Water Ratepayers Protections Act of 2023: County Water Authority Act: exclusion of territory: procedure.

The County Water Authority Act provides for the formation of county water authorities and grants to those authorities specified powers with regards to providing water service. The act provides 2 methods of excluding territory from any county water authority, one of which is that a public agency whose corporate area as a unit is part of a county water authority may obtain exclusion of the area by submitting to the electors within the public agency, at any general or special election, the proposition of excluding the public agency's corporate area from the county water authority. Existing law requires that, if a majority of the electors approve the proposition, specified actions take place to implement the exclusion. This bill, the Water Ratepayers Protections Act of 2023, would additionally require the public entity to submit the proposition of excluding the public agency's corporate area from the county water authority to the electors within the territory of the county water authority. The bill would require the 2 elections to be separate; however, the bill would authorize both elections to run concurrently. The bill would require the ballot materials to include a fiscal impact statement, as described. The bill would also require the ballot materials for the election encompassing the territory of the county water authority to include a statement describing the annual aggregated fiscal impact to remaining members of the county water authority as a result of the reorganization. The bill would require the county water authority to prepare that statement. By imposing a higher level of service on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a majority vote for withdrawal in both elections for the withdrawal of the public agency from the territory of the county water authority. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.