Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency: financial matters.

Under existing law, the City and County of San Francisco operates the Hetch Hetchy Project as a regional water delivery system, supplying water to persons and entities in San Francisco and the Counties of Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Existing law, the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency Act, governs the formation and operation of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) by 24 public entities that purchase water from San Francisco. The act authorizes the agency to borrow money, incur indebtedness, and issue notes and bonds, including revenue bonds, as specified. The act authorizes the agency to make proceeds of bonds authorized by the act available to other local public agencies on mutually satisfactory terms and conditions to assist in the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of works designed and intended in whole or in part to furnish water to the members of the agency, whether those works are carried out jointly by the agency and other local public agencies, or solely by those other public agencies. The act further authorizes the agency to impose reasonable rates, fees, and charges on specified entities that are sufficient to generate revenue to pay the principal and interest on any bonds issued by the agency. This bill would authorize the agency to prepay the unpaid principal balance relating to existing capital assets as of June 30, 2009, on behalf of BAWSCA members, as defined, as provided in a prescribed water supply agreement. This bill would authorize the agency to acquire from the City and County of San Francisco the right to receive all or a portion of the amounts payable by BAWSCA members under that water supply agreement and authorize the City and County of San Francisco to sell to the agency its right to receive these amounts. This bill would authorize the agency to request that the City and County of San Francisco continue to collect amounts in accordance with the water supply agreement and to transfer these amounts to the agency on a periodic basis. This bill would require the agency to use these amounts to pay debt service on prescribed bonds issued by the agency for specified uses authorized by this bill and to satisfy all other obligations of the agency related to those bonds. This bill would also authorize the agency to impose rates, fees, and charges as prescribed to pay debt service on bonds issued for the specified uses authorized by this bill and to satisfy all other obligations of the agency related to those bonds and would require that the City and County of San Francisco collect any of those rates, fees, and charges, as specified, if requested by the agency. This bill would also permit the agency to distribute any of these amounts not needed for the purposes of those bonds to BAWSCA members, as prescribed.