Introduced earlier this week, the Administration’s legislative drought relief package passed off the Senate Floor late Wednesday, and the Assembly Floor on Thursday. The two bill package, Assembly Bill 91 and Assembly Bill 92, was immediately sent to the Governor. The Governor signed the two bills the following day. The legislation contains an urgency clause and will go into effect immediately. AB 91 contains amendments to the 2014 Budget Act to include new appropriations to address urgent drought needs. While AB 91 passed with bipartisan votes in both houses, AB 92 passed largely on a party line vote. This was due to Republican concern with inclusion of language relating to the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW).
The two bill package proposes expenditure of just over $1 billion for drought related activities. Specifically, the package accelerates $101 million in expenditures from the Governor’s proposed 2015-16 Budget to provide direct assistance to workers and communities impacted by drought, and to implement the Water Action Plan. It also includes $267 million in Proposition 1 bond funding for safe drinking water and water recycling and accelerates $660 million from the Proposition 1E for flood protection in urban and rural areas.
Included in the additional $31 million that was not in the Governor’s proposed 2015-16 Budget is funding for the following:
- $17 million in additional funding for emergency food aid in the counties most impacted by the drought;
- $4 million for emergency drinking water in disadvantaged communities; and
- $5 million to the Department of Water Resources to provide emergency drinking water support for small communities, including addressing private wells.
The provisions of AB 92 include:
- The DFW is provided with enhanced authorities, including the ability to impose civil penalties where diversions are obstructing fish passage;
- The creation of the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions (Office) within the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). The Office is intended to help small communities apply for state and federal funding to help clean up drinking water, help communities consolidate water systems to provide economies of scale and provide technical assistance to small communities that do not have the resources or staff to work on clean drinking water issues;
- Transfer of $10 million to the CalConserve Revolving Fund for two water conservation and water use efficiency pilot programs;
- The suspension of state contracting provisions for drought emergencies which allows contracts for projects related to the Governor’s state of emergency to be expedited by waiving traditional contracting provisions; and,
- Amendments to existing law to ensure that funding provided to local governments in response to an emergency is not subject to payment of prevailing wage requirements.
The text of AB 91 can be accessed here. The text of AB 92 can be accessed here.