The California Constitution requires local agencies to meet certain requirements when levying assessments and property-related fees and charges. The Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (Act), prescribes specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions to comply with these requirements. The Act authorizes an agency providing water to adopt a schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass through increases in wholesale charges for water or adjustments for inflation under certain circumstances.
Assembly Bill 1827 (AB 1827) provides that the fees or charges for property-related water service imposed or increased pursuant to section 6 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution may include the incrementally higher costs of water service due to the higher water usage demand of parcels, the maximum potential water use, projected peak water usage or any combination of the three. AB 1827 also provides that such costs may be allocated using any method that reasonably assesses the water service provider’s cost of serving those parcels that are increasing potential water usage demand, maximum potential water use, or projected peak water usage.
In addition to any other method consistent with section 6 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution, the higher costs may be allocated among customer classes, within customer classes, or both, based on meter size or peaking factors, as those methods reasonably assess the water service provider’s cost of serving parcels that increase water usage demand, maximum potential water use, or projected peak water usage.
(AB 1827 adds section 53750.6 to the Government Code)