AgdaPkt 2002-03-25 - Laserfiche WebLink

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4' (Bay Area Water Reliability Financing Authority Act) Introduced on February 22, 2002 by Senator Speler The Act adds Division 31.7 (commencing with Section 81600) to the Water Code. The Lealslature finds and declares among other things that: · The City and County of San Francisco's regional water system provides water to 2.4 million Californians who live in Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara counties, and San Francisco (the City). More than two-thirds of them live outside the City. A substantial majority of industrial, commercial, institutional, and governmental users of the sys- tem are also located outside of San Francisco. · The regional water system is of vital importance to the health, welfare, safety and economy of the region and to the entire State of California. · The regional water system is old, designed to outdated seismic §tandards and is at risk of catastrophic failure in a major earthquake. · Many areas in all four counties face loss of water from the regional system for up to 60 days. Interruptions of this magnitude would be disastrous for public health and safety and for the regional and state economy. In addition, there could be severe flood damage and environmental harm. · The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is responsible for the re- gional water system, however the Commission doesn't have funds to carry out even a small portion of the work needed to fix the system. In addition, the Commission is prohibited from raising water rates to customers within the City until July 2006. · The state's concerns for the safety, health and economic strength of the region re- quire San Francisco to safeguard all Californians who live in the areas dependent on the regional water system. · It is the intent of the Legislature to enable local public entities in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties that rely on the regional water system, acting col- lectively, to secure funds to fix the system. They could make those funds available to San Francisco on mutually agreeable terms if San Francisco doesn't secure funding for and begin construction of the most critical seismic-safety projects. Formation of a new agency. The governing body of any one of the 26 public entities in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clare counties, identified in the Act, may, by a majority vote of its members, declare its intention to form a new agency with all of the other public entities. Each of the other public entities shall consider whether to form the agency and whether to become a member. Upon adoption of resolutions of the public entities to form and join the agency, the governing body of each public entity shall forward a certified copy of the resolution to the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County. If the Board of Supervi- sors determines that requirements to form the agency have been met, the Board shall de- clare that the agency has been formed.