Bill Text: CA SB1456 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997: water systems: financing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 488, Statutes of 2016. [SB1456 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB1456-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1456	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 27, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Galgiani

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to amend Section 116761.20 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to drinking water, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1456, as amended, Galgiani. Safe Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund Law of 1997:  public  water systems:
financing.
   Existing law establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund, and moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the
State Water Resources Control Board for the provision of grants and
revolving fund loans to provide for the design and construction of
projects for public water systems that will enable suppliers to meet
safe drinking water standards. Existing law, for community public
water systems and not-for-profit noncommunity public water systems,
allows planning and preliminary engineering studies, project design,
and construction costs incurred by those public water systems to be
funded by loans and other repayable financing. Existing law
additionally allows, if those public water systems are owned by
public agencies or not-for-profit water companies, those specified
costs to be funded by grants, principal forgiveness, or a combination
of grants and loans or other financial assistance.  Existing law
requires the board to determine what portion of the full costs the
public agency or private not-for-profit water company is capable of
repaying and requires the board to authorize a grant or principal
forgiveness only to the extent the board finds the public agency or
private not-for-profit water company is unable to repay the full
costs of the financing. 
   This bill would authorize the above-described costs to be funded
by loans or other repayable financing, grants, principal forgiveness,
or a combination of grants and loans or other financial assistance,
regardless of whether the  public water system is a 
community  public  water system or  a
 not-for-profit noncommunity  public  water
 system, or whether the public water  system is
owned by a public agency or private not-for-profit water company. By
expanding the use of moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, this
bill would make an appropriation.  The bill would only authorize
a grant or principal forgiveness to a community water system or
not-for-profit noncommunity water system that serves a disadvantaged
community.  The bill, for a  public  water
system that is a water corporation regulated by the Public Utilities
Commission, would limit the principal forgiveness to capital
improvements  made by the water system  serving 
severely  disadvantaged communities with fewer than 
200   3,300  service connections.
   Existing law deems a public agency or private not-for-profit water
company serving a severely disadvantaged community with fewer than
200 service connections and that owns a small community water system
or nontransient community water system to have no ability to repay
any financing for a project serving the severely disadvantaged
community.
   This bill would apply this finding to a  public 
 community  water system  or not-for-profit noncommunity
water system  that is not a water corporation regulated by the
Public Utilities Commission and that serves a severely disadvantaged
community with fewer than 200 service connections.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 116761.20 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
   116761.20.  (a) Planning and preliminary engineering studies,
project design, and construction costs incurred by a  public
water   community water system or not-for-profit
noncommunity water  system may be funded under this 
chapter by loans or other repayable financing, grants, principal
forgiveness, or a combination of grants and loans or other financial
assistance.   chapter. 
   (b) (1) The board shall determine what portion of the full costs
the  public  water system is capable of repaying and
authorize funding in the form of a loan or other repayable financing
for that amount. The board  shall   may 
authorize a grant or principal forgiveness  to a system eligible
under subdivision (a) that serves a disadvantaged community and 
only to the extent the board finds the  public 
water system is unable to repay the full costs of the financing.
   (2) Where the  public   otherwise eligible
 water system is a water corporation regulated by the Public
Utilities Commission, principal forgiveness shall be limited to
capital improvements  made by a water system  serving
 severely  disadvantaged communities with fewer than
 200   3,300  service  connections
  connections,  and the board shall 
consider the realized   incorporate consideration of the
water system's  rate of return for the  public water
system as a criteria for determining the public water system's
ability to repay the costs of the financing.   three
fiscal years before the timeframe in which the board is considering
financial assistance. 
   (3) Where  a public   an otherwise eligible
 water system is not a water corporation described in paragraph
(2) and serves a severely disadvantaged community with fewer than 200
service connections, the  public  water system is
deemed to have no ability to repay any financing for a project
serving the severely disadvantaged community.
   (c) At the request of the board, the Public Utilities Commission
shall submit comments concerning the ability of  public
 water systems, subject to its jurisdiction, to finance the
project from other sources and to repay the financing.