2009 Water Legislation Implementation

SB 1265 (Caballero) – Chaptered
As Amended August 5, 2010

Assembly Bill 1265 amends SB 2 X7 (Chapter 3, Statutes of 2010) to delay the placement of the water bond measure before voters to the November 6, 2012 general election. Proponents of the water bond were concerned that the $11 billion bond measure would not have been successful if placed on the November 2010 ballot as originally scheduled. Opponents, including several environmental, conservation, and taxpayer groups, wanted the bond measure to move forward as scheduled so that the voters might have an opportunity to oppose the measure. 

CSAC is planning a water roundtable discussion at our annual meeting in Riverside this November. The forum will provide county leaders with the opportunity to talk about water in California and the myriad issues the topic presents, including CSAC policy on water, differences and commonalities regarding county water issues and the potential direction CSAC can take on the issue.

Fire Safety 

SB 1207 (Kehoe) – Oppose Unless Amended
As Amended on March 24, 2010

Senate Bill 1207, by Senator Christine Kehoe, passed off the Appropriations suspense file last week. CSAC remains opposed to this bill, which would amend the general plan safety element requirements for state responsibility areas (SRA) and very high fire hazard severity zones. It would also attempt to strengthen the development review process under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by expanding the initial study checklist to address fire hazard impacts of projects. CSAC’s opposition is based on the cost implications of this bill, which many counties have indicated could cost them thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sea Level Rise

AB 2598 (Brownley) – Oppose
As Amended on July 15, 2010

Assembly Bill 2598, by Assembly Member Julia Brownley, was held on the Appropriations suspense file last week. As reported in previous bulletins, this bill would have required a local trustee of public trust lands to evaluate the impacts of sea level rise on the lands in trust.

Solid Waste

AB 2398 (Perez) – Support
As Amended June 23, 2010

Assembly Bill 2398, by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, passed off the Appropriations suspense file last week.  As reported in previous bulletins, this bill would establish an extended producer responsibility program for carpets. This bill would require manufacturers to submit a stewardship plan to the Department of Resources Recycling & Recovery (Cal Recycle) by September 30, 2011. After January 1, 2012, this bill would require manufacturers to have a Cal Recycle-approved stewardship plan. The goal of AB 2398 is to improve product design, encourage reuse and recycling, and provide convenient collection alternatives for consumers. 

SB 1100 (Corbett) – Support
As Amended June 15, 2010

Senate Bill 1100, by Senator Ellen Corbett, was held on the Appropriations suspense file last week. As reported in previous bulletins, this bill would have required battery manufacturers to create and institute product stewardship plans to deal with the end of life for their products.

Hazardous Materials

SB 346 (Kehoe) – Support
As Amended on August 2, 2010

Senate Bill 346, by Senator Christine Kehoe, passed off the Appropriations suspense file last week. As reported in previous bulletins, this bill would require that the use of copper in brake pads sold in California be reduced to no more than .5 percent by 2025. The bill also creates limits and monitoring requirements for other brake pad materials. Scientific studies have shown that much of the copper in urban watersheds comes from the debris generated from the use of brake pads. Pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act, two regional water quality control boards in Southern California have already established severe copper total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to address this problem. Failure to comply with the established TMDLs will result in serious penalties to the responsible jurisdictions. CSAC is supporting SB 346 because it will improve California’s water quality and allow California stormwater agencies to meet their TMDLs in a timeframe that is aggressive but realistic for brake and vehicle manufacturers.