A California Assembly committee will hear a bill Wednesday that would allow water districts to impose taxes on any business, industry or person who wastes water. As Amy Quinton reports from Sacramento, the measure would require voter approval.
Earlier this month, a California court ruled that a city can’t charge large water users more unless the higher charges are directly related to cost of services. A bill authored by Democratic Senator Bob Wieckowski would allow water districts to tax excessive water users up to 300-percent of the purchase price. But districts would need approval from two-thirds of voters. Wieckowski says the bill would give agencies another enforcement tool during the drought.
Wieckowski: “I got a district that’s reducing their water use aggregately by 18-percent but I still have some bad users that if they just were normal users we’d be down to 25 percent. So this helps with that.”
Wieckowski says some agencies likely won’t impose new taxes. But he says agencies’ ability to fine water-wasters isn’t working.