CMUA Engaged as Debate Continues on Amended Drinking Water Legislation

CMUA has joined a coalition expressing concerns about legislation that would prescribe how clean drinking water programs are funded.
The bill in question (SB 623) was amended Monday to include language that would enact what CMUA, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and dozens of local water districts say is, in effect, a tax on nearly all water ratepayers statewide.
In a letter sent Monday to Senate Majority Leader Bill Monning, author of SB 623, CMUA proposes an alternative solution:
“To make certain every Californian has access to safe drinking water, CMUA respectfully suggests a more appropriate funding mechanism is state general funds or state/local bond funds. Such funding would be more equitable for all, as well as properly focused at resolving problems in communities with drinking water concerns,” the letter says.
CMUA reiterated that it continues to fully support SB 623’s goal to make certain every Californian has access to safe drinking water at the tap in their home. But with the tax mechanism, CMUA has adopted an “oppose unless amended” position on SB 623.
SB 623 would create a new Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to provide an ongoing financing source for grants aiding long-term drinking water system improvements in affected communities and emergency water assistance when necessary.
Monning, D-Carmel, asserts that more than a million Californians currently are exposed to drinking water contaminated by nitrates, arsenic and Chromium 6 through their household water systems. In many cases those contaminants are naturally occurring. As of mid-August, 306 water systems in California are out of compliance, according to State Water Board data. This represents 9 percent of the total 3,300 public water systems in the state.
By some estimates, fees assessed through SB 623 to retail water customers, fertilizer sales and dairy handlers — a.k.a., the taxes — could amount to $140 million in revenue annually for the new drinking water fund. Beginning in 2020, SB 623 would assess fees anywhere from 95 cents to $10 per month for water customers, depending on the water meter’s size. Californians living at less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level would be exempt from the monthly fee.
Assembly lawmakers considered SB 623 during an Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday. CMUA, the California Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of local water districts, water agencies and cities registered their oppose or oppose-unless-amended position during the hearing’s comment period.
In testimony Wednesday, Cindy Tuck, ACWA deputy executive director of government relations, said that the proposed tax works against water affordability. Proposing an alternate solution, Tuck said the drinking water problem can be solved by using a combination of funds — federal safe drinking water State Revolving Funds, bond funds, the proposed ag fee and the General Fund.
“The funding is for a state social issue, but the bill is proposing to have each local drinking water agency collect the tax from both residences and from businesses, and send the money to Sacramento,” Tuck said.
Tuck also noted the bill was amended just three days ago and “no policy committee has heard the proposal for a tax on water” — a concern CMUA shares in its SB 623 opposition letter.
“Amending this language into the bill during the last month of session is outside the full public process Californians expect when the Legislature discusses and debates ideas and policies. This amendment did not go through the proper vetting of the legislative process. This is a major modification to taxation and water policy that warrants rigorous policy committee discussion and debate before it is adopted,” CMUA wrote.
Glen Farell, representing CMUA member agency San Diego County Water Authority, also provided comments: “The proposed solution — a tax on retail water service — just doesn’t make sense for the problem we’re trying to address in this bill and statewide.”
Supporters, meanwhile, gathered Wednesday morning on the Capitol Steps for a press conference on SB 623 (video).
“Senate Bill 623 represents a significant and historic achievement positioned to provide a solution to a long-overdue problem,” Monning said, flanked by environmental justice advocates, lawmakers and representatives from affected local communities.
“Now those who oppose this legislation will tell you that they philosophically agree with our efforts, and what we’re trying to do, but they resist being part of the solution. My response to them is that the significance of this monumental achievement — bringing together stakeholders who’ve rarely partnered on any legislation prior to Senate Bill 623 — has created a pivotal time in our state’s history to do the right thing,” Monning said.
He called it “moral courage” to provide safe and affordable drinking water to every Californian.
Environmental justice advocates and agricultural groups negotiated successfully during the past year to reach compromise on SB 623, Monning said.
“For agriculture it provides a safe harbor from liability as we implement practices on our farms that will significantly reduce the impacts of fertilizer on groundwater. This will allow for regulatory certainty while we immediately generate dollars to start addressing the urgent drinking water needs statewide,” said Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the California Rice Commission, representing thousands of farmers.
Monning said SB 623 is supported by SEIU, California Water Service, American Heart Association, Audubon California, Environmental Defense Fund, California Water Center, and other organizations.
Monning also thanked Senate pro Tem Kevin de León for his full support of SB 623. De León is the first co-author on the bill.
CMUA will continue to engage on SB 623 during the final weeks of this year’s legislative session.
