Freshwater and Estuarine Harmful Algal Bloom Program.

Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with regulatory authority over water quality. The State Civil Service Act authorizes state agencies to enter into personal services contracts if prescribed conditions are met, including a clear demonstration by the contracting agency that the proposed contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the state, compared to the cost to the state of providing the same services, and award of the contract through a publicized, competitive bidding process. Existing law generally requires state agencies to obtain at least 3 competitive bids for each contract. Under existing law, this requirement does not apply under certain circumstances, including, among others, in cases of emergency, as defined, where a contract is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, or safety, or protection of state property. This bill would require the state board to establish a Freshwater and Estuarine Harmful Algal Bloom Program to protect water quality and public health from harmful algal blooms. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with specified entities, among other things, to coordinate immediate and long-term algal bloom event incident response, as provided, and conduct and support algal bloom field assessment and ambient monitoring at the state, regional, watershed, and site-specific waterbody scales. The bill would require the state board, on or before July 1, 2021, to post on its internet website information including, among other things, the incidence of, and response to, freshwater and estuarine harmful algal blooms in the state during the previous 3 years and actions taken by the state board related to harmful algal blooms, as provided. The bill would authorize the state board, if it determines that the occurrence of harmful algal blooms is an emergency, as defined, to enter into contracts to procure goods and services to aid in incident response without meeting the conditions prescribed for personal services contracts under the State Civil Service Act, including the requirement for a competitive bidding process, or any other competitive bidding requirements under existing law.