Sacramento >> Assemblymember Bill Dodd (D-Napa) announced the introduction of Assembly Bill (AB) 401, which calls on the Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) to develop a plan for a statewide low-income water rate assistance program. If successful, the plan would ease rates for some water customers in Lucerne.
“The time has come to develop a comprehensive program to help relieve the financial burden on low-income households dealing with significant increases in the cost of water,” Dodd said.
Over time, water districts across California have slowly raised the average cost of water in order to maintain and upgrade water treatment and delivery systems. In some cases water rates have jumped more than 300 percent since 2006. Nowhere is this more evident than in Lucerne, where the average water residential ratepayer pays nearly $1,300 annually, and many pay significantly more than that. According to measurements of water affordability used by the California Department of Public Health, this average rate is roughly triple the affordability threshold for the community, where the median income is just half of the state average.
While current California law requires gas and electric companies to provide discounted rates for low-income rate payers, there is currently no requirement for water companies to provide discounted rates. A number of the larger water utilities in California have low-income rate assistance programs, but there is no statewide standard and the discounts currently provided can leave many people, specifically seniors, with little real benefit.
“We need to ensure that we have an efficient, sustainable, and equitable water system in California.” Dodd said. “This bill is one piece of that broader puzzle, and I will continue to work for smart water policy in Sacramento.”
AB 401 would require the CSD to develop a plan for the funding and implementation of a low-income water rate assistance program by 2017. Senator Mike McGuire joined Dodd in introducing the legislation and will be a principal co-author of the bill.
