Plain English Breakdown
The bill specifies that its provisions do not apply to connection fees or capacity charges, but does not detail how those specific fees must be calculated under existing law.
AB-2180: Rules for Local Water and Sewer Fees
This law allows local governments to set water or sewer fees using uniform rates or tiered groups based on likely usage, instead of calculating the exact cost for every single property.
What This Bill Does
- Allows local agencies to use any reasonable method to show that a fee matches the proportional cost of service provided.
- Removes the requirement to calculate an exact service cost for each individual parcel when setting water or sewer fees.
- Permits governments to charge uniform rates or tiered rates based on customer classes with similar expected usage patterns.
- Gives local agencies discretion to decide how costs are split among different rate tiers as long as no tier exceeds its proportional share of the cost.
Who It Names or Affects
- Local governments and agencies providing water, wastewater, or sewer services
- Property owners who pay water or sewer service fees
Terms To Know
- Proportional cost of service
- The amount a fee can charge based on the share of costs needed to provide service, which must not exceed what is attributable to that parcel.
- Tiered rates
- A pricing system where customers are grouped into classes and charged different amounts based on common traits like likely water use.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not change how fees for new water or sewer connections, or capacity charges, are calculated.
- Local agencies must still prove their fee methods reasonably allocate costs, even if they do not calculate exact amounts per parcel.