2023-’24 Legislative Session Ends with Wins for ACWA Members

The California legislative year that ended Aug. 31 included many wins for ACWA member agenciesacross a wide range of issues. Below is an overview of a couple of the key bills in which ACWA staff advocated on behalf of its members this year. More details about these bills and others are available in a Legislative Advisory online. Member login is required.

• Rate Setting Process:The Legislature passed ACWA-sponsored AB 2257- which would help member agencies defend against Proposition 218 lawsuits - and it is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. He has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto bills. Authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), AB 2257 would allow ratepayers to participate and raise specific objections to proposed rate changes before resorting to litigation after the new rates are approved. The bill would provide an opportunity for local agencies and ratepayers to resolve objections during the public process and avoid surprise litigation down the road.

• Low-Income Rate Assistance: ACWA maintained an oppose-unless-amended position on SB 1255(Durazo) and it failed to make it out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file, effectively stopping the bill. This bill would have required each retail water supplier that serves more than 3,300 connections to establish a water low-income rate assistance (LIRA) program with specified minimum requirements, some of which are unworkable.

• Voluntary Agreements:SB 108 (Wiener), the Budget Act of 2024, was signed into law in June, and restored nearly $500 million for the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program, formerly known as the Voluntary Agreements. The funding was previously rescinded in the main budget bill, AB 107 (Gabriel). ACWA, the Northern California Water Association, the State Water Contractors and more than 40 other organizations successfully advocated to maintain nearly all funding for the Agreements.

• Discontinuation of Water Service:ACWA-sponsored AB 2599, authored by the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, passed the Legislature and is now before Gov. Newsom. The bill would incorporate agreed-upon amendments to SB 3 (Dodd, 2023), which made various changes to the Water Shutoff Protection Act, including granting the California Attorney General a restitution authority.