STRONG START: BILLS SPONSORED BY PCL OVERCOME FIRST MAJOR HURDLE

At the State Capitol, this Friday marks the deadline for most bills to pass out of their policy committees in their first house. Nearly all of the bills PCL is sponsoring this year had to meet the deadline. Several of them had to be heard in two separate policy committees, so it's been a scramble indeed. We can happily report, however, that all but one measure passed this first hurdle and is now headed to the Appropriations Committee or to the floor for a vote of the full house.

Here's a summary of the PCL-sponsored bills that made it through:

• AB 499 (Hill) makes clarifying amendments to CEQA to ensure that all parties with a direct interest in a case brought pursuant the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) are aware of the pending litigation and parties with no direct link to the case are not unnecessarily dragged into a lawsuit. Under current law, parties that are "recipients of approval" for a particular project must be notified of a lawsuit. AB 499 calls for lead agencies to list the "recipients of approval" in the agencies' Notice of Exemption (NOE) or Notice of Determination (NOD). The bill passed two policy committees and the Assembly Appropriations Committee this year.
• SB 194 (Florez), the Community Equity Investment Act of 2009, helps residents of disadvantaged unincorporated communities who struggle to receive the most basic features of a safe and healthy environment. This bill reprioritizes existing funding streams to ensure that public health, sustainable development, and infrastructure resources are directed to these communities. The bill passed out of the Senate Local Government Committee on Wednesday.
• SB 553 (Wiggins) ensures equity in how and when businesses and nonprofits are paid under contracts and grant agreements with state agencies. Currently, businesses and some organizations qualify to receive additional compensation if the state does not pay them on time. This helps ensure a quick turnaround when invoices are submitted, which is particularly important for nonprofit conservation organizations carrying out restoration and conservation work for the state. However, nonprofit organizations have been excluded from the Prompt Payment Act if their contracts are bigger than $500,000 or if the state budget is late. These outdated provisions have meant that many nonprofits did not receive payments on time and were not prioritized in times of limited funding. SB 553 fixes these problems. It was passed out of its policy committee unanimously this week.
• SB 565 (Pavley) sets an aggressive directive to increase recycled water production and use in the state by directing the State Water Resources Control Board to develop a plan to ensure that at least 50% of the wastewater currently discharged into the ocean will be recycled and put to use by 2030. This measure would kick start the development of 2 million acre feet of drought-resilient water supply for our growing state.  The Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed this measure on Monday.
• AB 1408 (Krekorian) provides a mechanism to allow communities to accommodate growth without increasing water demands on shrinking water supplies. This measure provides two important tools. First, it provides incentives for developers to incorporate water efficient measures in new development. Second, it provides a mechanism that allows water agencies to work with developers to implement water efficiency measures in existing buildings in order to fully offset the water demand of new development. When fully implemented, this bill will facilitate water demand neutral development. This bill has been endorsed by the Sacramento Bee. It was passed out of the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee on Tuesday.

We're also co-sponsoring, AB 1364 (Evans), which gives agencies the authority to amend contracts and grant agreements affected by the state bond freeze to protect their integrity. This bill did not have to meet this week's deadline and will be taken up in its first policy committee soon.

ACCOLADES FOR ADOPTION: AIR BOARD STICKS TO SENSIBLE LOW CARBON FUEL STANDARD

Last Thursday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a regulation implementing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that requires a 10% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from California's transportation fuels by 2020. The regulation is a key component of AB 32, which mandates that California reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The first-in-the-nation standard will propel California's transition from dirty fuels into an era of clean and secure sources of energy. The standard aims to replace 20% of the fuel used in vehicles in California with clean alternative fuels by 2020. That's particularly important because California's transportation sector is responsible for 40% of the state's total greenhouse gas emissions.

The new standard will help California achieve its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets while diversifying the variety of fuels used for transportation. The move to cleaner alternative fuels will also improve our state's economy and public health. 

We're very pleased that CARB stuck to a policy that aims to take into account the full "carbon intensity" of each fuel, including greenhouse gas emissions associated with the fuel's production and transportation. The board had come under intense pressure from corn-based ethanol and petroleum industry representatives to ignore the negative environmental impacts of land use changes caused by the development of various biofuels.  

With the growing effects of global warming, a mounting public health crisis from poor air quality, and a deepening reliance on oil from hostile nations, Californians can no longer afford a "business as usual" approach to our fuel supply. We're hopeful that the standard will boost innovation and development of a new generation of fuels and electric vehicles while reducing the carbon pollution created by extracting, growing, and refining fuels.

RESOURCES HEAD EXEMPTS WATER RIGHTS MERGER FROM CEQA REVIEW; DUE PROCESS AVOIDED

On Tuesday, the California Secretary of Resources exempted a large scale merger in the water world from review under California's premier environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This marks the second time this year that the Secretary has invoked powers granted to him under the Governor's February Emergency Drought Proclamation. Under this project, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) propose to consolidate the water rights for the two massive water projects moving water from Northern California to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

An evidentiary hearing, required as part of the State Resources Control Board's consideration of this change, took place Monday and Tuesday. DWR's lawyer surprised many in the room with the end of the day disclosure of the CEQA exemption. In addition to shock, many in the room where left with questions as the last minute announcement came after the opportunity for cross-examination or rebuttal had passed.  

Evidentiary hearings are quasi-court settings where petitioners and protestors submit evidence for the Board to consider before determining if there will be harmful impacts to the environment or other water users. DWR's late disclosure of the CEQA exemption prevented any petitioners from raising questions about the CEQA exemption during cross examination. The Board will consider whether to approve the water rights change petition in a closed hearing on May 5^th and then vote publicly at a subsequent Board meeting.

LITTLE HOOVER COMMISSION TAKES A DIP IN CALIFORNIA WATER

Last week, the Little Hoover Commission embarked on an effort to figure out how California's water governance systems work and how they can be improved. Expert witnesses, including PCL's Jonas Minton, testified to Commission. During his testimony, Minton candidly outlined how powerful special interests have dominated water decision making, leading to the collapse of the Bay Delta ecosystem and the current water crisis. Fortunately, Minton and others also provided specific recommendations for comprehensive water reform. You can watch the full hearing and read all testimony at http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/agendas/Apr09.html.