Business licenses: stormwater discharge compliance.

Existing law authorizes the legislative body of an incorporated city and the county board of supervisors, in the exercise of its police power, to license any kind of business not prohibited by law that is transacted and carried on within its jurisdiction, and to impose license fees. Existing law imposes various requirements on cities and counties prior to issuing specified business licenses, including verifying that a person applying for a business license to conduct business as a contractor is licensed by the Contractors' State License Board. Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of stormwater by municipalities and industries in accordance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Existing law requires regulated municipalities and industries to obtain a stormwater permit. This bill would require, when applying to a city or a county for an initial business license or business license renewal, a person who conducts a business operation that is a regulated industry to demonstrate enrollment with the NPDES permit program by providing specified information, under penalty of perjury, on the application, including, among other things, the Standard Industrial Classification Code for the business. The bill would apply to all applications for initial business licenses and business license renewals submitted on and after January 1, 2020. The bill would permit a city or county to develop a provisional license procedure for business license renewals that provides businesses 3 months to comply with these provisions. By requiring that the information be submitted under penalty of perjury, this bill would expand the crime of perjury and impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the city or county to determine, as specified, the applicability of any Standard Industrial Classification Code and, if applicable, to confirm that the information submitted to demonstrate enrollment corresponds to the business requesting the initial business license or business license renewal, and would require the city or county to transfer that information to the State Water Resources Control Board upon request, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board, on or before April 1, 2020, to post on its internet website a list of applicable Standard Industrial Classification Codes for the purpose of the determinations made by cities or counties, and would require the state board to update that list, as specified. This bill would also find and declare that the provisions of the bill address the health and safety of drinking water sources throughout the state, a matter of statewide concern, and that these provisions therefore apply to charter cities, charter counties, and charter cities and counties. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.