California Assembly Bill AB295 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 295AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013 INTRODUCED BY  Assembly Member   Salas   Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife   (   Assembly Members Rendon (Chair), Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Fong, Frazier, Gatto, Gomez, Gray, and Yamada   )  FEBRUARY 11, 2013 An act relating to water. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 295, as amended,  Salas   Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife  . Water: water supply: infrastructure. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, known as the California Water Plan. This bill would establish findings and declarations stating that the November 2014 ballot currently includes a bond measure for $11.14 billion to fund projects related to water, that many Californians lack access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water, and that it is in the general public interest to pass a general obligation bond to help fund projects that address the critical and immediate needs of disadvantaged, rural, or small communities and projects that leverage state and federal drinking water quality and wastewater treatment funds. The bill would also require the State Water Resources Control Board and the Drinking Water and Environmental Management Division of the State Department of Public Health to initiate and complete a comprehensive study relating to the need for state funding for water projects and, on or before July 1, 2014, to provide a report to the Legislature summarizing those findings. 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 November 2014 ballot currently includes a   A  bond measure for $11.14 billion to fund projects related to water supply reliability, water quality, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta sustainability, watershed conservation and protection, and water recycling  is currently set for the November 4, 2014, statewide general election  . (b) Many Californians lack access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water. In some communities, economic conditions prevent the community from generating sufficient funding to correct water system deficiencies or source water quality. (c) It is in the general public interest to pass a general obligation bond that includes, but is not limited to, grants and loans to state and local agencies to help fund projects that address the critical and immediate needs of disadvantaged, rural, or small communities and projects that leverage state and federal drinking water quality and wastewater treatment funds. In order to determine the amount of state funding necessary to accomplish these improvements, the Legislature requires additional information. SEC. 2. The State Water Resources Control Board and the Drinking Water and Environmental Management Division of the State Department of Public Health shall initiate and complete a comprehensive study relating to the need for state funding for projects necessary to ensure that all Californians have access to safe drinking water and, on or before July 1, 2014, shall submit a report to the Legislature that identifies and prioritizes these projects.