SWEETWATER AUTHORITY
505 GARRETT AVENUE
CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA 91910
(619) 420-1413
FAX(619)425-7469
www.sweetwater.org
August 10, 2023
The Honorable Tasha Boerner
Member of the Assembly
State Capitol, Room 4150
Sacramento, CA 95814
SENT VIA E-MAIL: [email protected] Subject: AB 399: OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
Dear Assemblymember Boerner:
GOVERNING BOARD
HECTOR MARTINEZ, CHAIR
PAULINA MARTINEZ-PEREZ, VICE CHAIR
JOSIE CALDERON-SCOTT
STEVE CASTANEDA
MANNY DELGADO
RON MORRISON
DITAS YAMANE
CARLOS QUINTERO
GENERAL MANAGER
ROBERTO YANO
ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER
The Sweetwater Authority Governing Board took a unanimous "oppose unless amended" position on AB 399 during its Regular Meeting on August 9, 2023.
AB 399 raises a variety of public policy issues and concerns for Sweetwater Authority and poses a substantial precedent that could have material effect on other agencies' ability to exercise self-determination through the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) change of organization proceedings in the future. Some of the main concerns include:
• Conflict with legislative intent behind LAFCO laws. The Cortese-KnoxHertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act places great weight on the rights of individuals to determine the shape of their communities, including the structure, size, and scope of local government entities serving a community. As such, the current detachment procedure (election within the boundaries of the detaching agency) is essentially consistent with LAFCO intent, and the proposed expansion of the voting area under AB 399 would dilute the votes of those most affected by the proposal, and effectively disenfranchise the voters within those communities.
• AB 399 seeks to undermine the result of an ongoing three-year long LAFCO proceeding. The legislation - and specifically, the inclusion of an urgency clause - is intended to statutorily circumvent and up-end the LAFCO proceeding and its determinations regarding Fallbrook Public Utilities District (FPUD) and Rainbow Municipal Water District (RMWD), notwithstanding the fact that the proposed detachment has undergone an extensive, three-year data-driven process to arrive at its July 10 conclusion. AB 399 would establish a precedent that those not in agreement with a LAFCO decision can seek a politically-based legislative action to craft the conclusion they want on contentious LAFCO determinations.
A public water agency serving National City, Chula Vista and Bonita Honorable Tasha Boerner
Re: AB 399: Oppose Unless Amended
August 10, 2023
One of the fundamental outcomes during the multiple debates over the San Diego County Water Autority's (SDCWA) role in advancing AB 399 and the proposed detachment of FPUD and RMWD from the SDCWA, has been a growing acknowledgment that the voting structure at the SDCWA should be revisited to create greater parity among the member agencies. Currently, the County Water Authority Act only applies a weighted vote methodology, wherein a member agency's vote percentage/weight is based on the agency's all-in historical financial contributions to the SDCWA. Based on this weighted vote methodology, a few larger member agencies can carry a vote at the SDCWA even if a majority of member agencies vote contrary.
To remedy this lack of parity and incongruity in the voting and governance structure at the SDCWA Board of Directors, AB 399 should be amended to modify the SDCWA voting structure from a straight weighted-vote methodology, to a voting structure that requires both a concurrent majority of the weighted vote AND an affirmative vote by a majority of the total number of member agencies. This hybrid voting structure would allow:
• Reducing the dominance of agencies with large weighted votes. • Providing the small agencies with a governance voice that does not now exist. • Encouraging more effort at collaboration and compromise within the SDCWA Board process to achieve consensus.
We urge you to consider the proposed amendment to your proposed Assembly Bill 399.
Sincerely,
~uti
Carlos Quintero
General Manager
Sweetwater Authority
cc: Honorable Steve Padilla
Honorable David Alvarez
Honorable Akilah Weber
Honorable Marie Waldron
Dan Denham, Acting General Manager of SDCWA
SDCWA Board Members