Key Water-Related Bills Held at End of Legislative Session by Pamela Martineau Sep 18, 2017 The 2017-’18 Legislative Session has been challenging by all accounts. ACWA staff, working with members and other stakeholders, were a formidable team, and successfully pushed major high-priority water-related bills to next session. The following is a summary of the status of key bills following the Sept. 15 end of the first of year of the 2017-’18 Legislative Session. ACWA also wishes to remind members that Oct. 2 is the last day to submit outreach interaction forms to receive credit for your agency outreach and be honored at Fall Conference. The ACWA Outreach Program plays a key role in the association’s advocacy efforts. Contacts made by ACWA members with legislators, key regulators, and administration officials have directly affected the outcomes of numerous decisions this session and helped advance the association’s legislative and regulatory agenda. To receive credit for ACWA’s Outreach Awards Program, interactions must be received by Oct. 1 of each year (or the following Monday if Oct. 1 falls on a weekend). The Outreach Interaction Form is here. Tax on Drinking Water – SB 623 (Monning) SB 623 by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) proposes a tax on drinking water to fund safe drinking water solutions for disadvantaged communities. The bill became a two-year bill on Sept. 1. ACWA’s two-pronged approach to SB 623 – strong and effective advocacy combined with extraordinary communications – was critical to the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s decision to re-refer the bill to the Assembly Rules Committee as a two-year bill. During the final week of session, SB 623 supporters continued to push non-stop to move the tax on water this year but were unsuccessful. ACWA will continue to work on the bill during the interim and will likely hold additional talks with the sponsors of SB 623. ACWA members with questions on SB 623 should contact ACWA Deputy Executive Director for Government Relations Cindy Tuck at (916) 441-4545. Long-Term Conservation – AB 1668 (Friedman) and SB 606 (Hertzberg/Skinner/Friedman) After months of intense advocacy by ACWA, its members, and other stakeholders, AB 1668 (Friedman) and SB 606 (Hertzberg/Skinner/Friedman) both became two-year bills when they were held in the Legislature on Sept. 15. ACWA worked intensely for months to refine provisions in the bills but key concerns remained even after several rounds of amendments. ACWA’s State Legislative Committee held an emergency meeting Sept. 11 to review late-breaking amendments to both bills and after detailed discussion voted to retain the position of “oppose unless amended” for both bills. ACWA members with questions on AB 1668 or SB 606 should contact ACWA Senior Legislative Advocate Whitnie Wiley at (916) 441-4545. Environmental Protection Act – SB 49 (De León) SB 49 by Senate Pro Tem Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles), which seeks to preserve and maintain environmental protections in place prior to the Trump Administration, became a two-year bill Friday, Sept. 15. ACWA opposes SB 49 because it would present a number of unintentional adverse consequences especially with regard to management of the Delta. For example, SB 49 would function to prevent an improvement in overall Delta management because no changes would be allowed that expand takings under the Endangered Species Act, even when overall, the change is better for the environment. ACWA members with questions on SB 49 should contact ACWA Director of State Legislative Relations Wendy Ridderbusch at (916) 441-4545.
