City of Sacramento
Law and Legislation Committee Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-00656 9/16/2025
Legislative Advocacy Correspondence
File ID: 2025-00656
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Contact: Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, (916) 808-7395, [email protected], Office of the City Manager Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Legislative Advocacy Correspondence
Date Bill/Subject Author Description of Issue Position Notes/Status 8/26/25 SB 394 Allen Water Theft: Fire Hydrants Request for Signature Letter to the Governor 8/18/25 AB 564 Haney Cannabis Excise Tax: Rate Increase Repeal Support Senate Committee on Appropriations 8/18/25 SB 456 Ashby Community Beautification Act Support Assembly Committee on Appropriations 8/18/25 SB 639 Ashby Extension of Urban Level of Flood Protection Deadline Co-sponsor Assembly Committee on Appropriations 8/18/25 SB 720 Ashby Safer Streets Act Support Assembly Committee on Appropriations 8/18/25 SB 601 Allen Water: Waste Discharge
Oppose Unless
Amended
Assembly Committee on Appropriations -
Coalition letter
8/14/25 Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act Support Letter to U.S. Senator Padilla 8/13/25 AB 1223 Nguyen/Krell Sacramento Transportation Authority Modernization Support 7/30/25 AB 476 Gonzalez Metal Theft Support Senate Appropriations Committee 7/30/25 SB 466 Caballero Drinking Water: Hexavalent Chromium: Civil Liability: Exemption Support Assembly Appropriations Committee 7/28/25
Funding for The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) programs Support Letter to U.S. Senator Padilla 7/28/25 SB 346 Durazo
Local Agencies: Transient Occupancy Taxes: Short-Term Rental Facilitator Support
Position Letters 2025-2026
7/28/25
Funding for The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) programs Support Letter to U.S. Senator Schiff 7/11/25 SB 72 Caballero The Californis Water Plan: Long Term Supply Targets Support Assembly Appropriations Committee 7/9/25 AB 519 Berman Pet Broker Sales Support
7/8/25 SB 639 Ashby Extension of Urban Level of Flood Protection Deadline Co-sponsor Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and
Wildlife
7/7/25 SB 516 Ashby California Capital City Downtown Revitalization Act Support Assembly Committee on Local
Government
7/2/25 SB 720 Ashby Safer Streets Act Support Assembly Committee on Transportation 7/2/25 SB 466 Caballero Drinking Water: Hexavalent Chromium: Civil Liability: Exemption Support Senate Judiciary Committee 6/25/25 2025/26 Budget
Support for AB 102 and SB 102 - Funding for the Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Support
6/23/25 SB 394 Allen Water Theft: Fire Hydrants Support Assembly Judiciary Committee 6/20/25 AB 476 Gonzalez Metal Theft Support
Senate Business, Professions and Economic
Development Committee
6/20/25 AB 476 Gonzalez Metal Theft Support Senate Public Safety 6/16/25 SB 88 Caballero The Biomass Utilization for Carbon Reduction Act Support Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee
5/27/25 SB 466 Caballero Drinking Water: Hexavalent Chromium: Civil Liability: Exemption Support Senate Rules Committee 5/14/25 SB 682 Allen
Environmental health: product safety: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances Support Senate Appropriations Committee 5/2/25 AB 564 Haney Cannabis Excise Tax: Rate Increase Repeal Support Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee
4/30/25 AB 1232 Avila Farias
Administrative Procedure Act: Proposed Regulations: Cost of Living Impact on Residents of the State. Support Assembly Judiciary Committee 4/30/25 SB 516 Ashby California Capital City Downtown Revitalization Act Support 4/24/25 SB 370 Ashby California Music Festival Preservation Grant Program Support 4/24/25 SB 466 Caballero Drinking Water: Hexavalent Chromium: Civil Liability: Exemption Support 4/23/25 SB 720 Ashby Safer Streets Act Support Senate Judiciary Committee 4/22/25 SB 639 Ashby Extension of Urban Level of Flood Protection Deadline Co-sponsor Senate Local Government Committee 4/22/25 AB 532 Ransom Water rate assistance program Support Coalition letter 4/17/25 SB 454 McNerney State Water Resources Control Board: PFAS Mitigation Program Support Coalition letter 4/9/25 AB 476 M. González Metal Theft Support if Amended 4/9/25 AB 1232 Avila Farias
Administrative Procedure Act: Proposed Regulations: Cost of Living Impact on Residents of the State. Support
Assm. Economic Development, Growth &
Household Impact Committee
4/9/25 SB 431 Arreguin
Assault and Battery: Public Utility Employees and Essential Infrastructure Workers Support
3/28/25 SB 720 Ashby Safer Streets Act Support
Senate Transportation Committee. Would
create an opt-in automated red light traffic
enforcement system.
3/26/25 SB 639 Ashby Extension of Urban Level of Flood Protection Deadline Co-sponsor Senate Committee on Natural Resources
and Water
3/10/25 SB 456 Ashby Community Beautification Act Support Would exempt muralists from having to
obtain a contractor's license
3/10/25 H.R. 1267
Gluesenkamp
Perez & Maloy Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act Support 3/6/25 AB 516 Kalra Clarifying Veterinary Technician and Assistant Duties Support Coalition letter 3/6/25 SB 602 Cortese Expanding Veterinary Access in Shelters Support Coalition letter 3/10/25 AB 514 Petrie-Norris Emergency Water Supplies Support Coalition letter 3/4/25 State Budget Request to Amend Governor's Budget Proposal re Proposition 4 Support Coalition letter expressing concern re
Governor's proposal to backfill General
Fund commitments with Prop 4 funds
3/3/25 State Budget California Film and Tax Credit expansion Support 2/14/25
WaterSense
Program
Letter to U.S. EPA requesting continued funding and operation of the WaterSense program Support Coalition letter
July 2, 2025
Senator Thomas Umberg
Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3240
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 466 (CABALLERO) DRINKING WATER: HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM: CIVIL LIABILITY:
EXEMPTION – SUPPORT
Dear Senator Umberg:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write to express our support of SB 466 (Caballero), which seeks to prohibit a public water system from being held liable in any civil action related to hexavalent chromium in drinking water while implementing a state board-approved hexavalent chromium maximum contaminant level (MCL) compliance plan.
Public water systems operate under the California Safe Drinking Water Act and are regulated by the State Water Resources Control Board, who develop primary drinking water standards, and public water systems must comply. Some newly developed drinking water standards are extremely expensive to achieve, like hexavalent chromium. SB 466 helps provide “peace of mind” for a public water system in the process of complying with the hexavalent chromium drinking water standard by knowing that they will be able to avoid civil lawsuits related to the standard. This is especially important because public water systems are bound under Proposition 218 to have the entire cost of service to be evenly borne by all ratepayers and therefore costs to comply with drinking water standards directly impact the ratepayer’s bill. If civil liability is brought against the water system, those costs further exacerbate the cost of compliance.
SB 466, if enacted, would better allow the City to meet our water quality and water supply requirements in a cost-effective manner for our customers. For the reasons contained in this letter, the City is pleased to support SB 466. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Brian Sanders, Policy & Legislative Specialist at [email protected], or 916-420-0239.
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramen to City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 2, 2025
Assemblymember Lori Wilson
Chair, Assembly Committee on Transportation
1020 N Street, Room 112
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 720 (ASHBY) SAFER STREETS ACT - SUPPORT
Dear Senator Umberg:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in support of SB 720 (Ashby), the Safer Streets Act. SB 720 creates an opt-in program for local governments to utilize an automated red light traffic enforcement system.
Between 2013-2022, 324 people lost their lives on Sacramento streets and 837 were severely injured. Sacramento has the highest fatalities per 100k of large and mid-size cities in California, as shown below.
Through our Vision Zero Transportation Safety program, we apply many tools to address this crisis including infrastructure investments and education. Most recently in March 2025, the City of Sacramento City Council approved a small Transportation Safety Team that will focus on quick builds.
Infrastructure and education are not enough. Saving lives requires using the entire toolbox and red light cameras are a proven, effective enforcement method. As Sacramento and other California cities face budget challenges, our already strained Police Department struggles for capacity to address transportation safety. Use of automated systems will help us with enforcement as we continue to invest in infrastructure and education.
SB 720 would create the Safer Streets Program, a program with a more equitable approach to increasing safety for people walking, bicycling, and driving. The bill removes bias, ensuring collaboration with local partners, and establishing reasonable penalties that are civil rather than criminal.
Revenue from the Safer Streets Program would be invested back into the City for safer streets initiatives including programs and quick build interventions designed to save lives.
For the reasons stated above, the City respectfully requests your support of SB 720. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916- 808-7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 7, 2025
Assemblymember Juan Carrillo
Chair, Assembly Committee on Local Government
1020 N Street, Room 157
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 516 (ASHBY) CALIFORNIA CAPITAL CITY DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION ACT – SUPPORT Dear Assemblymember Carrillo:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write to express our support of SB 516 (Ashby), which will help catalyze housing production, increase higher educational and high-quality employment opportunities, and enhance economic diversification in downtown Sacramento through strategic multi-jurisdictional investment.
As the capital city of the nation’s largest state, Sacramento is u niquely reliant upon the state of California workforce due to the high concentration of department headquarters in and around downtown. Based on Department of General Services (DGS) and CoStar data, over 60% of downtown Sacramento’s total office market is owned or leased by California state agencies. A vast majority of those spaces are tax -exempt and do not generate property tax revenue which is needed to sustain essential services provided by local jurisdictions and to ensure a safe and attractive downtown core.
Through a continued focus on streamlining and providing incentives for housing production, Sacramento became the first municipality in the state to be designated as a pro-housing jurisdiction. Despite these pro-housing policies, the city achieved only 42% of the annual housing production identified by the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) in 2024. Approval and implementation of SB 516 will provide a sound foundation for attracting the resources needed to help deliver mid- to- high density housing projects at all levels of affordability in the neighborhoods surrounding the State Capitol and will serve as a model for a sustainable livability strategy which may be scaled in urban centers throughout the state.
Downtown Sacramento has seen an unprecedented level of interest o ver the past decade but the empty offices, lack of investment and declining values have left it struggling for an economic foothold. Without a strategic multi -jurisdictional partnership and f inancial participation at state and local levels, downtown Sacramento will miss the moment to create a sustainable future by increasing housing production and focusing on new economic and educational diversification. SB 516 provides the framework to accomplish these goals and solidify the future for the capital city’s central neighborhood.
For the reasons stated above, the City requests your support of SB 516. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at [email protected], or 916-808- 7395.
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 8, 2025
Assemblymember Diane Papan
Chair, Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife 1020 N Street, Room 160
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 639 (ASHBY) – CO-SPONSOR
Dear Assemblymember Papan:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in co-sponsorship of SB 639 (Ashby) which would extend the deadline for specified projects in the City and County of Sacramento to achieve the required urban level of flood protection from 2025 to 2030.
Background
As of July 1, 2016, provisions of the State Law (SB 5) and the City Code (17.810) have required the City to make specific findings prior to approving new development within a flood hazard zone. The purpose is to ensure that development p
rojects will have protection from a 200-year flood event or will achieve that protection by December 31, 2025.
The four possible findings are summarized as:
1. Ex
isting facilities provide ULOP in urban areas or meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standard in non-urbanized areas.
2. Conditions on the project will protect it to the applicable standard.
3. The local flood management agency has made adequate progress on a flood system providing the applicable level of protection. For urban and urbanizing areas protected by project levees, ULOP will be achieved by December 31, 2025.
4. The property in an undetermined risk area has met ULOP based on substantial evidence.
Ti
me Extension Required
All t
he capital improvements required to handle the State-defined 200-year event have been completed except for the following:
1. A por
tion of the Natomas levee improvements
2. A portion of the Beach Lake levee improvements
3. Sump 89 Outfall Replacement Project (City-led project) Whi
le these projects are anticipated to be completed in 2025, any delays in the complex U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit process and construction could lead to delaying completion past the end of 2025. Without an extension, the City would be facing a de facto suspension of approvals by imposing cost-prohibitive conditions for the majority of projects, such as requiring new buildings to be elevated 10 or more feet above ground level. There would be significant impacts to the City and our efforts to build more housing and other projects. For example, in the Natomas Sub-area there are several projects that could be delayed, including a new hospital and various residential projects, which together could add up to approximately 1,900 residential units. In the Beach Lake Sub-area, approximately 735 new residential units could be hindered.
Compliance can be achieved through an extension of the deadline through SB 639. Two such legislative extensions have already been adopted for the City of West Sacramento and Mossdale Tract in the CIty of Lathrop (San Joaquin County).
For the reasons stated above, the City is pleased to co-sponsor SB 639 and respectfully requests your support. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808- 7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 9, 2025
Assemblymember Marc Berman
1021 O Street, Suite 8130
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 519 (BERMAN) PET BROKER SALES – SUPPORT
Assemblymember Berman:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in support of AB 519. Misleading marketing tactics, predatory financial behaviors, and a gap in regulations are allowing online brokers to take advantage of consumers and allowing puppy mills to continue to reach Californians when searching for a new companion. AB 519 addresses this predatory behavior by prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits by third-party sellers, or “brokers”. By cutting out the middlemen, this bill is the next step toward eliminating the puppy mill pipeline into California.
AB 519 is part of a three-bill package focused on closing the final valve of the puppy mill pipeline into California. As highlighted in the LA Times investigation released this fall, misleading marketing tactics, predatory financial behaviors, and gaps in regulations are allowing online pet brokers to take advantage of California consumers, allowing puppy mills - a predatory industry that makes cruel breeding conditions profitable by misleading consumers with wholesome images and minimal information - to continue to reach Californians at a time when California shelters are overflowing with adoptable puppies, kittens, dogs and cats.
Third-party pet sellers, or brokers, facilitate the sale of commercially bred animals for profit, utilizing tactics such as requiring exorbitant nonrefundable deposits before disclosing any information about where an animal comes from, using misleading images and messaging to suggest an animal has been bred locally, and stating their animals come from only "gold standard" breeders (in actuality, the majority of breed associations, including the American Kennel Club, discourage or outright prohibit the use of brokers). Misled families often then find themselves dealing with the health and behavioral issues resulting from the conditions their new pet was raised and transported in.
Opposition to this bill claim that without brokers, residents will not be able to find their preferred breed of puppy, particularly hunters and sportsmen who rely on particular working breeds. This is simply not the case. Californians will still have access to countless breeders both within and outside California, along with breed-specific rescues and local shelters who are seeing more purebred dogs and puppies surrendered than any time in recent history.
Opponents also suggest that by being USDA-licensed, the commercial breeders they source from and the brokers they employ are highly regulated and ensure the highest level of welfare for the animals. This is absolutely not the case. A recent audit of USDA-licensed breeders and brokers found a severe lack of oversight and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, with animals frequently left to suffer in facilities - puppy mills - without proper veterinary care, food, clean water, or shelter.
At a time when our state’s shelters are overflowing with animals waiting for adoption, it is imperative that the state continue its commitment to shutting down the puppy mill pipeline into the state. For this reason, the City is pleased to support AB 519. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808-7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation Committee
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
July 11, 2025
The Honorable Buffy Wicks
Chair, Assembly Appropriations
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 72 (Caballero) The California Water Plan: long term supply targets – SUPPORT
Dear Chair Wicks,
The California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), California State Association of Counties (CSAC), and California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB) are very proud co-sponsors of SB 72 (Caballero). We, along with the coalition of organizations above, are pleased to support SB 72.
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
California is in a race against climate change, which is pressured by multi-year droughts, floods, fires, and other intensifying climate change impacts. Consequently, there is an urgent need for California to develop aspirational targets that will complement and amplify Governor Newsom’s Water Supply Strategy and extend beyond any single Administration. Given the extreme climate impacts of the 21st century, an expanding economy, a growing population, the anticipated reductions from existing water resources, and the controls on the use of groundwater, California needs to align the state’s water supply strategy and policies with a target that will result in an adequate and reliable water supply for all beneficial uses including the environment, agriculture, the economy, and all Californians. Recent research estimates a shortfall in California’s future water supply between 4.6 and 9 million acre-feet annually by 2050 if the state takes no action.
SB 72 is the mechanism that will help California keep up with the impacts of climate change on our water supply. SB 72 directs the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to modernize the California Water Plan and develop a target for water supply to achieve in 2040 and beyond. The fiscal impacts of this bill are minor compared to the agricultural and business loss costs of the State for not passing this legislation. A new UC study titled “Inaction’s Economic Cost for California’s Water Supply Challenges” (released May 2025) estimates that without better management, California faces up to $14.5 billion a year in economic loss and 67,000 jobs lost annually. Inaction isn’t just an environmental risk – it threatens California’s job market and economic wellbeing.
SB 72 will establish excellent policy because it will bring about the fundamental changes that are necessary to ensure a sustainable water future. SB 72 will do the following:
• Transform water management in California taking us from a perpetual state of supply vulnerability to a reliable and sufficient water supply that is adequate for all beneficial uses, including urban, agriculture, and the environment.
• Create a new “North Star” water supply planning target for 2040 that the state will need to work toward, along with a process to develop a target for 2050. • Preserve the California way of life, supplying water to our homes and communities, habitat and environment, recreation and tourism, and business and economic success. • Support economic vitality for all businesses, from restaurants to technology companies, and employers that depend on a reliable water supply.
• Fulfill the generational responsibility to develop a water system that will adapt to changes in the environment and allow the state to thrive now and for future generations.
The California Water Plan is the strategic plan for managing and developing water resources for current and future generations in the state. SB 72 works within the structure of the current California Water Plan, which hasn’t been meaningfully updated for decades. SB 72 updates the California Water Plan for a 21st century climate. The costs to implement SB 72 should not be a barrier to passing a monumentally important piece of legislation for the future of California.
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
For these reasons, we urge your support for SB 72. If you have any questions about our position, please contact Andrea Abergel with CMUA at [email protected] or (916) 841-4060.
Sincerely,
Andrea Abergel
Director of Water
California Municipal Utilities Association
Graham Knaus
Executive Director
California State Association of Counties
Tim Carmichael
President/CEO
CCEEB
Debbie Murdock
Executive Director
Association of California Egg Farmers
Julia Bishop Hall
Senior Legislative Advocate
Association of California Water Agencies
Adrian Covert
Senior VP, Public Policy
Bay Area Council
Steve Lenton
General Manager
Bellflower Somerset Mutual Water Company
Nicole Helms
Executive Director
California Alfalfa and Forage Association
Todd W. Sanders
Executive Director
California Apple Commission
Claudia Carter
Executive Director
California Association of Wheat Growers
Natalie Collins
President
California Association of Winegrape Growers
Jane Townsend
Executive Director
California Bean Shippers Association
Todd Sanders
Executive Director
California Blueberry Association
Dan Dunmoyer
President and CEO
California Building Industry Association
Kristopher Anderson
Policy Advocate
California Chamber of Commerce
Roger Isom
President/CEO
California Cotton Ginners and Growers Assoc.
Alex Biering
Senior Policy Advocate
California Farm Bureau
Daniel Hartwig
President
California Fresh Fruit Association
Chris Zanobini
President/CEO
California Grain and Feed Association
Lance Hastings
President & CEO
California Manufacturers & Technology Assoc.
Chris Zanobini
Executive Director
California Pear Growers Association
Chris Zanobini
Executive Vice-President
California Seed Association
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
Ann Quinn
Executive Vice President
California State Floral Association
Robert Verloop
Executive Director/CEO
California Walnuts
Ann Quinn
Executive Vice President
California Warehouse Association
Sharron Zoller
President
California Women for Agriculture
Kristine McCaffrey
General Manager
Calleguas Municipal Water District
Tom Moody
General Manager
City of Corona
Patricia Lock Dawson
Mayor
City of Riverside
Elizabeth Espinosa
County of Riverside
J. M. Barrett
General Manager
Coachella Valley Water District
John Bosler, P.E.
General Manager and CEO
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Mark Orcutt
President & CEO
East Bay Leadership Council
Joe Mouawad, P.E.
General Manager
Eastern Municipal Water District
Jim Abercrombie
General Manager
El Dorado Irrigation District
Greg Thomas
General Manager
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
Joe Gagliardi
Chief Executive Officer
Folsom Chamber of Commerce
Jason Phillips
CEO
Friant Water Authority
Christopher Valdez
President
Grower-Shipper Association
Paul Cook
General Manager
Irvine Ranch Water District
David Pedersen
General Manager
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
Matt Hurley
General Manager
McMullin Area GSA
Paul Shoenberger, P.E.
General Manager
Mesa Water District
Kevin Abernathy
Manager
Milk Producers Council
Jimi Netniss
General Manager
Modesto Irrigation District
Justin Scott-Coe
General Manager
Monte Vista Water District
Patrick Ellis
ACE/ President/CEO
Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce
John Kabateck
State Director
National Federation of Independent Business
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
Joanne Webster
Chief Executive Officer
North Bay Leadership Council
David Guy
Executive Director
Northern California Water Association
Todd Sanders
Executive Director
Olive Growers Council of California
Kim Thorner
General Manager
Olivenhain Municipal Water District
Chris Zanobini
Executive Officer
Pacific Coast Renderers Association
Debbie Murdock
Executive Director
Pacific Egg and Poultry Association
Dennis LaMoreaux
General Manager
Palmdale Water District
Jason Martin
Interim General Manager
Rancho California Water District
Jon Switalski
Executive Director
Rebuild So-Cal Partnership
Tom Coleman
General Manager
Rowland Water District
Lisa Yamashita-Lopez
General Manager
Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association
Amanda Blackwood
President & CEO
Sac Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Miguel J. Guerrero
P.E. General Manager
San Bernardino Municipal Water Department
Heather Dyer
General Manager
San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District
Paul Helliker
General Manager
San Juan Water District
Matt Stone
General Manager
Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency
Chris Lee
General Manager
Solano County Water Agency
Peter M. Rietkerk
General Manager
South San Joaquin Irrigation District
Eric McLeod
Chair
Southwest California Legislative Council
Justin M. Hopkins
General Manager
Stockton East Water District
Jeff R. Pape
General Manager
Temescal Valley Water District
Matthew Litchfield
General Manager
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Fernando Paludi
General Manager
Trabuco Canyon Water District
Brad Koehn
General Manager
Turlock Irrigation District
Kirti Mutatkar
President & CEO
United Ag
Vince Gin, P.E.
Deputy Operating Officer
Valley Water
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
Elizabeth Howard Espinosa
UCC Advocacy Team
Urban Counties of California
Bob Reeb
Executive Director
Valley Ag Water Coalition
Gary Arant
General Manager
Valley Center Municipal Water District
Erik Hutchman
P.E. General Manager
Walnut Valley Water District
E.J. Caldwell
General Manager
West Basin Municipal Water District
Valerie Pryor
General Manager
Zone 7 Water Agency
Roger Isom
President/CEO
Western Agricultural Processors Association
Dave Puglia
President & CEO
Western Growers
Sharon Haligan
Director, Administrative Services
Western Plant Health
Craig Miller
General Manager
Western Municipal Water District
Norman Huff
General Manager
Camrosa Water District
Chris Berch
General Manager
Jurupa Community Services District
Brian R. Laddusaw
General Manager
Rubidoux Community Services District
James Prior
General Manager
San Gabriel County Water District
Jeff Mosher
General Manager
Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
Jose Martinez
General Manager
Valley County Water District
John Thiel
General Manager
West Valley Water District
Sarah Wiltfong
Director of Advocacy
BizFed Los Angeles County
Amber Bolden
Director of Communications
Black Voice News
Jeff Montejano
CEO
Building Industry Assoc. of Southern CA
Mandip Samra
General Manager
Burbank Water and Power
Melanie Barker
President
California Association of Realtors
Robert C. Lapsley
President
California Business Roundtable
Greg Johnson
President
California Farm Water Coalition
Julian Canete
President and CEO
California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
Jennifer Capitolo
Executive Director
California Water Association
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
Sheri Merrick
Executive Director
Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce
Jeremy Smith
Council Member
City of Canyon Lake
Joe Males
Mayor
City of Hemet
Natasha Johnson
Council Member
City of Lake Elsinore
Chris Barajas
Council Member
City of Jurupa Valley
Dr. Lisa DeForest
Mayor Pro Tem
City of Murrieta
Paul Leon
Mayor
City of Ontario
Daniel E. Garcia
Interim General Manager
City of Riverside Public Utilities
Connie Stopher
Executive Director
Economic Development Coalition
Ana Martin
Governmental Affairs Manager
Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce
Eric Keen
Chairman of Board of Directors
HDR Engineering
Jack Monger
CEO
Industrial Environmental Association
Wes Andree
Executive Director
Jurupa Mountain Discovery Center
Ana Martin
Staff Liaison
Monday Morning Group of Riverside
Judi Penman
President & CEO
San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce
Luis Portillo
President & CEO
San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
Aziz Amiri
CEO
San Gabriel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce
Adam Ruiz
Governmental Affairs Director
SRCAR
Molly Kirkland
Director of Public Affairs
Southern CA Rental Housing Association
Stephan Tucker
General Manager
Water Replenishment District
Steve Johnson
General Manager
Desert Water Agency
Jared Macias
Administrative Office
Puente Basin Water Agency
Melissa Sparks-Kranz, MPP
Legislative Affairs Lobbyist
League of California Cities
Dan Denham
General Manager
San Diego County Water Authority
David M. Merritt
General Manager
Kings River Conservation District
Steven Haugen
Watermaster
Kings River Water Association
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
Kat Wuelfing
General Manager
Mid-Peninsula Water District
Jennifer Pierre
General Manager
State Water Contractors
Mauricio Guardado
General Manager
United Water Conservation District
Robb Grantham
General Manager
Santa Margarita Water District
Harvey De La Torre
General Manager
Municipal Water District of Orange County
Charles Wilson
Executive Director
Southern California Water Coalition
Glenn Farrel
Executive Director
CalDesal
Casey Creamer
President
California Citrus Mutual
Tricia Geringer
Vice President of Government Affairs
Agricultural Council of California
John Urdi
Executive Director
Mammoth Lakes Tourism
Lacy Schoen
President/CEO
Brea Chamber of Commerce
Gina Molinaro-Cardera
Board Supervisor
Dublin Chamber of Commerce
Lance Eckhart
General Manager
San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency
Jim Piefer
Executive Director
Regional Water Authority
Federico Barajas
Executive Director
San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority
Ernesto A. Avila
Board President
Contra Costa Water District
Caroline Schirato
Board Chair
Utica Water and Power Authority
Julee Malinowski-Ball
Lobbyist for
California Fire Chiefs Association
Julee Malinowski-Ball
Lobbyist for
Fire Districts Association of California
Justin Caporusso
Executive Director
Mountain Counties Water Resources Assoc
Brenley McKenna
Managing Director
WateReuse California
Randy Schoellerman
President
California Groundwater Coalition
Neil McCormick
CEO
California Special Districts Association
Krista Bernasconi
Mayor
City of Roseville
Tim Worley
Managing Director
Community Water Systems Alliance
SB 72 Coalition Support – Assembly Appropriations
Sue Mosburg
Executive Director
CA-NV AWWA
Jacob Asare
State Government Affairs Manager
Associated Equipment Distributors
Deven Upadhyay
General Manager
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California
Shivaji Deshmukh, P .E.
General Manager
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Jessica Gauger
Director of Legislative Advocacy & Public Affairs
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
Craig Kessler
Executive Director
California Alliance for Golf
Carlos Quintero
General Manager
Sweetwater Authority
Caity Maple
Councilmember – District 5
City of Sacramento
Austin Ewell
Executive Director
Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley
Advocacy Fund
Ted Trimble
General Manager
Western Canal Water District
Jeff Payne
Assistant General Manager
Westlands Water District
Eric Will
Policy Advocate
Rural County Representatives of California
William Vanderwaal
General Manager
Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority
Mauricio Guardado
General Manager
United Water ConservationDistrict
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 28, 2025
The Honorable Adam Schiff
U.S. Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Schiff:
As a municipal water utility striving to provide safe and affordable drinking water to our customers, the City of Sacramento (City) urges you to support robust funding for the infrastructure programs that utilities around the country rely on. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) programs offer critical financing to the water sector and play an important role in protecting public health, the economy, and our country’s national security.
The DWSRF and CWSRF empower states and local communities by providing funds that can be tailored to their specific needs. By offering low-cost financing with flexible terms, the SRFs give communities of all sizes the opportunity to build safe and reliable water infrastructure – an opportunity they may not otherwise have without the program.
SRF funds are allocated to states based on information collected through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA) and Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS). States then distribute the funds to water systems for high priority projects that achieve the health protection objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act and water quality objectives of the Clean Water Act.
The WIFIA program complements the SRFs by providing credit assistance for larger, more capital-intensive projects.
WIFIA offers low-cost, long-term loans that can be combined with other sources of funding to help accelerate water infrastructure investment. The competitive program covers the credit subsidy for loans to creditworthy entities.
Because the average water utility has a strong credit rating and a low risk of default, every dollar appropriated to WIFIA by the federal government supports up to $100 in infrastructure investment. WIFIA loans are then repaid to the U.S. Treasury, ensuring that the total cost to the federal government is minimal.
EPA’s latest DWINSA and CWNS estimate that drinking water and wastewater utilities will need to invest nearly $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years to repair, replace, and expand the nation’s water infrastructure. All of these programs play an integral role in helping utilities meet that need while managing rising costs and growing affordability concerns.
As you consider funding priorities for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the City requests that you provide at least $3.25 billion for both the DWSRF and CWSRF, the maximum amount authorized, and at least $72 million for WIFIA, the amount provided in FY 2025.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. If you would like additional information on the City’s support for SRF and WIFIA funding levels, please contact Anne Sanger, Government Affairs Program Manager for the Department of Utilities at 916-808-5378 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 28, 2025
Senator Maria Elena Durazo
1021 O Street, Suite 7530
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 346 (DURAZO) LOCAL AGENCIES: TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES: SHORT-TERM RENTAL FACILITATOR – SUPPORT
Dear Senator Durazo:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in support of SB 346, which would better equip cities to enforce local ordinances related to short-term rentals, including the collection and remittance of transient occupancy taxes (TOT).
Short-term rentals are regulated exclusively at the local level via the adoption of an ordinance that often includes regulations on permitting, tax compliance, noise, parking, occupancy, as well as other responsibilities for hosts and short-term rental facilitators. In some instances, ordinances limit the number of short-term rentals allowed to operate lawfully, other ordinances ban short-term rentals entirely.
Short-term rentals can present numerous challenges to neighborhoods and adjacent property owners. They may create additional noise, traffic, parking, and public safety issues, decrease available housing stock, and in some cases turn residential neighborhoods into de-facto hotel rows, collectively creating additional demands on local public service providers.
Unfortunately, the enforcement of TOT ordinances and the collection and remittance of these taxes from short-term rentals can be inconsistent, even when voluntary collection agreements are in place with a short-term rental facilitator.
Cities lack access to property addresses or other property-related information, even under these agreements, resulting in a difficult choice to either accept tax payments without any way to verify their accuracy and legality or attempt to collect taxes directly from property owners—a costly and time-consuming process. Meanwhile, short-term rental facilitators have full knowledge of these properties’ locations and resist disclosing this information. Cities can only compel short-term rental facilitators to disclose this critical information through certain legal action, such as subpoenas. This is not how oversight of public dollars should work.
SB 346 would address the above issues by providing cities with the physical address of each short-term rental listed on the facilitator’s website and full audit authority of TOT dollars. These changes would ensure the correct amount of TOT is being collected and remitted and would allow for more efficient enforcement against unlicensed units. The City has a local ordinance requiring short-term rental platforms provide us information and SB 346 is in alignment with what the City requests locally.
For the reasons stated above, the City is pleased to support SB 346. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808-7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 28, 2025
The Honorable Alex Padilla
U.S. Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Padilla:
As a municipal water utility striving to provide safe and affordable drinking water to our customers, the City of Sacramento (City) urges you to support robust funding for the infrastructure programs that utilities around the country rely on. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) programs offer critical financing to the water sector and play an important role in protecting public health, the economy, and our country’s national security.
The DWSRF and CWSRF empower states and local communities by providing funds that can be tailored to their specific needs. By offering low-cost financing with flexible terms, the SRFs give communities of all sizes the opportunity to build safe and reliable water infrastructure – an opportunity they may not otherwise have without the program.
SRF funds are allocated to states based on information collected through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA) and Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS). States then distribute the funds to water systems for high priority projects that achieve the health protection objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act and water quality objectives of the Clean Water Act.
The WIFIA program complements the SRFs by providing credit assistance for larger, more capital-intensive projects.
WIFIA offers low-cost, long-term loans that can be combined with other sources of funding to help accelerate water infrastructure investment. The competitive program covers the credit subsidy for loans to creditworthy entities.
Because the average water utility has a strong credit rating and a low risk of default, every dollar appropriated to WIFIA by the federal government supports up to $100 in infrastructure investment. WIFIA loans are then repaid to the U.S. Treasury, ensuring that the total cost to the federal government is minimal.
EPA’s latest DWINSA and CWNS estimate that drinking water and wastewater utilities will need to invest nearly $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years to repair, replace, and expand the nation’s water infrastructure. All of these programs play an integral role in helping utilities meet that need while managing rising costs and growing affordability concerns.
As you consider funding priorities for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the City requests that you provide at least $3.25 billion for both the DWSRF and CWSRF, the maximum amount authorized, and at least $72 million for WIFIA, the amount provided in FY 2025.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. If you would like additional information on the City’s support for SRF and WIFIA funding levels, please contact Anne Sanger, Government Affairs Program Manager for the Department of Utilities at 916-808-5378 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation Committee
July 30, 2025
Assembly Member Buffy Wicks
Chair, Assembly Committee on Appropriations
1021 O Street, Room 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 466 (CABALLERO) DRINKING WATER: HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM: CIVIL LIABILITY:
EXEMPTION – SUPPORT
Dear Assembly Member Wicks:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write to express our support of SB 466 (Caballero), which seeks to prohibit a public water system from being held liable in any civil action related to hexavalent chromium in drinking water while implementing a state board-approved hexavalent chromium maximum contaminant level (MCL) compliance plan.
Public water systems operate under the California Safe Drinking Water Act and are regulated by the State Water Resources Control Board, who develop primary drinking water standards, and public water systems must comply. Some newly developed drinking water standards are extremely expensive to achieve, like hexavalent chromium. SB 466 helps provide “peace of mind” for a public water system in the process of complying with the hexavalent chromium drinking water standard by knowing that they will be able to avoid civil lawsuits related to the standard. This is especially important because public water systems are bound under Proposition 218 to have the entire cost of service to be evenly borne by all ratepayers and therefore costs to comply with drinking water standards directly impact the ratepayer’s bill. If civil liability is brought against the water system, those costs further exacerbate the cost of compliance.
SB 466, if enacted, would better allow the City to meet our water quality and water supply requirements in a cost-effective manner for our customers. For the reasons contained in this letter, the City is pleased to support SB 466. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Brian Sanders, Policy & Legislative Specialist at [email protected], or 916-420-0239.
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramen to City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
July 30, 2025
Senator Anna Caballero
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 412
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 476 (GONZALEZ) METAL THEFT – SUPPORT
Dear Senator Caballero:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write to offer a Support position on AB 476 (González), which seeks to establish limitations on the types of materials that junk dealers and/or recyclers are authorized possess that was owned or previously owned by an agency, in the absence of a written certification on the letterhead of the agency owning or previously owning the material, that the agency has either sold the material described or is offering the material for sale, salvage, or recycling, and that the person possessing the certification and identified in the certification is authorized to sell that material. The City appreciates the collaboration with the author and sponsors that has allowed us to move to a full Support position.
Public infrastructure is crucial to protecting lives and maintaining quality of life for our residents. Adequate infrastructure ensures that both public and private spaces are safeguarded against potential climate change threats and natural disasters.
Furthermore, water supply, sewer, and stormwater systems are essential for effective emergency response and climate resilience efforts. Having these essential infrastructure assets in place, and are secure, functional, and accessible, enhances emergency response and community resilience. Making it harder for those who illicitly obtain these critical infrastructure components to sell them to junk dealers and recyclers helps ensure the safety and quality of life of our communities.
AB 476, if enacted, can help provide an additional roadblock for those who engage in the theft of critical infrastructure components for the purpose of selling the materials to junk dealers and recyclers. If this bill leads to a reduction in the frequency of theft, this will lessen the potential burden on our ratepayers (for Prop 218) for those served by publicly owned utilities. The City believes that having infrastructure that is free from vandalism and theft is crucial for economic development, job creation, and public safety.
For these reasons, the City of Sacramento is pleased to offer a Support position on AB 476. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Brian Sanders, Policy & Legislative Specialist, at [email protected] or 916- 420-0239.
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramen to City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
August 13, 2025
Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen
1021 O Street, Suite 5720
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 1223 (NGUYEN/KRELL) SACRAMENTO TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY MODERNIZATION – SUPPORT
Dear Assemblymember Nguyen:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in support of AB 1223, which would make changes to the Sacramento Transportation Authority’s (STA) ability to impose a transactions and use tax (TUT) and the allowable expenditures from a TUT imposed by STA. AB 1223 also would authorize STA to issue bonds to finance costs of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or other toll facilities within Sacramento County.
AB 1223 would provide STA the flexibility to propose transportation funding measures in specific areas and ensure that revenue stays in the communities that voted for it. Currently, STA can only propose sales tax measures for the entire county. AB 1223 would allow communities to pursue sub-regional funding mechanisms tailored to their priorities, allowing City leaders to advance needed transportation projects.
AB 1223 also would expand the scope of what transportation authorities are authorized to fund with revenue generated by a TUT. Adding projects that support infill or transit-oriented development in areas nominated by local governments would better enable the City to meet our housing, economic growth and climate goals.
AB 1223 would provide the tools needed to address the City’s and our region’s transportation challenges. For this reason, the City is pleased to support AB 1223. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808-7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
August 14, 2025
The Honorable Alex Padilla
U.S. Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
RE: SUPPORT THE LIHWAP ESTABLISHMENT ACT
Dear Senator Padilla:
Thank you for your past leadership introducing and supporting the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program, known as LIHWAP. As a public drinking water system serving constituents in your state, the City of Sacramento urges you to once again support efforts to permanently enshrine low-income water and wastewater ratepayer aid in the federal safety net.
Communities across the country face hundreds of billions of dollars of costs in the coming decades to maintain and upgrade their water and wastewater systems. The vast majority of water and wastewater system investment will continue to be borne by local water ratepayers - posing significant challenges to individuals and households at the lower end of the income scale.
To date LIHWAP has helped more than 1.7 million households nationwide maintain or restore water service. But LIHWAP was only established as a temporary program, and its initial $1.1 billion appropriation expired at the end of the 2023 fiscal year. As a result, without further congressional action water rate assistance will no longer be part of the federal safety net, putting hundreds of thousands of households at risk of losing their water services.
Additionally, it is important that the Health and Human Services Agency continue its important work of allocating funding to states and tribes for distribution to drinking water and wastewater systems to offset the bills and arrearages of qualifying low-income customers.
Thank you for your leadership on this issue. If you have any questions, please contact Anne Sanger, Government Affairs Program Manager for the Department of Utilities at 916-808-5378 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation Committee
August 18, 2025
The Honorable Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
SUBJECT: SB 601 (Allen): WATER: WASTE DISCHARGE
OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED – AS AMENDED MAY 5, 2025
Dear Chair Wicks,
On behalf of a coalition of organizations that provide vital water, sewer, stormwater and sanitation services to all Californians, the organizations listed must respectively Oppose SB 601 (Allen), Unless Amended.
We are thankful to the author for ongoing dialogue and conversation, with a focus on the author’s stated intent of maintaining status quo with the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS), prior to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (Sackett) issued in May 2023.
We are also committed to supporting the implementation of the Governor’s Water Supply Strategy (August 2022), which calls for expanded local stormwater capture projects in cities and towns with the goal of increasing annual supply capacity by at least 250,000 acre-feet by 2030 and 500,000 acre-feet by 2040 and also to recycle and reuse at least 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030.
However, SB 601 currently contains a definition for “nexus waters” that is not yet consistent with maintaining status quo prior to the Sackett decision, and would present barriers to stormwater capture projects that would advance the Water Supply Strategy. As these changes are foundational to the underlying law for all water regulation in California, the implications of such changes, and potential unintended consequences, are critical to resolve prior to action by the Legislature.
SB 601 proposes to regulate, under state law, all waterbodies that previously fell under the federal definition of WOTUS as “nexus waters.” However, the way SB 601 defines “nexus waters” is fundamentally different from how WOTUS has historically been defined by Federal administrative guidance and the courts. Under federal law, WOTUS is defined by specifying which waters are included. In contrast, SB 601 takes an inverse approach – defining all waters as “nexus waters” unless they are explicitly exempted. This inversion significantly broadens applicability and could extend to waterbodies that were never considered WOTUS, even prior to the Sackett decision.
Because the bill would effectively pre-determine jurisdiction over waterbodies by default, rather than through case-by- case determinations, it creates uncertainty and could subject stormwater capture and critical water infrastructure projects to unnecessary and unintended regulatory barriers. To ensure the definition of “nexus waters” is workable for all waste discharge permittees – it must include clear and explicit exemptions consistent with historical understanding of WOTUS determinations. This level of clarity, which we have consistently requested under the federal WOTUS framework, becomes even more critical under SB 601’s structure. These exemptions are essential for maintaining the intended status quo, supporting the implementation of California’s Water Supply Strategy, and avoiding significant impediments to municipal water, wastewater and stormwater programs across the state. Without these changes, municipalities and water agencies across the state will be burdened with significant compliance challenges and legal costs that will inevitably be passed on to public utility ratepayers at a time when California is already grappling with affordability challenges.
Requested Amendments
To address these foundational concerns, we are requesting the following amendments:
• Ensure consistency with WOTUS definition pre-Sackett:
o Add language that specifically exempts all waters that would have been considered jurisdictional under the WOTUS definition issued on January 18, 2023
o Ensure prospective nexus water determinations have a clear process consistent with jurisdictional determinations under the WOTUS definition issued on January 18, 2023. • Specifically exempt certain water supply, treatment and stormwater infrastructure:
o Add an additional exemption for stormwater control features constructed to convey, treat, or store stormwater designed to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act (including permits issued pursuant to CWA section 402(p)).
o Add to an existing exemption (7) stormwater capture and treatment systems o Provide an exemption for artificial water infrastructure consistent with prior WOTUS pre-Sackett guidance and interpretation.
• Clarify applicable water quality standards: Narrow Section 4 to only water quality standards approved by USEPA as the State Water Board’s approved standards are already applicable under existing state law. • Address affordability concerns with penalty provisions: Remove provisions in Section 8 that provide significant, unnecessary inflationary adjustments to a large swath of penalties imposed on waste discharge permittees, which could result in additional cost burdens for California communities and their ratepayers.
In summary, while we appreciate the author's intent to maintain regulatory consistency following the Sackett decision, SB 601's current "nexus waters" definition creates an overly broad framework that extends beyond historical WOTUS jurisdiction and threatens California's critical water supply goals. We respectfully urge the committee to require the requested amendments to ensure proper exemptions for stormwater infrastructure, maintain true consistency with pre-Sackett WOTUS definitions, and support the Governor's Water Supply Strategy. Our coalition believes these amendments are imperative to achieving the reasonable interpretation and implementation of this bill. With these targeted changes, SB 601 can achieve its environmental protection objectives without creating unintended barriers to the water supply projects California desperately needs. Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Karen Cowan, Executive Director, California Stormwater Quality Association Melissa Sparks-Kranz, League of Cities
Jessica Gauger, California Association of Sanitation Agencies Mayor Todd Gloria, City of San Diego
Stephanie Reyna-Hiestand, Assistant Director – Utilities, City of Tracy Rob Carson, Stormwater Program Administrator, Marin Countywide Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program Caity Maple, Council Member District 5, Chair Law & Legislation Committee, City of Sacramento Keith Hoey, City Engineer, City of Long Beach
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Sacramento
City of Santa Rosa
County of Riverside
City and County of San Mateo Council of Governments
Alameda Clean Water Program
California State Association of Counties
CC: Nikita Korradi, Assembly Appropriations Committee
August 18, 2025
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
Chair, Assembly Committee on Appropriations
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 720 (ASHBY) SAFER STREETS ACT - SUPPORT
Dear Assemblymember Wicks:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in support of SB 720 (Ashby), the Safer Streets Act. SB 720 creates an opt-in program for local governments to utilize an automated red light traffic enforcement system.
Between 2013-2022, 324 people lost their lives on Sacramento streets and 837 were severely injured. Sacramento has the highest fatalities per 100k of large and mid-size cities in California, as shown below.
Through ou
r Vision Zero Transportation Safety program, we apply many tools to address this crisis including infrastructure investments and education. Most recently in March 2025, the City of Sacramento City Council approved a small Transportation Safety Team that will focus on quick builds.
Infrastructure and education are not enough. Saving lives requires using the entire toolbox and red light cameras are a proven, effective enforcement method. As Sacramento and other California cities face budget challenges, our already strained Police Department struggles for capacity to address transportation safety. Use of automated systems will help us with enforcement as we continue to invest in infrastructure and education.
SB
720 would create the Safer Streets Program, a program with a more equitable approach to increasing safety for people walking, bicycling, and driving. The bill removes bias, ensuring collaboration with local partners, and establishing reasonable penalties that are civil rather than criminal.
Revenue from the Safer Streets Program would be invested back into the City for safer streets initiatives including programs and quick build interventions designed to save lives.
For the reasons stated above, the City respectfully requests your support of SB 720. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808- 7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
August 18, 2025
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
Chair, Assembly Committee on Appropriations
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 639 (ASHBY) – CO-SPONSOR
Dear Assemblymember Wicks:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in co -sponsorship of SB 639 (Ashby) which would extend the deadline for specified projects in the City of Sacramento, the Counties of Sacramento and Sutter, and the City of Marysville to achieve the required urban level of flood protection from 2025 to 2030.
Background
As of July 1, 2016, provisions of the State Law (SB 5) and the City Code (17.810) have required the City to make specific findings prior to approving new development within a flood hazard zone. The purpose is to ensure that development projects will have protection from a 200-year flood event or will achieve that protection by December 31, 2025.
The four possible findings are summarized as:
1. Exi
sting facilities provide ULOP in urban areas or meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standard in non-urbanized areas.
2. Conditions on the project will protect it to the applicable standard.
3. The local flood management agency has made adequate progress on a flood system providing the applicable level of protection. For urban and urbanizing areas protected by project levees, ULOP will be achieved by December 31, 2025.
4. The property in an undetermined risk area has met ULOP based on substantial evidence.
Tim
e Extension Required
All th
e capital improvements required to handle the State-defined 200-year event have been completed except for the following:
1. A port
ion of the Natomas levee improvements
2. A portion of the Beach Lake levee improvements
3. Sump 89 Outfall Replacement Project (City-led project) Whil
e these projects are anticipated to be completed in 2025, any delays in the complex U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit process and construction could lead to delaying completion past the end of 2025. Without an extension, the City would be facing a de facto suspension of approvals by imposing cost-prohibitive conditions for the majority of projects, such as requiring new buildings to be elevated 10 or more feet above ground level. There would be significant impacts to the City and our efforts to build more housing and other projects. For example, in the Natomas Sub-area there are several projects that could be delayed, including a new hospital and various residential projects, which together could add up to approximately 1,900 residential units. In the Beach Lake Sub-area, approximately 735 new residential units could be hindered.
Compliance can be achieved through an extension of the deadline through SB 639. Two such legislative extensions have already been adopted for the City of West Sacramento and Mossdale Tract in the CIty of Lathrop (San Joaquin County).
F
or the reasons stated above, the City is pleased to co-sponsor SB 639 and respectfully requests your support. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808- 7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
August 18, 2025
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
Chair, Assembly Committee on Appropriations
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
RE: SB 456 (ASHBY) COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION ACT - SUPPORT Dear Assemblymember Wicks:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write to express our support of SB 456. This bill would permit an artise to create a mural, as defined, without a license from the California State Licensing Board (CSLB).
The City recognizes that public art and murals are proven drivers of community and economic health, attracting tourists, supporting jobs, generating revenue, and improving public safety and well-being. However, in 2023, public notices began being issued to municipalities indicating that muralists fall within the definition of a "contractor" under Business and Professions Code section 7026. As a result, muralists must carry a contractor's license if they undertake a mural on a building for more than $500.
Additionally, per Business and Professions Code section 7028.15 (e), city staff may be fined for knowingly hiring an unlicensed muralist. Due to these licensure requirements, cities across California have had to cease or stall the implementation of mural projects.
To qualify for these commercial licenses, muralists must accumulate four years of specialized experience under a licensed contractor, pass the Law and Business examination, and pay annual licensing fees. These requirements create unnecessary barriers to work on public art projects and expose city employees and artists to fines if such requirements are not met.
Muralists provide a fundamentally different service than a painting contractor, as their work is an artistic expression rather than addressing the structural integrity of a building. It is appropriate to provide a narrow exception to the state’s licensing requirements for muralists, as SB 456 seeks to provide them with the flexibility to continue their artistic expression.SB 456 would provide a critical step for artists living and working in Sacramento to support themselves while developing the City’s arts scene though successful projects such as the Wide Open Walls mural festival.
Should you have any questions about our support, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808-7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Councilmember Caity Maple
City of Sacramento, District 5
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
August 18, 2025
Senator Anna Caballero
Chair, Senate Committee on Appropriations
State Capitol, Room 412
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 564 (HANEY) CANNABIS EXCISE TAX: RATE INCREASE REPEAL - SUPPORT
Dear Senator Caballero:
On behalf of the City of Sacramento (City), I write in support of AB 564 (Haney). AB 564 would make specified changes to the Cannabis Excise Tax rate, specifically, delaying the effective period of an increase from the 2025-26 fiscal year to the 2030-31 fiscal year.
The legal cannabis industry in California is being negatively impacted by taxes, fees, and other regulation compliance costs, driving licensed cannabis businesses out of the market. Fully licensed, legal businesses in California capture just 40% of the state’s entire market, while the underground illicit market accounts for 60% of the overall market. Lower rates will encourage customers to patronize the legal marketplace, supporting both businesses and providing tax revenue in our community. On the contrary, raising taxes on legal products will drive more consumers away from the regulated market and toward illegal shops, websites, and delivery services where products are sold at a fraction of the price and remain untested, unsafe, and untaxed.
Increasing the state excise tax will have a negative impact on the City’s local businesses. Over 70% of our gross receipts for cannabis businesses last fiscal year came from non-cultivation so an increase in the s tate excise tax would hit our local industry hard. This would also contradict equity efforts by placing disproportionate strain on our small and diverse business owners.
For the reasons stated above, the City respectfully requests your support of AB 564. If there are any questions about the City’s position, please contact Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, at 916-808-7395 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chair, Law and Legislation
Committee
Office of Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple
New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 808-7005 | Email: [email protected]
August 26, 2025
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 394 (Allen) – REQUEST FOR SIGNATURE
Dear Governor Newsom:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are writing to respectfully request your signature on SB 394, which would enhance penalties for water theft from fire hydrants. Water agencies are responsible for delivering safe, clean, and affordable drinking water throughout California. However, in recent years, water theft has posed a serious threat to water agencies’ ability to fulfill that responsibility.
Water theft takes many forms, the most egregious being water theft from fire hydrants for commercial uses. Illegal actors have been documented connecting to and filling water trucks from fire hydrants without the proper use of hydrant meters to avoid paying for water. These water trucks can hold up to 6,000 gallons of water, resulting in significant loss for water agencies. The stolen water is typically used or sold for profit for commercial purposes, such as by construction companies, landscaping companies, and water trucks selling the water to other users. Current fine amounts are not strong enough to deter this theft and may instead be seen as the cost of doing business for some bad actors.
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
August 26, 2025 • Page 2
SB 427 of 2021 carried by Senator Eggman established authority for public water agencies to adopt an ordinance that prohibits water theft and makes a violation of that ordinance subject to an administrative fine or penalty. The existing authority breaks theft into two categories: meter tampering and all other forms of water theft. Fines for meter tampering range from $130 for the first violation up to $1,300 for the third and additional violations within one year. All other forms of water theft, which currently includes theft from a fire hydrant, can be fined up to $1,000 for the first violation, up to $3,000 for the third and additional violations within a year.
At the time these fines were established, the impact to residential customers was a strong consideration that led to the final fine amounts. SB 394 is targeting commercial operators that are illegally diverting water from hydrants for profit.
Water theft from fire hydrants poses serious risks to public health and safety, water affordability, and water efficiency. During water theft from hydrants, contamination can occur when non-potable sources are illegally connected to a drinking water system and anti-backflow devices are not used. This cross- contamination between the water system and non-potable source connections poses a serious health risk to everyone in the system.
Further, unauthorized use of a hydrant can lead to water pressure in the system dropping which can jeopardize response to emergency situations such as fires. This potential issue is especially timely given the devastating fires in Southern California.
Illegal connections also often result in costly damage to the fire hydrant and system infrastructure that can impair the hydrant’s function. The revenue lost from water theft and the cost of damage to infrastructure as a result of theft is ultimately borne by law-abiding paying customers, having a negative impact on water affordability. Water theft also works against efforts by water districts to comply with State water use efficiency goals under the State’s newly adopted Making Conservation a California Way of Life framework.
The current penalties for water theft are an insufficient deterrent and fail to prevent this criminal activity from occurring. SB 394 recognizes and addresses these inefficiencies in existing penalties by authorizing local agencies that provide water services to adopt an ordinance with enhanced penalties specifically for water theft from a fire hydrant. The intent of this bill is to specifically deter commercial water theft, rather than residential water theft. Under SB 394, local agencies could adopt an ordinance allowing them to set fines not to exceed $2,500 for the first violation and up to $10,000 for the third and any additional violations.
This bill would also remove the one-year reset on existing penalties for the third and additional violations for water theft committed via meter tamping and other forms of water theft. Further, this bill would help agencies recover damages as a result of water theft from a fire hydrant by authorizing a utility to bring a civil action for damages against any person who, without authorization, tampers with or diverts water from a fire hydrant. These provisions on civil action would be available to both public agencies and other types of retail water agencies that face these same challenges.
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
August 26, 2025 • Page 3
For the reasons above, ACWA and the undersigned organizations strongly support SB 394 and respectfully request your signature. If you have any questions about our position, please contact Julia Hall at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Julia Bishop Hall
State Legislative Director
Association of California Water Agencies
David Pedersen
General Manager
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
Jennifer M. Capitolo
Executive Director
California Water Association
Melissa Sparks-Kranz
Legislative Advocate
League of California Cities
Andrea Abergel
Director of Water
California Municipal Utilities Association
Eric Will
Policy Advocate
Rural County Representatives of California
Aaron Avery
Director of State Legislative Affairs
California Special Districts Association
Kristopher Anderson
Policy Advocate
California Chamber of Commerce
Deven Upadhyay
General Manager
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California
Krista Bernasconi
Mayor
City of Roseville
Albert C Lau, P .E.
General Manager
Santa Fe Irrigation District
Kristine McCaffrey, P .E.
General Manager
Calleguas Municipal Water District
Steve Johnson
General Manager
Desert Water Agency
Anthony L. Firenzi
Director of Strategic Affairs
Placer County Water Agency
Joe Mouawad, P .E.
General Manager
Eastern Municipal Water District
Matt Stone
General Manager
Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency
Justin Scott-Coe
General Manager
Monte Vista Water District
Jennifer A. Spindler
General Manager
Crestline-Lake Arrowhead Water Agency
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
August 26, 2025 • Page 4
Kyle Swanson
CEO/General Manager
Padre Dam Municipal Water District
David Coxey
General Manager
Bella Vista Water District
Kat Wuelfing
General Manager
Mid-Peninsula Water District
Emily Long
Administrative and External Affairs Specialist
Tuolumne Utilities District
Bruce Kamilos
General Manager
Elk Grove Water District
Paul E. Shoenberger, P .E.
General Manager
Mesa Water District
Brian Olney
General Manager
Helix Water District
Kevin Phillips
District Manager
Paradise Irrigation District
Jason Martin
General Manager
Rancho California Water District
Michael J. Hether, P .E.
Assistant Public Works Director-Utilities
City of Fairfield
John Bosler
General Manager/CEO
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Tom Majich
General Manager
Kinneloa Irrigation District
Brett Sanders
General Manager
Lakeside Water District
James Lee
General Manager
Crescenta Valley Water District
Elizabeth Salomone
General Manager
Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control
& Water Conservation Improvement
Kim Domingo
General Manager
Rosamond Community Services District
Paul Helliker
General Manager
San Juan Water District
Edward A. Castaneda
General Manager
Orchard Dale Water District
Matthew Litchfield
General Manager
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Craig D. Miller, P .E.
General Manager
Western Municipal Water District
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
August 26, 2025 • Page 5
Joel Metzger
General Manager
Utica Water and Power Authority
Gary Arant
General Manager
Valley Center Municipal Water District
John Thiel
General Manager
West Valley Water District
Tim Worley
Managing Director
Community Water Systems Alliance
Thomas Love
General Manager
Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water
District
David McNair
General Manager
Scotts Valley Water District
Nina Jazmadarian
General Manager
Foothill Municipal Water District
Jim Abercrombie
General Manager
El Dorado Irrigation District
Robert Grantham
General Manager
Santa Margarita Water District
J.M. Barrett
General Manager
Coachella Valley Water District
David J. Stoldt
General Manager
Monterey Peninsula Water Management
District
Sue Mosburg
Executive Director
American Water Works Association - California-
Nevada Section
Michael Moore
General Manager/CEO
East Valley Water District
Marion Champion
Assistant General Manager
Mission Springs Water District
Daniel Slawson
President
Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District
Shivaji Deshmukh, P .E.
General Manager
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Timothy R. Shaw
General Manager
Rio Linda Elverta Community Water District
Robert Johnson
General Manager
Aromas Water District
Anjanette Shadley
Assistant General Manager
Western Canal Water District
Thomas Huss
General Manager
Pinyon Pines County Water District
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
August 26, 2025 • Page 6
Mary Rogren
General Manager
Coastside County Water District
Caity Maple
Councilmember – District 5
Chair, Law & Legislation Committee
City of Sacramento
Paul Cook
General Manager
Irvine Ranch Water District
Harvey De La Torre
General Manager
Municipal Water District of Orange County