Water Bond
In the late hours of the last day of session on Friday September 10, the Assembly sent a $1.97 billion general obligation water bond to Governor Davis. Hours of intense negotiations among water agencies, business groups, environmentalists and, of course, Republicans and Democrats led up to the final vote on Assembly Bill 1584 (Machado-Costa), which passed out of the Assembly by a 66 to 10 (unofficial) vote. The bond contains a long list of projects for flood control, watershed protection, clean water and water conservation. While opponents had criticized the bond for not containing money for additional water storage facilities, Republican votes were finally secured when Governor Davis promised $20 million for reservoir studies in next year's budget. A statewide poll August 4 had shown that 77% of voters would support a water bond. ACWA will provide a detailed summary of the bond as soon as it becomes available.

Hydroelectric Divestiture
Any legislation to ratify the transfer of Pacific Gas and Electric hydroelectric facilities will be postponed until next year. During the final weeks of the legislative session, PG&E worked vigorously to push proposed amendments to Senate Bill 1133 (Bowen) through the legislature to facilitate the transfer of its 68 facilities to an unregulated affiliate entity. Among other things, the PG&E plan would have declared the transfer to be 'in the public interest' and implemented a Memorandum Of Agreement for a watershed management program governed by state bureaucrats, environmentalists and PG&E. ACWA's state legislative committee took an "Opposed Unless Amended" position on the proposed amendments, and will continue to closely track any divestiture language when it is proposed next year. Throughout this process, ACWA staff received (and deeply appreciated) almost daily guidance from a special Hydroelectric Steering Committee comprised of representatives of a dozen member agencies.

MTBE
Senate Bill 989 (Sher), a bill ratifying Gray Davis' March '99 Executive Order to phase-out use of MTBE, was also sent to the Governor September 10. Among other things, SB 989 requires a timetable for the elimination of MTBE from California's fuel. The bill also requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to initiate a research program to determine the probability and significance of releases from petroleum underground storage tank systems (PUSTs). The bill specifies increased monitoring and containment requirements for certain tanks, boosts financial assistance for upgrading underground tanks, and requires a multimedia evaluation of new specifications for motor vehicle fuel.

Capital Facilities Fees
ACWA-sponsored legislation dealing with capital facilities fees will be postponed until the 2000 legislative session. Senate Bill 1132 (Costa) preserves the authority of public agency utilities to include a capital facilities component in monthly water or wastewater service rates to defray the costs of capital improvements needed to serve their customers. The bill effectively revises the term "capital facilities fees" to mean any non-discriminatory charge limited to a connection fee or a capacity charge, and according to the author, will be taken up when the legislature reconvenes next year.

Water Transfers
On its closing day of session the legislature also passed landmark legislation relating to water transfers. Senate Bill 970 (Costa) enacts the Water Rights Protection and Expedited Short-Term Water Transfer Act of 1999. This bill clarifies certain definitions in existing water transfer law, crediting of water transfers dedicated to instream uses, and streamlines the administrative process for approval or denial of water transfers by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). Co-sponsored by ACWA and the Bay Area Council, SB 970 is the result of lengthy negotiations involving the business, environmental, agricultural and water communities.