Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, governs drinking water quality and requires the State Water Resources Control Board (state board) to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the act. The act requires a person operating a public water system to obtain and provide an analysis of the water to the state board, as provided. Under the act, a person who knowingly makes a false statement or representation in a report submitted, maintained, or used for purposes of compliance with the act may be subject to a misdemeanor.

This bill would require the person to include in the analysis samples from schools, day care facilities, and health care facilities, to the extent those locations are within the public water system. The bill would require the person to report to the state board other information regarding the samples taken at those sites. The bill would require the state board to post this information on its Internet Web site, as provided. The bill would also require the person to report to the state board the public and private schools to which the public water system provides water. Because a misstatement in these reports could be a crime under the provision described above, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope of a crime.

Existing law requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, governs drinking water quality, quality and requires the State Water Resources Control Board to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the act. Among other things, the act requires the board to adopt primary drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water, as specified.

This bill would require the board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at those schools. The bill would specify various types of projects that will provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking water for which these grants could be awarded. The bill would require the board to give priority to applicants that serve a very small disadvantaged community, as defined, and applicants that are served by public water systems that the board finds consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The bill would require the board to develop procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these applications, as specified.

The bill would appropriate $10,000,000, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants made pursuant to the bill. The bill would provide that funds allocated to local educational agencies pursuant to this bill would supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support. To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are allocated to school districts, the amount of these funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

The bill would require the board to provide to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature certain data within 6 months after the allocation of the funds appropriated by the bill to local educational agencies.

Existing law requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, governs drinking water quality, and requires the State Water Resources Control Board to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the act. Among other things, the act requires the board to adopt primary drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water, as specified.

This bill would require the board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at those schools. The bill would specify various types of projects that will provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking water for which these grants could be awarded. The bill would require the board to give priority to applicants that serve a very small disadvantaged community, as defined, and applicants that are served by public water systems that the board finds consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The bill would require the board to develop procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these applications, as specified.

The bill would appropriate $10,000,000, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants made pursuant to the bill. The bill would provide that funds allocated to local educational agencies pursuant to this bill would supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support. To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are allocated to school districts, the amount of these funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board as a state agency with authority over matters relating to water quality. Existing law requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control. requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns.

This bill would require the state board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water. water at those schools. The bill would specify various types of projects that will provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking water for which these grants could be awarded. The bill would require the state board to give priority to applicants that serve a very small disadvantaged community, as defined, and applicants with known violations of primary drinking water standards. that are served by public water systems that the board finds consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The bill would require the state board to develop procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these applications, as specified. For applicants that do not serve disadvantaged communities, the bill would authorize the state board to require applicants to commit additional resources to a project or to give extra consideration to those applicants.

The bill would appropriate $10,000,000, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the state board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants made pursuant to the bill. The bill would provide that funds allocated to local educational agencies pursuant to this bill would supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support. To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are allocated to school districts, the amount of these funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

Existing law requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas by July 1, 2011, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns. Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board as a state agency with authority over matters relating to water quality.

This bill would require the State Department of Education state board to establish, by regulation, a grant program for local educational agencies to install new water bottle filling stations on school campuses or to replace existing water fountains on school campuses with new water bottle filling stations. The bill would provide that its provisions shall not be implemented unless funding is provided for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute. appropriate $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the state board for allocation to local educational agencies for these purposes and would require the funds to supplement, not supplant, other state funds apportioned to those local educational agencies for their support. The bill would also provide that the funds appropriated by this bill would be applied to the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

Existing law specifies the requirements for the 3-year preliminary designated subjects career technical education teaching credential.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Senator Wieckowski, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 2124

SUBJECT: Water: testing and reports

ANALYSIS:

Existing law,

Under the California Safe Drinking Water Act (California SDWA),

1. Governs drinking water quality and requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the California SDWA.
2. Requires a public water system to obtain and provide an analysis of the water to SWRCB as provided.
3. A person who knowingly makes a false statement or representation in a report submitted, maintained, or used for purposes of compliance with the California SDWA may be subject to a misdemeanor.

This bill:

1. Requires the public water system to include in the analysis samples from schools, day care facilities, and health care facilities, to the extent those locations are within the public water system.
2. Requires the public water system to report to SWRCB other information regarding the samples taken at those sites.
3. Requires SWRCB to post this information on its Internet Web site, as provided.
4. Requires the public water system to report to SWRCB the public and private schools to which the public water system provides water.
5. Because a misstatement in these reports could be a crime under the provision described above, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope of a crime.

Background

1. Drinking water contamination in disadvantaged communities. According to the SWRCB report, “Communities that Rely on Contaminated Groundwater,” released in January 2013, 682 community public water systems, which serve nearly 21 million people, rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking water. The report points out that an additional two million Californians rely on groundwater from either a private domestic well or a smaller groundwater-reliant system that is not regulated by the state, the water quality of which is uncertain. The findings from State Water Board report, and a 2012 UC Davis study, "Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water," suggest that drinking water contamination in California disproportionally affects small, rural and low-income communities that depend mostly on groundwater as their drinking water source.

The recent drought has further compromised the state's drinking water supplies. Since many rural households rely on shallow domestic wells or small, poorly funded community water supply systems, they have been hardest hit. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), as of early July 2015, more than 2,000 dry domestic wells were reported, mostly in the Central Valley and Sierras, with more than half in Tulare County. Emergency water supply needs have also been identified for more than 100 small water community water systems around the state.

1. Drinking water contamination in schools: Schools have also faced challenges in providing safe drinking water. The Community Water Center, in partnership with researchers at Stanford University and California State University, Stanislaus, is currently assessing the prevalence of unsafe water in California public schools. Preliminary results of their assessment suggest that an estimated 813 - 1,522 schools in California experienced at least one MCL violation between 2003-2014, with an estimated 336-534 schools experiencing at least one MCL violation in two or more years during the same time period. The assessment suggests that arsenic, dibromochloropropanes, trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, and nitrates were the most commonly occurring school water contaminants during 2003 - 2014, excluding bacterial contaminants. The study found that schools on their own nontransient, noncommunity water systems appear to be impacted by unsafe drinking water at a higher rate than schools on larger public community water systems. The study suggests that 42% - 48% of schools that have experienced an MCL violation are in disadvantaged communities (as determined by the top 25% of census tracts identified using the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen 2.0).
2. Safe drinking water provision in schools: Last year, the California Endowment launched Agua4All, a pilot project, in partnership with the nonprofit organizations Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Community Water Center and Pueblo Unido CDC. One of the goals of Agua4All is to install water taps in communities that lack access to safe drinking water. Agua4All has installed 75 water stations in the eastern Coachella Valley, and 71 water stations and 86 point-of-use filters in South Kern County. According to RCAC, now more than 25,000 students have access to safe drinking water that didn't before. RCAC notes that the point-of-use filtration systems installed on water taps through the Agua4All program were funded by funds allocated from the SWRCB’s Clean Up and Abatement Account.
3. Recent actions to address drinking water needs: In December 2013, Governor Brown established an interagency drought response team to coordinate drought relief efforts, and in January 2014, he declared a statewide drought emergency. According to the PPIC, the state has recently significantly improved its emergency response for communities lacking drinking water. The multiple agencies involved have strengthened coordination to identify needs and deliver help.

In light of increasing drinking water system failures exasperated by the drought, both the Legislature and the Governor have taken many steps to provide funding for drought relief, including funding for the provision of safe drinking water. For example, Proposition 1 authorized $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for water projects, including surface and groundwater storage; ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration; and, drinking water protection. Proposition 1 allocates $260 million for drinking water grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards, ensure affordable drinking water, or both. As of February 1, 2016, about $9 million of this allocation was awarded.

Additionally, on March 27, 2015, Governor Brown approved a $1 billion emergency drought relief package when he signed AB 91 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015) and AB 92 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 2, Statutes of 2015). As a result of the Governor’s action, SWRCB approved $19 million in funding from the Cleanup and Abatement Account to meet interim emergency drinking water needs for those communities with a contaminated water supply or which suffer drought-related water outages or threatened emergencies. In an effort to distribute funds as quickly and efficiently as possible, SWRCB is coordinating with the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, SWRCB’s Division of Drinking Water district offices, the Office of Emergency Services, Department of Water Resources, and other stakeholders (e.g., environmental justice groups, community assistance groups) to identify those communities that are most at risk and require financial assistance. Approximately $11 million of this funding source has been committed or spent.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of Bill. The author states that an estimated 25% of California schools do not provide free, fresh drinking water to students at meal times every day; despite state and federal laws that require it. According to the author, the most recent state survey, nearly 500 small community water systems and schools haven’t supplied safe drinking water to their communities and schoolchildren for years, or even decades. The author asserts that these numbers underestimate the problem, because no state agency regularly maps this data.

The author argues that adequate water consumption is critical to basic health. If children and youth do not drink water, they often drink sugary beverages instead which can lead to diseases like type-2 diabetes and childhood obesity. There also is correlation between educational achievement and hydration. Without water, learning is impaired. However, if the available water is contaminated, children should not drink it. Contaminated water is associated with cancer, impaired development, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes.

The author states that state and federal laws require that schools provide access to drinking water at school during meal times. But schools that are just beginning to recover from the recession don’t have the resources to install fountains or water bottle filling stations to deliver reliable water to students. Instead many are struggling to meet this important mandate by providing stopgap measures such as bottled water to students only during lunch time. Students drink less water, schools spend more and it adds to our overburdened waste streams.

1. SB 334 (Leyva, 2015) would have prohibited drinking water that does not meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) drinking water standards for lead from being provided at a school facility, requires schools that have lead-containing plumbing components to flush all drinking water sources at the beginning of each school day, and deletes the authority for school district governing boards to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with the requirement to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service areas.

Governor Brown vetoed SB 334 stating “I agree that all California students should have access to safe drinking water but this bill creates a state mandate of uncertain but possibly very large magnitude.

As our first order of business, local schools should understand the nature of their water quality problem, if there is one. Accordingly, I am directing the State Water Resources Control Board to work with school districts and local public water systems to incorporate water quality testing in schools as part of their lead and copper rule. School districts should utilize this information to ensure all students are provided safe water.”

It is not clear, given that just last fall Governor Brown directed SWRCB to work with school districts and public water systems, that enough time has been given for a process to be developed and implemented out of that directive. It appears that this legislation prematurely sets up a costly and resource intensive reporting process prior to SWRCB working to collect the data requested by the Governor in his SB 334 veto message.

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 334 (Leyva, 2015) would have prohibited drinking water that does not meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) drinking water standards for lead from being provided at a school facility, requires schools that have lead-containing plumbing components to flush all drinking water sources at the beginning of each schoolday, and deletes the authority for school district governing boards to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with the requirement to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service areas. SB 334 was vetoed by Governor Brown.

AB 496 (Rendon, Chapter 664, Statutes of 2015) authorizes the California Department of Education (CDE) to receive funds from any available state and federal source, to be allocated to school districts to comply with the existing requirement to provide fresh drinking water during meals. AB 496 requires the CDE to identify available sources of funding, including funds for safe drinking water programs administered by the CDE, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Water Resources, and the State Water Resources Control Board.

SB 1413 (Leno, Chapter 558, Statutes of 2010) requires school districts to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service areas. School districts may adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrate the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns.

AB 629 (Krekorian, 2009), would have required a school district, by January 1, 2012, to conduct a one-time analysis of the level of lead in water in schools that were constructed before January 1, 1993. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2965 (Krekorian, 2008), would have required a school district to conduct a one-time assessment of water toxicity levels at point of entry and delivery in schools 40 years of age or older. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SOURCE:

Pueblo Unio

Rural Community Assistance Corporation

Community Water Center

SUPPORT:

Because this bill was gut and amended on June 20^th stakeholders did not have a chance to review and comment prior to finalization of the analysis.

OPPOSITION:

Because this bill was gut and amended on June 20^th stakeholders did not have a chance to review and comment prior to finalization of the analysis.

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 2124

Author:(Eduardo Garcia and Lackey)

As Amended Ver:May 27, 2016

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Appropriates $10 million from the General Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) for allocation to local educational agencies as grants to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the State Water Board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at those schools.
2. Authorizes the State Water Board to award grants for: installation of water bottle filling stations; installation or replacement of drinking water fountains with devices that are capable of removing any contaminants that are present in the school's water supply; installation of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment devices; and, plumbing repairs that improve drinking water quality.
3. Requires the State Water Board to, in developing the procedure for awarding grants, set requirements for grant recipients to adopt a program for inspecting and maintaining any water treatment device funded by the grant; establish a maximum grant amount; and, give priority to applicants that serve a very small disadvantaged community and applicants that are served by public water systems that the board finds consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
4. Defines "very small disadvantaged community" as a municipality with a population of 10,000 persons or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger municipality encompassing 10,000 persons or less, with an annual median household income that is less than 80% of the statewide annual median household income.
5. Appropriates $10 million, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the State Water Board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary schools.
6. Requires, within six months of the allocation of the funds to local educational agencies, the State Water Board to provide to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature specified data relating to the allocation.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires, pursuant to the federal "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010," schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide free drinking water where reimbursable meals are served during the meal period.
2. Requires school districts to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating it is unable to comply with this requirement due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns. Provides that a school district may comply with the drinking water provision requirement by, among other means, providing cups and containers of water or soliciting or receiving donated bottled water.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, enactment of this bill could result in a one-time general fund appropriation of $10 million to the State Water Board for grants and administration of the program.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "An estimated 25% of California schools do not provide free, fresh drinking water to students at meal times every day; despite state and federal laws that require it. Even worse, according to the most recent state survey, nearly 500 small community water systems and schools haven't supplied safe drinking water to their communities and schoolchildren for years, or even decades. We know these numbers underestimate the problem, because no state agency regularly maps this data… AB 2124 will implement the development of a grant program that would award $10 million to improve access and the quality of drinking water in California schools."

Drinking water contamination in disadvantaged communities. According to the State Water Board report, Communities that Rely on Contaminated Groundwater, released in January 2013, 682 community public water systems, which serve nearly 21 million people, rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking water. The report points out that an additional two million Californians rely on groundwater from either a private domestic well or a smaller groundwater-reliant system that is not regulated by the state, the water quality of which is uncertain. The findings from State Water Board report, and a 2012 UC Davis study, Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water, suggest that drinking water contamination in California disproportionally affects small, rural and low-income communities that depend mostly on groundwater as their drinking water source.

The recent drought has further compromised the state's drinking water supplies. Since many rural households rely on shallow domestic wells or small, poorly funded community water supply systems, they have been hardest hit. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, as of early July 2015, more than 2,000 dry domestic wells were reported, mostly in the Central Valley and Sierras, with more than half in Tulare County. Emergency water supply needs have also been identified for more than 100 small water community water systems around the state.

Drinking water contamination in schools: Schools have also faced challenges in providing safe drinking water. The Community Water Center, in partnership with researchers at Stanford University and California State University, Stanislaus, is currently assessing the prevalence of unsafe water in California public schools. Preliminary results of their assessment suggest that an estimated 813 to 1,522 schools in California experienced at least one drinking water standard violation between 2003-2014, with an estimated 336-534 schools experiencing at least one violation in two or more years during the same time period. The study suggests that 42% - 48% of schools that have experienced a drinking water standard violation are in disadvantaged communities.

Safe drinking water provision in schools: Last year, the California Endowment launched Agua4All, a pilot project, in partnership with the nonprofit organizations Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Community Water Center, and Pueblo Unido CDC. One of the goals of Agua4All is to install water taps in communities that lack access to safe drinking water. Agua4All has installed 75 water stations in the eastern Coachella Valley, and 71 water stations and 86 point-of-use filters in South Kern County. According to RCAC, now more than 25,000 students have access to safe drinking water that didn't before.

The goal of this bill is to build on this local program by creating a funded grant program with statewide eligibility to provide access to safe drinking water in schools. Based on their experience in implementing Agua4All, RCAC explains that each tap, such as a water bottle filling station or other place where people can access safe drinking water, costs about $5000 per tap, including point-of-use filtration. Each tap serves an average of 200 students. Taking into account those costs and the number of students served per tap, supporters estimate that the $10 million appropriation in this bill, adjusting for the costs of the administration of the program, could provide safe drinking water at schools for a little less than 400,000 students.

Analysis Prepared by: Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0003338

Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS

Luis Alejo, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2124 (

Author:E. Garcia and Lackey) – As Amended Ver:April 5, 2016

SUBJECT: State Water Resources Control Board: grant program for school drinking water

SUMMARY: Appropriates ten million dollars ($10,000,000) from the General Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) for allocation to local educational agencies as grants to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the State Water Board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water.
2. Authorizes the State Water Board to award grants for projects including, but not necessarily limited to, any of the following:
   1. Installation of water bottle filling stations;
   2. Installation or replacement of drinking water fountains with devices that are capable of removing any contaminants that are present in the school’s water supply;
   3. Installation of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment devices; and,
   4. Plumbing repairs that improve drinking water quality.
3. Requires the State Water Board to implement the grant program by taking actions including, but not necessarily limited to, the development of procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these applications. Exempts these actions from statutory rulemaking requirements.
4. Requires the State Water Board, in developing the procedure for awarding grants, to do each of the following:
5. Establish a set-aside fund for rural areas of not less than 30%;
6. Establish a maximum grant amount; and,
7. Give priority to each the following:
   • 1. Applicants that serve a disadvantaged community; and,
     2. Applicants with known violations of primary drinking water standards.
8. Authorizes the State Water Board, in developing the procedure for awarding grants, to do either of the following, except for applicants that serve disadvantaged communities:

• 1. Give extra consideration to applicants that commit additional resources to the project; and,
  2. Require applicants to commit additional resources to a project.

1. Appropriates $10,000,000, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the State Water Board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary schools.
2. Provides that the funds allocated to local educational agencies as part of the grant program shall supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires, pursuant to the federal "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010," schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to provide free drinking water where reimbursable meals are served during the meal period. (42 U.S. Code § 1758)
2. Requires school districts to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating it is unable to comply with this requirement due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns. Provides that a school district may comply with the drinking water provision requirement by, among other means, providing cups and containers of water or soliciting or receiving donated bottled water. (Education Code § 38086)
3. Establishes as policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes. (Water Code (WC) § 106.3)
4. Defines "disadvantaged community" as a community with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income. (WC § 10608.12(f))
5. Defines "small disadvantaged community" as a municipality with a population of 20,000 persons or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger municipality encompassing 20,000 persons or less, with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income. (WC § 13193.9 (c))
6. Establishes the California Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and requires the State Water Board to maintain a drinking water program (Health & Safety Code (HSC) § 116270, et seq.)
7. Requires the State Water Board to establish primary drinking water standards (maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs) that are not less stringent than the national primary drinking water standards adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and that are set at a level as close to the public health goal as is technologically and economically feasible, placing primary emphasis on the protection of public health. (HSC §116365(a))
8. Requires the State Water Board to adopt emergency regulations for permitting the use of point-of-entry (POE) and point-of-use (POU) water treatment in lieu of centralized treatment for public water systems that that have less than 200 service connections; for which usage is allowed under the federal SDWA; and that have pre-applied for funding to correct the MCL violations for which POE and POU treatment is provided. (HSC § 116380)
9. Requires a school or school system, if it has been notified by the public water system of any noncompliance with primary drinking water standards, including detection of a contaminant found in drinking water delivered by the public water system for human consumption that is in excess of a MCL, to notify school employees, students and parents if the students are minors. (HSC§ 116450 (g))
10. Establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to provide financial assistance for community water systems to achieve compliance with the SWDA. (HSC §116760.30)
11. Allocates $19 million from the State Water Board's Cleanup and Abatement Account to meet interim emergency drinking water needs. (Item 3940-101-0679 and 3940-102-0679, Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2014)
12. Allocates, pursuant to the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1), which was approved by the voters on November 4, 2014, $260,000,000 for grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards, ensure affordable drinking water, or both. Requires that priority is given to projects that provide treatment for contamination or access to an alternate drinking water source or sources for small community water systems or state small water systems in disadvantaged communities whose drinking water source is impaired by chemical and nitrate contaminants and other health hazards identified by the State Water Board. (WC § 79724. (a)(1))

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Need for the bill: According to the author,

"An estimated 25% of California schools do not provide free, fresh drinking water to students at meal times every day; despite state and federal laws that require it. Even worse, according to the most recent state survey, nearly 500 small community water systems and schools haven’t supplied safe drinking water to their communities and schoolchildren for years, or even decades. We know these numbers underestimate the problem, because no state agency regularly maps this data.

Adequate water consumption is critical to basic health. If children and youth do not drink water, they often drink sugary beverages instead which can lead to diseases like type-2 diabetes and childhood obesity. There also is correlation between educational achievement and hydration. Without water learning is impaired. However, if the available water is contaminated, children should not drink it. Contaminated water is associated with cancer, impaired development, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes.

State and federal laws require that schools provide access to drinking water at school during meal times. But schools that are just beginning to recover from the recession don’t have the resources to install fountains or water bottle filling stations to deliver reliable water to students. Instead many are struggling to meet this important mandate by providing stopgap measures such as bottled water to students only during lunch time. Students drink less water, schools spend more and it adds to our overburdened waste streams.

AB 2124 will implement the development of a grant program that would award $10 million to improve access and the quality of drinking water in California schools."

Drinking water contamination in disadvantaged communities. According to the State Water Board report, “Communities that Rely on Contaminated Groundwater,” released in January 2013, 682 community public water systems, which serve nearly 21 million people, rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking water. The report points out that an additional two million Californians rely on groundwater from either a private domestic well or a smaller groundwater-reliant system that is not regulated by the state, the water quality of which is uncertain. The findings from State Water Board report, and a 2012 UC Davis study, "Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water," suggest that drinking water contamination in California disproportionally affects small, rural and low-income communities that depend mostly on groundwater as their drinking water source.

The recent drought has further compromised the state's drinking water supplies. Since many rural households rely on shallow domestic wells or small, poorly funded community water supply systems, they have been hardest hit. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), as of early July 2015, more than 2,000 dry domestic wells were reported, mostly in the Central Valley and Sierras, with more than half in Tulare County. Emergency water supply needs have also been identified for more than 100 small water community water systems around the state.

Drinking water contamination in schools: Schools have also faced challenges in providing safe drinking water. The Community Water Center, in partnership with researchers at Stanford University and California State University, Stanislaus, is currently assessing the prevalence of unsafe water in California public schools. Preliminary results of their assessment suggest that an estimated 813 - 1,522 schools in California experienced at least one MCL violation between 2003-2014, with an estimated 336-534 schools experiencing at least one MCL violation in two or more years during the same time period. The assessment suggests that arsenic, dibromochloropropanes, trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, and nitrates were the most commonly occurring school water contaminants during 2003 - 2014, excluding bacterial contaminants. The study found that schools on their own nontransient, noncommunity water systems appear to be impacted by unsafe drinking water at a higher rate than schools on larger public community water systems. The study suggests that 42% - 48% of schools that have experienced a MCL violation are in disadvantaged communities (as determined by the top 25% of census tracts identified using the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen 2.0).

Safe drinking water provision in schools: Last year, the California Endowment launched Agua4All, a pilot project, in partnership with the nonprofit organizations Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Community Water Center and Pueblo Unido CDC. One of the goals of Agua4All is to install water taps in communities that lack access to safe drinking water. Agua4All has installed 75 water stations in the eastern Coachella Valley, and 71 water stations and 86 point-of-use filters in South Kern County. According to RCAC, now more than 25,000 students have access to safe drinking water that didn't before. RCAC notes that the point-of-use filtration systems installed on water taps through the Agua4All program were funded by funds allocated from the State Water Board's Clean Up and Abatement Account.

The goal of this bill is to build on this local program by creating a funded grant program with statewide eligibility to provide access to safe drinking water in schools. Based on their experience in implementing Agua4All, RCAC explains that each tap, such as a water bottle filling station or other place where people can access safe drinking water, costs about $5000 per tap, including point-of-use filtration. Each tap serves an average of 200 students. Taking into account those costs and the number of students served per tap, supporters estimate that the $10 million appropriation in this bill, adjusting for the costs of the administration of the program, could provide safe drinking water at schools for a little less than 400,000 students.

Recent actions to address drinking water needs: In December 2013, Governor Brown established an interagency drought response team to coordinate drought relief efforts, and in January 2014, he declared a statewide drought emergency. According to the PPIC, the state has recently significantly improved its emergency response for communities lacking drinking water. The multiple agencies involved have strengthened coordination to identify needs and deliver help.

In light of increasing drinking water system failures exasperated by the drought, both the Legislature and the Governor have taken many steps to provide funding for drought relief, including funding for the provision of safe drinking water. For example, Proposition 1 authorized $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for water projects, including surface and groundwater storage; ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration; and, drinking water protection. Proposition 1 allocates $260 million for drinking water grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards, ensure affordable drinking water, or both. As of February 1, 2016, about $9 million of this allocation was awarded.

Additionally, on March 27, 2015, Governor Brown approved a $1 billion emergency drought relief package when he signed AB 91 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015) and AB 92 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 2, Statutes of 2015). As a result of the Governor’s action, the State Water Board approved $19 million in funding from the Cleanup and Abatement Account to meet interim emergency drinking water needs for those communities with a contaminated water supply or which suffer drought related water outages or threatened emergencies. In an effort to distribute funds as quickly and efficiently as possible, the State Water Board is coordinating with the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water district offices, the Office of Emergency Services, Department of Water Resources, and other stakeholders (e.g., environmental justice groups, community assistance groups) to identify those communities that are most at risk and require financial assistance. Approximately $11 million of this funding source has been committed or spent.

While these recent allocations have funded beneficial drinking water projects, it does not appear that any funding sources specifically provide funding opportunities for improved access to safe drinking water in schools.

Double referral: This bill has been double referred. Should this bill pass the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, it will be referred to the Committee on Education.

Committee amendments: The Committee may wish to amend the bill as follows:

1. To clarify that the grants provided under the new grant program will provide students with access to safe drinking water, and not just improved drinking water, amend the bill, on page 3, line 4 – 6, as follows:

The board shall establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at those schools. The board may award grants under this section for projects that will provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking water, including, but not necessarily limited to, any of the following:

1. To provide further clarity to the grant priorities, amend the section of the bill, beginning on page 3, starting on line 22:

(c)(1)In developing the procedure for awarding grants, the board shall do each of the following:

1. Establish a set-aside fund for rural areas of not less than 30%;
2. Establish a maximum grant amount;
3. Set requirements for each recipient to adopt a program for inspecting and maintaining any water treatment device funded by the grant;
4. Give priority to each the following:
   1. Applicants that serve a very small disadvantaged community, as that term is defined in Section 79505.5; and,
   2. Applicants with known violations of primary drinking water standards that are served by public water systems that the State Water Board finds consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(2) (A) In developing the procedure for awarding grants, the board may do either of the following:, encourage applicants to commit additional resources to the project, except matching funds shall not be required for districts serving very small disadvantaged communities and shall not interfere with the prioritization of grant funding awarded to very small disadvantaged communities.

• 1. Give extra consideration to applicants that commit additional resources to the project; and,
  2. Require applicants to commit additional resources to a project.  

(B) The authority provided to the board pursuant to subparagraph (A) does not apply to applicants that serve disadvantaged communities.

(3) For the purposes of this section, “Very Small Disadvantaged Community” means a municipality with a population of 10,000 persons or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger municipality encompassing 10,000 persons or less, with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Food Policy Advocates

Clean Water Action

Community Water Center

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965

Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2124

Author:(Eduardo Garcia) – As Amended Ver:April 26, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill appropriates $10 million from the General Fund (GF) to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to establish a drinking water grant program for public elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes the SWRCB to award grants for projects that will provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking water, as specified.
2. Requires SWRCB to develop application procedures and evaluation criteria. Exempts these actions from the Administrative Procedures Act. Requires SWRCB to develop a procedure for awarding grants, as specified.
3. Requires SWRCB to give priority to the following:
   1. Applicants serving small disadvantaged communities, as defined.
   2. Applicants served by a failing public water system, as determined by SWRCB.
4. Prohibits SWRCB from requiring matching funds from applicants serving disadvantaged communities, but allows SWRCB to encourage other applicants to commit additional resources to the projects.
5. Requires funds allocated to applicants to supplement, and not supplant other state funds awarded to public schools.
6. Requires SWRCB to report to the Legislature six months after allocating funds, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT:

One-time GF appropriation of $10 million to SWRCB for grants and administration of the program.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, an estimated 200,000 school children in California lack safe, clean drinking water. Often these schools are located in high poverty, high needs communities. Although state and federal laws require schools to provide access to drinking water at school during meal times, schools are just beginning to recover from the recession and don't have the resources to deliver reliable water to students. This bill provides $10 million to improve access and the quality of drinking water at schools. This bill requires priority for funding to schools in very small disadvantaged communities and schools who consistently fail to provide an adequate safe drinking water supply.
2. Background. SWRCB is required to establish primary drinking water standards (maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs) that are not less stringent than the national primary drinking water standards adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The standards are set at a level as close to the public health goal as is technologically and economically feasible, placing primary emphasis on the protection of public health.

According to the SWRCB report, “Communities that Rely on Contaminated Groundwater,” released in January 2013, 682 community public water systems, serving nearly 21 million people, rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking water. An additional two million Californians rely on groundwater from private domestic wells or small groundwater-reliant systems not regulated by the state. Findings from the report, and a 2012 UC Davis study, "Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water," suggest that drinking water contamination in California disproportionally affects small, rural and low-income communities that depend mostly on groundwater as their drinking water source.

Schools have also faced challenges in providing safe drinking water. The Community Water Center and researchers at Stanford University and California State University, Stanislaus, are currently assessing the prevalence of unsafe water in California public schools. Preliminary results estimate between 813 to 1,522 schools in California experienced at least one MCL violation between 2003and 2014, with an additional 336-534 schools experiencing at least one MCL violation in two or more years during the same time period.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Patrick O'Donnell, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2124 (

Author:Eduardo Garcia) – As Amended Ver:April 13, 2016

[Note: This bill was doubled referred to the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee and was heard as it relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]

SUBJECT: State Water Resources Control Board: grant program for school drinking water

SUMMARY: Appropriates $10 million from the General Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) for allocation to local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes the State Water Board to award grants for projects that will provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking water, including, but not necessarily limited to, any of the following:
   1. Installation of water bottle filling stations;
   2. Installation or replacement of drinking water fountains with devices that are capable of removing any contaminants that are present in the school’s water supply;
   3. Installation of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment devices; and,
   4. Plumbing repairs that improve drinking water quality.
2. Requires the State Water Board to implement the grant program by taking actions, including, but not necessarily limited to, the development of procedures for the submission of applications for grants by LEAs and criteria for the evaluation of these applications. Exempts these actions from statutory rulemaking requirements.
3. Requires the State Water Board, in developing the procedure for awarding grants, to do each of the following:
   1. Set requirements for grant recipients to adopt a program for inspecting and maintaining any water treatment device funded by the grant;
   2. Establish a maximum grant amount; and,
   3. Give priority to each the following:
      1. Applicants that serve very small disadvantaged community; and,
      2. Applicants that are served by public water systems that the State Water Board finds consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
4. Authorizes the State Water Board, in developing the procedure for awarding grants, to encourage applicants to commit additional resources to the project, except that the State Water Board shall not require matching funds for LEAs serving very small disadvantaged communities or interfere with the prioritization of grant funding to very small disadvantaged communities.
5. Defines "very small disadvantaged community" as a municipality with a population of 10,000 persons or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger municipality encompassing 10,000 persons or less, with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income.
6. Appropriates $10 million without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the State Water Board for allocation to LEAs as grants to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary schools.
7. Provides that the funds allocated to LEAs as part of the grant program shall supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these LEAs for their support.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service areas of the schools under its jurisdiction, including, but not necessarily limited to, areas where reimbursable meals under the National School Lunch Program or the federal School Breakfast Program are served or consumed. Authorizes a school district to comply with this requirement by, among other means, providing cups and containers of water or soliciting or receiving donated bottled water. (EC Section 38086)
2. Authorizes the governing board of a school district to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with the requirement to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns. Requires the resolution to be publicly noticed on at least two consecutive meeting agendas, first as an information item and second as an action item, and approved by at least a majority of the governing board. (EC Section 38086)
3. Establishes the Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act, enacted in 1992, as follows:
   1. Requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to conduct a sampling survey of schools throughout the state for the purpose of developing risk factors to predict lead contamination in public schools;
   2. Requires the survey to determine the likely extent and distribution of lead exposure to children from paint on the school, soil in play areas, drinking water at the tap, and other potential sources identified by DHS;
   3. Requires DHS to notify principals of schools or director of schoolsites of the survey results. Upon receipt of the results, requires principals or directors to notify teachers and other school personnel and parents of the survey results;
   4. Requires DHS to make recommendations to the Legislature and the California Department of Education (CDE) on the feasibility and necessity of conducting statewide lead testing and any additional action needed relating to lead contamination in the schools; and,
   5. Requires DHS to work with CDE to develop voluntary guidelines for distribution to requesting schools to ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school repair and maintenance programs and abatement procedures. (EC Sections 32240-32243)
4. Requires the governing board of a school district to adopt a local control and accountability plan (LCAP) and specifies state priorities, including the priority for school facilities to be maintained in good repair. (EC Section 52060)
5. Defines "good repair" as a facility that is maintained in a manner that assures that it is clean, safe, and functional as determined by school facility inspection and evaluation instrument approved by the State Allocation Board or a local evaluation instrument. Requires the school facility inspection and evaluation instrument and local evaluation instruments to include criteria as specified, including: 1) interior and exterior drinking fountains that are functional, accessible, and free of leaks; 2) drinking fountain water pressure is adequate; and 3) foundation water is clear and without unusual taste or odor, and moss, mold, or excessive staining is not evident. (EC Section 17002)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: Access to free, fresh water. Current law requires school districts to provide free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service areas. A school district may provide cups and containers of water or bottled water to comply with this requirement. According to a 2012 study on the water access law conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, in conjunction with the California Food Policy Advocates and ChangeLab Solutions, one in four schools had not complied with the law in 2011. Of those that did comply, drinking fountains were cited as the most common source of free drinking water in schools. One of the reasons cited by schools for not complying was concerns about water safety and quality. Among others, the report recommended facilitating and supporting the development of good models for purchase, installation, and maintenance of a range of water delivery systems, from short-term solutions to permanent solutions, and requiring annual water-quality testing at the tap of every school's drinking water.

Maintenance requirements. School districts are required to maintain school facilities pursuant to several parts of the Education Code. School districts that receive state bond funds are required to set aside three percent of their general funds in a routine restricted account to be used for the maintenance of schools. During the state's budget fiscal crisis, school districts were allowed to lower the required percentage to one percent or none if their schools are kept in "good repair." The three percent requirement will be fully restored in 2021.

School districts are required to adopt a LCAP to determine the use of local control funding formula dollars. Under the LCAP, school districts are required to meet eight state priorities, including the priority for school facilities to be maintained in "good repair." The standard for "good repair" was developed as a result of the Williams v. State of California settlement in 2004, in which the state agreed to allocate funds to provide students in low performing schools equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent school facilities, and qualified teachers. As part of the $800 million allocation for school facilities, county offices of education were required to inspect deciles 1-3 schools using a "good repair" standard. The standard developed includes a lengthy list of components at a school to be evaluated, including whether drinking fountain water is clear and without unusual taste of odor. Good repair does not include whether drinking fountain water is free of lead or other contaminants.

State regulations for water fountains. Under regulations adopted pursuant to the California Plumbing Code, schools are required to have one drinking fountain for every 150 people on a school campus. Districts can use available local bond funds if the projects were identified in a bond initiative, but state bond funds for modernization projects have been exhausted since 2012. Absent state or local bond funds, school districts would be required to use general funds for mitigation purposes.

Testing of water in schools. The state has initiated several efforts to assess water quality in schools. In 1998, as part of the Budget Act, SB 1564 (Schiff), Chapter 330, Statutes of 1998, the education trailer bill, provided $1.053 million to fund lead testing in drinking water in public elementary and secondary schools. The budget allocated $120 to each elementary schoolsite and $230 to each junior high, middle and high school for this purpose. A water collection guideline developed for the test recommended prioritizing testing of school buildings constructed prior to 1986, when lead plumbing solder was banned for use in drinking water plumbing systems.

Enacted in 1992, the Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act required the Department of Health Services to conduct a study to determine the prevalence of lead in paint, soil and water in public elementary school and childcare facilities. Using weighted sample analysis, the study estimated that 18.1% of schools may have water outlets with lead content that exceeds federal recommended level. While lead content was highest in schools built before 1940, schools in all ages had water samples with lead content above the federal recommended levels.

The Community Water Center, in partnership with researchers at Stanford University and California State University, Stanislaus, is currently assessing the prevalence of unsafe water in California public schools. Preliminary results of their assessment suggest that an estimated 813 - 1,522 schools in California experienced at least one maximum contaminant levels (MCL) violation between 2003-2014, with an estimated 336-534 schools experiencing at least one MCL violation in two or more years during the same time period. The assessment suggests that arsenic, dibromochloropropanes, trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, and nitrates were the most commonly occurring school water contaminants during 2003 - 2014, excluding bacterial contaminants. The study found that schools on their own nontransient, noncommunity water systems appear to be impacted by unsafe drinking water at a higher rate than schools on larger public community water systems. The study suggests that 42% - 48% of schools that have experienced a MCL violation are in disadvantaged communities (as determined by the top 25% of census tracts identified using the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen 2.0).

Private efforts. Last year, the California Endowment launched Agua4All, a pilot project in partnership with the nonprofit organizations Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Community Water Center and Pueblo Unido CDC. One of the goals of Agua4All is to install water taps in communities, including schools, which lack access to safe drinking water. Agua4All has installed 75 water stations in the eastern Coachella Valley, and 71 water stations and 86 point-of-use filters in South Kern County. According to RCAC, now more than 25,000 students have access to safe drinking water that didn't before. RCAC notes that the point-of-use filtration systems installed on water taps through the Agua4All program were funded by funds allocated from the State Water Board's Clean Up and Abatement Account.

This bill appropriates $10 million to establish a grant program administered by the State Water Board to improve the access to, and the quality of, drinking water at schools. The grant amounts would be determined by the State Water Board and funds can be used to install water bottle filling stations, installation or replacement of drinking water fountains with filters, installation of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment devices or plumbing repairs. The bill requires priority for funding to applicants that serve very small disadvantaged communities and applicants served by public water systems that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. If funding requests are oversubscribed, the authors may also wish to consider prioritizing funds for older school facilities and schools with higher percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-price meal programs.

Based on the experience in implementing Agua4All, RCAC explains that each tap, such as a water bottle filling station or other place where people can access safe drinking water, costs about $5000 per tap, including point-of-use filtration. Each tap serves an average of 200 students. Taking into account those costs and the number of students served per tap, supporters estimate that the $10 million appropriation in this bill, adjusting for the costs of the administration of the program, could provide safe drinking water at schools for a little less than 400,000 students. There are 6.2 million students across in 1,000 school districts.

Committee amendment. Staff recommends requiring the State Water Resources Control Board to submit information to the appropriate policy and fiscal Committees of the Legislature within six months after funds are allocated summarizing the types of projects funded, the average amount of funds per project, and the geographical distribution of funds.

The author states, "State and federal laws require that schools provide access to drinking water at school during meal times. But schools that are just beginning to recover from the recession don't have the resources to deliver reliable water to students. Instead many are struggling to meet this important mandate by providing stopgap measures such as bottled water to students only during lunch time. Students drink less water, schools spend more and it adds to our overburdened waste streams. A $10 million funding commitment administered by the State Water Resources Control Board to fund point-of-use filtration and water bottle filling stations will help provide immediate safe drinking water to an estimated 200,000 school children in California who lack safe, clean drinking water. Often these schools are located in high poverty, high needs communities."

Related legislation. AB 1694 (Lackey), pending in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, is substantially similar to this bill.

AB 496 (Rendon), Chapter 664, Statutes of 2015, requires the CDE to consult with the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Water Resources, and the State Water Resources Control Board to identify available sources of funding to fund school water quality and infrastructure.

SB 334 (Leyva) prohibits drinking water that does not meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for lead from being provided at a school facility and deletes the authority of a governing board of a school district to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with the requirement to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service areas. The bill was vetoed by the Governor in 2015.

Prior related legislation. AB 629 (Krekorian), held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file in 2009, would have required a school district, by January 1, 2012, to conduct a one-time analysis of the level of lead in water in schools that were constructed before January 1, 1993.

AB 2965 (Krekorian), held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file in 2008, would have required a school district to conduct a one-time assessment of water toxicity levels at point of entry and delivery in schools 40 years of age or older.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087