Flood management projects: state funding: Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project.

Existing law provides for state cooperation with the federal government in the construction of specified flood control projects. For certain flood control projects authorized on or after January 1, 2002, or for small flood management projects for which specified findings have been made on or after that date, existing law requires the state to pay 50% of specified nonfederal costs. Existing law authorizes the state to pay up to 70% of those nonfederal costs upon the recommendation of the Department of Water Resources or the Central Valley Flood Protection Board if either entity determines that the project will advance one of several specified objectives. Notwithstanding these requirements, existing law authorizes the state to provide subvention of funds, up to 100% of the costs, for the project for flood control on the Pajaro River in the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz, as described, to those counties, or to local agencies in those counties, as provided. Existing law authorizes state funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used for planning, engineering, designing, and constructing the flood control project, as provided. In the absence of federal funding, existing law authorizes the state, through the Flood Control Subventions Program, to fund the planning, engineering, design, and construction of the project, as provided, so long as state funds do not exceed the state's share of funds if federal funding was provided. Existing law requires the department to make specified findings before any funds appropriated by the Legislature are provided to the flood control project. This bill would authorize the state, through the Flood Control Subventions Program, to advance funds for planning, engineering, designing, and constructing the flood control project, as well as for the acquisition of required lands, easements, rights-of-way, and utility relocations, among other purposes. The bill would grant the state discretion to reduce retention withheld under any cost-share agreement to fund the flood control project to 0%. The bill would revise the limitation on the amount of state funding provided in the absence of federal funding by instead authorizing the state to advance funding in the absence, in whole or in part, of federal funding, in an amount that does not exceed the amount that would be the equivalent nonfederal share if there was federal project funding. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz.