor and outdoor appliances. SEC. 2. Section 79784.5 is added to the Water Code, to read: 79784.5. Of the funds made available in Section ____ for water conservation and water use efficiency plans, projects, and programs, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, up to fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) shall be allocated to the department to establish the CalConserve Water Conservation Retrofit Program. The water conservation retrofit program shall provide grants to local water agencies for the implementation of local and regional water conservation  revolving  loan programs that assist customers within the service area of the water agency to carry out water use efficiency retrofit projects, consistent with Section ____, and in accordance with the following: (a) The department shall  determine the extent to which available funding shall be distributed geographically to   develop program criteria to  maximize local and statewide conservation and water use efficiency benefits  , including, but not limited to, geographic distribution of funds and minimum requirements for local revolving loan programs to ensure the grants help create a sustainable funding source for water use efficiency retrofits  . (b) As a condition of the grant to the local water agency, the department shall require the following: (1)  (A)   A local agency receiving  CalConserve  funds  pursuant to this section shall provide not less than a 30 percent  match of its funds   cost share from nonstate sources  to support the water conservation retrofit program.  (B) A local agency receiving funds pursuant to this section shall agree to maintain the minimum revolving loan program requirements established by the department.  (2) A local water conservation retrofit program shall maximize the local and statewide conservation and water use efficiency benefits  and shall be consistent with an adopted integrated regional water management plan  . (3) An eligible retrofit project  shall   may  include, but is not limited to, a project that  implements a project in compliance with   voluntarily retrofits a landscape to meet the standards of  the state  landscape  model  water efficient landscape  ordinance  or a local water efficient landscape ordinance adopted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65595 of the Government Code  . (4) Loans  for project design and construction shall be repaid  over a term not longer than  15 years or  the useful life of the  project constructed or 15 years   constructed project or installed equipment or device  , whichever is shorter  , and may be repaid in equal installments added to a customer's regular bill  . (c) The department shall annually establish the interest rate for loans made pursuant to this chapter at 50 percent of the average interest rate, computed by the true interest cost method paid by the state on general obligation bonds issued in the prior calendar year. (d) The local water agency may charge a reasonable administration fee to be paid along with the  capital and  interest on the loan over the lifetime of the loan. SEC. 3.  (a)   This act shall become operative only if  the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012 is   Section ___ is added to the Water Code by a general obligation bond act  approved by the voters at a statewide general election.  (b) This act shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.