Water quality: California-Mexico cross-border watersheds.

Existing law establishes the California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection Fund in the State Treasury to receive funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act, including, but not limited to, proceeds of bonds sold as specified, and other sources, such as from the North American Development Bank (NADBank) , and makes money in the fund available, upon appropriation, to the California-Mexico Border Relations Council, a state entity. Money in the fund is used to assist local governments in implementation of projects to identify and resolve environmental and public health problems that directly threaten the health or environmental quality of California residents or sensitive natural resources of the California border region, among other purposes. This bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, funds to be made available to the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) for NADBank for loans, grants, and direct expenditures to address water quality problems arising in the California-Mexico cross-border watersheds. The bill would require the funding to be available for specified purposes, as provided, including water quality projects for the Tijuana River, and would make 10% of the funding available for the administrative costs of implementing these provisions. The bill would authorize funding provided for activities or projects in the State of Baja California to be provided through direct expenditures and for grants to an eligible funding recipient authorized to work in Mexico under a specified circumstance. The bill would require grant funding to be conditioned upon the enforceability and accountability requirements mutually agreed upon by CalEPA and NADBank, and would authorize CalEPA to withhold funding if the requirements of the applicable funding agreement are not met. The bill would also authorize grant funding to be conditioned on enforceability and accountability mechanisms agreed upon by CalEPA, NADBank, and the recipient. The bill would require CalEPA to notify the leadership office in each house of the Legislature on cross-border collaboration and the expenditure of the funding, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the North American Development Bank.