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SB-656 Stockton-East Water District: water rates and budget.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 02/19/2021 02:00 PM
SB656:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 656

Introduced by Senator Eggman

February 19, 2021

An act to amend Sections 4, 9.2, and 9.4 of Chapter 819 of the Statutes of 1971, relating to water.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 656, as introduced, Eggman. Stockton-East Water District: water rates and budget.
Existing law, the Water Conservation District Law of 1931, generally governs the formation of water conservation districts and specifies the powers and purposes of those districts. Existing law establishes the Stockton-East Water District as a water conservation district and authorizes the district to charge water rates for stream-delivered water and for domestic, agricultural, and municipal groundwater. Existing law establishes the district’s water rates for the 1979 calendar year and prohibits the rates for stream-delivered water and for domestic and agricultural groundwater assessments after 1979 from exceeding the 1979 rates by more than 20% plus an inflation factor, as provided.
This bill would define “groundwater assessment” for purposes of the act establishing the district to mean groundwater assessment or charge, and would make conforming changes. The bill would specify the rates the district was authorized to impose in the 2020 calendar year under existing law, and would prohibit the rates for stream-delivered water and for domestic and agricultural groundwater assessments or charges for the 2022 calendar year and thereafter from exceeding the 2020 rates by more than 20% plus an inflation factor, as provided.
Existing law requires the board of directors of the district to hold a public hearing to consider the district’s budget for the next calendar year, as provided.
This bill would require the board to consider the district’s budget for the next fiscal year instead of the next calendar year.
The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 4 of Chapter 819 of the Statutes of 1971, as added by Chapter 1126 of the Statutes of 1979, is amended to read:

Sec. 4.
 (a) The definition of a word applies to any of its variants.
(b) The following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
(1) “Accumulated overdraft” means the aggregate amount by which the quantity of ground water removed from the ground water supplies within the district during all preceding water years shall have exceeded the quantity of water replaced therein by the replenishment of the ground water supplies in such water years by any natural or artificial means, based upon reports, records, and other data or evidence appropriate for the purpose of making such determination.
(2) “Administration division” means the budgeting and accounting division established by Section 9 which is primarily concerned with administration of the district and with obtaining and making available to the other divisions a supply of water.
(3) “Advisory commission” means the California District Districts Securities Advisory Commission.
(4) “Agricultural division” means the budgeting and accounting division established by Section 9 which is primarily concerned with the supply of water for agricultural purposes.
(5) “Agricultural water” and “water used for agricultural purposes” shall mean water used primarily in the commercial production of agricultural crops or livestock on parcels of land of more than two acres and shall do not include water used for agricultural product-processing purposes.
(6) “Annual overdraft” means the amount by which the production of water from the ground water supplies within the district during the water year exceeds the natural replenishment of such ground water supplies in such year.
(7) “Assessor” means the assessor of the county.
(8) “Auditor” means the auditor of the county.
(9) “Benefit review procedure” means the procedure set forth in subdivisions (g) through (i) to (i), inclusive, of Section 28.
(10) “Board” means the board of directors of the Stockton-East Water District.
(11) “Board of supervisors” means the board of supervisors of the county.
(12) “Collector” means the person appointed by the board to determine and collect the accounts due the district prior to their transfer to the auditor, as set forth in this act. The collector shall be appointed by the board and hold office at the pleasure of the board. The collector may hold other offices, including, but not limited to, the office of secretary, or may perform other duties for the district but shall not be a member of the board.
(13) “Committee” means a group of directors of the district consisting of three directors, one of whom shall be appointed chairperson by the president of the board, together with an alternate member, which shall study particular areas and recommend policy to the full board. The members and alternate member shall be appointed by the president of the board. There shall be the Agricultural Operations Committee and the Municipal Operations Committee, and there may be such other committees as may be established by the board.
(14) “County” means the County of San Joaquin.
(15) “Delinquent account” means any sum or sums due the district from an owner as disclosed by an annual bill presented by the collector pursuant to Section 13 which is not paid within the times set forth in Section 15, together with all penalties applicable to such sum or sums pursuant to this act act.
(16) “Delinquent landowner” means the owner or owners of a parcel of land upon which one or more delinquent water-producing facilities are located as such ownership is disclosed by the last equalized assessment roll of the county.
(17) “Delinquent parcel” means a parcel of land upon which one or more delinquent water-producing facilities are located.
(18) “Delinquent water-producing facility” means a water-producing facility for which payment is required by this act and for which payment in full has not been received by the district within the times set forth in Section 15.
(19) “Director” means a member of the board.
(20) “District” means the Stockton-East Water District.
(21) “Division” means a division of the district established pursuant to the Water Conservation District Act of 1931, Division 1931 (Division 21 (commencing with Section 74000) of the Water Code. Code).
(22) “Domestic ground water” means water produced from the underground on any parcel of two acres or less where the water is used and disposed of on that parcel, and also means water produced from the underground and used for residential or commercial purposes on agricultural parcels larger than two acres.
(23) “Dry year” means any year in which the board determines that there may be insufficient quantities of surface water to meet the needs of users who are dependent upon surface water sources.
(24) “Full tax area” means any area within a planning area which has been excluded from the partial tax area in the manner provided in subdivision (b) of Section 27 27.
(25) “Ground water” means potable water beneath the surface of the ground suitable for municipal, domestic domestic, and irrigation use.
(26) “Ground water assessment” means “ground water assessment or charge.”

(26)

(27) “Municipal division” means the budgeting and accounting division established by Section 9 which is primarily concerned with the supply of water for municipal and industrial purposes.

(27)

(28) “Municipal ground water” means water produced from the underground other than domestic ground water or agricultural ground water water.

(28)

(29) “Owner” means the person or persons owning any water-producing facility or any interest therein other than a lien to secure the payment of a debt or other obligation. Unless there is filed with the district by an owner, owner information to the contrary, the district may presume that the owner of the parcel of land on which a water-producing facility is located is the owner of the water-producing facility.

(29)

(30) “Partial tax area” means all areas of the district which pursuant to the terms of subdivision (a) of Section 27 are not required to pay the taxes, assessments, and charges specified in subdivision (a) of Section 27.

(30)

(31) “Person” means any public agency or public corporation, whether federal, state, or local, or any private corporation, firm, partnership, individual, or group of individuals.

(31)

(32) “Planning area” means any one of the planning areas mentioned in subdivision (a) of Section 24 or in Section 35.

(32)

(33) “Prior act” means Chapter 1775 of the Statutes of 1963, as amended.

(33)

(34) “Production” or “producing” means the diversion or taking of stream-delivered water or the extraction or extracting of ground water, by any means, for domestic, municipal, irrigation, industrial, or other beneficial use.

(34)

(35) “Revenue sources” means those sources of expected revenue which shall be used to establish a budget, respectively, for each of the administration, agricultural, and municipal divisions. These revenue sources for each division are as follows:

(i)

(A) Administration division· division: General property taxes, other general revenue sources which may be provided by state law, payments from other divisions, or other sources of revenue which may be established in the future by law or by rule of the board.

(ii)

(B) Agricultural division· division: Stream-delivered water charges, domestic ground water assessments, assessments and charges, agricultural ground water assessments, assessments and charges, penalties collected on such charges and assessments, and other sources of revenue which may be established in the future by law or by rule of the board.

(iii)

(C) Municipal division· division: Contract sales of treated surface water, contract sales of ground water, municipal ground water assessments, assessments and charges, penalties collected on such sales and assessments, sales, assessments and charges, and other sources of revenue which may be established in the future by law or by rule of the board board.

(35)

(36) “Stream-delivered water” means surface water used for agricultural purposes and taken by an owner’s water-producing facility directly from the Stockton Diverting Canal, the Calaveras River, the Old Calaveras River, Mosher Creek, Mormon Slough, Potter Creek, or any other watercourse within the district except those portions of any of the foregoing watercourses which are located within the boundaries of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as such boundaries are presently defined by Section 12220 of the California Water Code Code.

(36)

(37) “Tax collector” means the tax collector of the county county.

(37)

(38) “Treasurer” means the treasurer of the county.

(38)

(39) “Water-producing facility” means any device or method, mechanical or otherwise, for the production of ground water from the ground water supplies within the district, or for the diversion of stream-delivered water.

SEC. 2.

 Section 9.2 of Chapter 819 of the Statutes of 1971, as added by Chapter 1126 of the Statutes of 1979, is amended to read:

Sec. 9.2.
 (a) The board at a regular, special, or continued meeting between November 1st 1 and December 15th 15 of each year shall hold a public hearing to consider the budget for each of the administration, agricultural agricultural, and municipal divisions, and an overall budget for the district, for the next calendar fiscal year.
(b) Notice of the hearing shall be published pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing. Any person interested in the district may, in person or by representative, appear and submit evidence concerning the water conditions of the district, the financial needs of the district, proposals for rates, and other relevant matters.
(c) The board shall at the hearing receive recommendations from the Agricultural Operations Committee as to the budget to be established for the agricultural division, and from the Municipal Operations committee as to the budget to be established for the municipal division. Each of such committees shall also make recommendations to the board as to the budget of the administration division.
(d) Following the budget hearing by the full board, the board shall adopt by resolution prior to December 15 of each year, a budget for the administration division, for the agricultural division, for the municipal division division, and for the district overall overall.

SEC. 3.

 Section 9.4 of Chapter 819 of the Statutes of 1971, as added by Chapter 1126 of the Statutes of 1979, is amended to read:

Sec. 9.4.
 (a) The board at a regular, special, or continued meeting between March 15 and April 15 of each year shall hold a public hearing to consider the necessity, amount, and rates of a municipal ground water assessment, assessment or charge, an agricultural ground water assessment, assessment or charge, and a domestic ground water assessment, assessment or charge, if any, to be levied for the then current calendar year and charges to be made for stream-delivered water to the extent that such charges for stream-delivered water are not controlled by contract or agreement.
(b) Notice of the hearing shall be published pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing. Any person interested in the district may, in person or by representative, appear and submit evidence concerning the water conditions of the district, the financial needs of the district, proposals for rates, and other relevant matters.
(c) Following the hearing, and prior to April 15 of that year, the board may, by adoption of an ordinance, determine, levy, and assess a municipal ground water assessment or charge against all owners of water-producing facilities within the district which produce municipal ground water during the current year and year, an agricultural ground water assessment or charge against all owners of water-producing facilities within the district which produce water from the ground during the current year for agricultural purposes purposes, and a domestic ground water assessment or charge against all owners of water-producing facilities within the district which produce domestic ground water water, and shall determine and fix charges for stream-delivered water for the current year to the extent that such charges for stream-delivered water are not governed by contract or agreement.
(d) The method of computing ground water assessments or charges, and charges for stream-delivered water water, may be uniform for all water-producing facilities or may be uniform for each of several classes of water-producing facilities. The board shall, by rule, establish one or more methods to be used in computing the amount of water production from a water-producing facility which is not measured by a water-measuring device approved by the collector. Such methods shall be established by rule adopted by the board and may be based on any criteria which may be used to determine or estimate with reasonable accuracy the amount of water production.
(e) The board, by rule, may waive any assessment or charge upon any class or classes of water-producing facilities which it determines because of the small amount of water produced by such facilities, would yield to the district a sum less than the estimated cost of making and collecting the assessment. assessment or charge.
(f) Any ground water assessment or charge, or charges for stream-delivered water water, levied or made pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any general assessment levied by the district.
(g) Clerical errors in the name of any owner or in other recorded information, or in the making or extension of any assessment or charge upon the records which do not affect the substantial rights of the subject owner or owners owners, shall not invalidate the assessment or charge.

(h)The procedure established by Sections 9 to 9.4, inclusive, shall not be applicable for calendar year 1979. The rates for calendar year 1979 only are established as follows:

(1)The domestic ground water assessment shall be ten dollars ($10) per domestic use unit, as such unit is established by the board.

(2)The rate for sales of stream-delivered water shall be seven dollars and sixty cents ($7.60) per acre-foot of water

(3)The agricultural ground water assessment rate shall be one dollar and sixteen cents ($1.16) per acre-foot of water.

(4)The municipal ground water assessment rate shall be set at three dollars ($3) per acre-foot of water.

It is not the intent of the Legislature that the rates set for 1979 shall serve as precedent for future rates.

(h) In the 2020 calendar year, under authority granted by this section, as added by Chapter 1126 of the Statutes of 1979, the board was authorized to impose the following rates:
(1) A domestic ground water assessment or charge of forty-five dollars and fifty cents ($45.50) per domestic use unit, as such unit is established by the board.
(2) A rate for sales of stream-delivered water of thirty-seven dollars ($37) per acre-foot of water.
(3) An agricultural ground water assessment or charge of five dollars and thirty-six cents ($5.36) per acre-foot of water.
(4) A municipal ground water assessment or charge of three hundred thirty-four dollars and ninety-seven cents ($334.97) per acre-foot of water.
(i) For the 2022 calendar year 1980 and thereafter, water rates shall be established in accordance with Sections 9 to 9.4 9.4, inclusive, except that no rate may be established in any calendar year which exceeds the individual rates set in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (h) by 20 percent plus a factor to reflect the percentage increase in the federal consumer price index with the prior calendar year 1979 as a base; provided, however, that this subdivision (i) shall not be effective from and after the date of any election in which a majority of those electors voting approve a contract by the district for new supplemental water or approve bonds for financing a distribution system for new supplemental water water rates that exceed those amounts may be adopted in accordance with law.
(j) During calendar year 1980 and thereafter, water Water rates shall be established by ordinance following public notice. Such ordinances shall be subject to referendum, provided, however, that no referendum shall modify or affect the terms of any bond resolution issuing bonds approved by the voters.