Public Contracts-Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans

AB 1315 (Alejo) – Oppose
As Amended April 21, 2015

AB 1315, by Assembly Member Luis Alejo, would prohibit a public entity, charter city, or charter county from delegating to a contractor the development of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), used to prevent or reduce water pollution or runoff on a public works contract. Recent amendments statutorily restrict the public entities remaining options to an engineer or architect. CSAC has joined with a broad group of public agencies and organizations in opposing this measure. The joint letter of opposition states that, “If the legislature statutorily shifts the development and liability of the SWPPP to the public agency, or to a design professional or architect, it will create confusion and conflict within the public works process. AB 1315 will only further disconnect the entity responsible for the development of the SWPPP from the entity that performs the work related to the SWPPP.” AB 1315 is scheduled to be heard before the Assembly Local Government Committee on Wednesday, April 29. Counties are encouraged to contact members of the committee to express opposition.

Groundwater Adjudication

AB 1390 (Alejo) – Concerns
As Amended March 26, 2015

AB 1390, by Assembly Member Luis Alejo, and sponsored by the California Farm Bureau Federation, would make changes to the legal processes used during a legal action to assign rights in a groundwater basin. It would also upon a final judgment, makes the adjudicated basin exempt from all provisions of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) except annual court-mandated reporting. CSAC and RCRC have expressed concerns with aspects of the bill that would negatively impact counties, including a provision that would make cities and counties “that provide water service and overlie the basin” automatic parties to the action regardless to whether the city or county has an interest in the adjudication action or not. We are currently working with the author and sponsor, to have this and other concerns addressed. AB 1390 is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, April 28.

Solid Waste

AB 1239 (Gordon/Atkins) – Support 
as Introduced February 27, 2015

AB 1239, by Assembly Member Gordon and Assembly Speaker Atkins, would expand the state’s tire recycling infrastructure by creating an incentive program to provide a payment to end-users of recycled tires by increasing the state tire fee to cover the costs of the program. Illegally dumped tires are a serious problem as they pose a safety risk and a significant cost to local governments to manage. This bill would help address that issue by providing a greater incentive to recycle tires rather than dispose of them illegally. This bill will be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on April 27 th.

AB 1063 (Williams) – Support
As Amended April 20, 2015

AB 1063, by Assembly Member Das Williams, would require, on or before July 1, 2016, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (Cal Recycle), to hold a public hearing and workshop to develop a proposal for the Legislature regarding a new solid waste management fee which would provide the department with the revenue necessary to carry out certain actions. The bill would require the department, within 6 months of the public hearing and workshop, to propose a new solid waste management fee to the Legislature. This bill will be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on April 27th.

AB 45 (Mullin) – OPPOSE
As Amended April 13, 2015

AB 45, by Assembly Member Kevin Mullin, passed out of the Assembly Local Government Committee after some strong concerns expressed by nearly all Members. Due to significant local government opposition, the Chair of the Local Government Committee, Assembly Member Maienschien voted against the bill. However, other Members of the Committee voted to move the bill onto the next policy committee with the commitment that the author continues to work with stakeholders.

As you may recall, this bill would require jurisdictions to create a baseline for household hazardous waste (HHW) diversion and meet an unspecified requirement for HHW diversion. This bill also makes findings outlining what constitutes a comprehensive HHW collection programs and allows Cal Recycle to create a model ordinance for a compressive collection and diversion program. CSAC has a number of concerns with the bill. First, AB 45 would take away the incentive for the Legislature to pass any additional Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation for products that are banned from our landfills. Requiring local governments to collect a certain amount of HHW places the burden of the end-of-life management of toxic products squarely on local governments and tax payers rather than the companies that profit from the products. Creating diversion targets for products that have already been banned from our landfills would result in a costly and time consuming exercise while resources should be dedicated to actual collection and program implementation. Secondly, local governments are better suited to design and implement HHW programs that are appropriate for their community. We feel that it is unnecessary and inappropriate to outline in statute what constitutes a comprehensive program. We ask that counties that are opposed to this bill contact Members of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials (ESTM) Committee and their legislative delegation. This bill will be heard in the Assembly ESTM Committee on Tuesday, April 28th, 2015.