Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/499470
ByBrianMelleyand Fenit Nirappil The Associated Press LOS ANGELES An appeals court decision striking down punitive water pric- ing that was intended to encourage conservation had water agencies review- ing rates Tuesday and some residents exploring whether to bring similar challenges. The ruling Monday that found San Juan Capistra- no's water rates unconstitu- tional came amid a severe drought as agencies try to meet the governor's man- date to cut water use state- wide by 25 percent. The 4th District Court of Appeal said charging heavy users incrementally more per gallon without show- ing it cost more violated a 1996 voter-approved law that prohibits government agencies from overcharg- ing for services. The decision that Gov. Jerry Brown said puts a "straitjacket" on local gov- ernment makes it harder for cities to adopt similar bill- ings and may bring down some of the higher rates, said Ken Baerenklau, an as- sociate professor at the Uni- versity of California, River- side who has studied tiered water rates. Water departments are being pulled in differ- ent directions by Brown's administration that de- manded hitting residents in the pocketbook to save water and the legal uncer- tainty of charging guzzlers higher rates. "If you have courts tell- ing you one thing and gov- ernor telling you something else, maybe that's a reason to sit tight," he said. Water districts were carefully going over the ruling to figure out if their rates were in jeopardy or how they could develop a pricing scheme that would encourage conservation but not violate the ruling. Huntington Beach, for example, had been consid- ering adding tiered water rates for years, but didn't know how to figure out what would be legal until the ruling came out, said Public Works Director Tra- vis Hopkins. The Crescenta Valley Water District was meet- ing Tuesday night and was expected to discuss the ruling's impact on its four- tier pricing and future rate hikes, said attorney Thomas Bunn. "This is going to force a number of districts to re-ex- amine their tiered rates and make sure they're justified," Bunn said. Two-thirds of water dis- tricts use some form of tiered water pricing. The ruling which is only bind- ing in Orange County but could be cited in legal fil- ings throughout the state, does not make tiered pric- ing illegal, but agencies or cities have to show price hikes are directly tied to the cost of the water, the court said. Noting that Santa Bar- bara is reviving a desali- nation plant, Justice Wil- liam Bedsworth wrote that providing water during a drought is pricey and noth- ing in the voter-approved ballot measure prevents water agencies from pass- ing those costs on to users. "That would seem like a good idea," he wrote. San Juan Capistrano charged nearly four times as much per unit of water for users in the highest tier to provide an incentive to conserve, but failed to show that the water was that ex- pensive to deliver. Residents complained the higher rates were arbitrary and unfair. Nearby Santa Margarita Water District watched the case closely and updated its increased tiered rates in March that carefully doc- umented the link between costs and rates in a 120- page analysis, spokesman Jonathan Volzke said. Attorney Benjamin Be- numof, who brought the lawsuit against San Juan Capistrano and has suits pending against Sweetwa- ter Authority in San Diego County and Glendale Water and Power, said he thinks there are a lot places where rates are out of line with the court order. He had already heard from people in his home- town of San Clemente in- terested in challenging a tiered rate structure there and had received several emails by midday Tuesday from residents in Santa Bar- bara, Riverside and Sacra- mento counties who were interested in challenging their water bills. "I don't know where this is going to go in the fu- ture," he said, adding that he hoped other districts would comply with the rul- ing rather than litigate. "Everybody is looking for a more equitable split in terms of water rates." DROUGHT Ru li ng f or ce s wa te r di st ri ct s to r ev ie w ra te s By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A California lawmaker who is propos- ing to limit the number of schoolchildren who are ex- empt from being vaccinated said Tuesday that he's opti- mistic the bill will advance after a vote was delayed one week. Sen. Richard Pan, a Dem- ocratic pediatrician from Sacramento, said he and Democratic Sen. Ben Allen, a former school board mem- ber, have made changes al- lowing families that opt out of vaccines to homeschool their children together and allowing students to seek independent study. "I believe that with those amendments that that will satisfy many concerns of my colleagues," Pan said as he stood with polio survi- vors in front of early med- ical ventilators known as iron lungs. "I'm optimistic that we're going to get the bill out tomorrow." The vote on the proposal to eliminate personal belief and religious exemptions was delayed last week af- ter members of the Senate Education Committee wor- ried the bill would prevent unvaccinated children from receiving an adequate edu- cation. Although the measure has broad support from medical, education and public health groups, oppo- nents have flooded the Cap- itol to testify at recent hear- ings and prompted extra se- curity for lawmakers. The committee is sched- uled to vote Wednesday, af- ter one committee member was replaced and another was added in recent days. The Democratic leadership removed Republican Minor- ity Leader Bob Huff, an op- ponent of the bill, and re- placed him with Sen. Sha- ron Runner, R-Lancaster. Runner said she has not decided how she will vote. The majority party also appointedSen.BillMonning, D-Carmel, who had voted for the bill when it was heard in the health committee. Opponents criticized the moves as outright rigging. "How is that good govern- ment?" asked Sylvia Pimen- tel, a member of the Cali- fornia Coalition for Health Choice, which wants to pro- tect parental rights. The proposal was among several drafted across the nation in the wake of a mea- sles outbreak that started at Disneyland in Decem- ber, sickening more than 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico. If the bill passes the Leg- islature and is signed by the governor, California would join Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict vaccine rules. Pan said recent out- breaks of whopping cough and measles serve as a re- minder of California's need to maintain high vaccina- tion rates, particularly in schools where some chil- dren cannot be immunized due to medical conditions. "We need to protect our children, not only our own but other children in the community as well," Pan said. SACRAMENTO Lawmaker optimistic his vaccine bill will advance RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, le , and Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, who co-authored a bill requiring schoolchildren to get vaccinated, confer in Sacramento. Pan said he is optimistic the bill will be approved. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Legaliz- ing marijuana for recre- ational use in California would raise an array of un- knowns, from how it would be taxed to the threat of en- vironmental damage from thirsty pot plants in a state gripped by drought, a com- mission was told Tuesday. As activists move to bring a proposal legaliz- ing pot use to voters in 2016, the panel headed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom be- gan considering how a state of 39 million people would change with once-outlawed pot consumption becom- ing a legal, and potentially widespread, practice. What was clear is no one knows. Even Newsom, a Demo- cratic candidate for gover- nor in 2018 who supports legalization, acknowledged he has concerns. The for- mer San Francisco mayor is aligning himself with an issue that polls show has gained growing acceptance in the state, but promoting the loosening of marijuana laws also comes with inevi- table political risks for a fu- ture campaign. Newsom told the group it was time for the state to move in a new direction, lamenting a drug war that had fallen short of its goals. At other points, he worried about a black market that could bloom if taxes drive buyers underground and the safety of children, in- cluding his own. He wor- ried about advertising and its effect of youngsters, and the spread of availability. "There are a lot of ques- tions that do need to be asked, and a lot of ques- tions that do need to be an- swered, I believe, before we put something on the bal- lot," he said. "I don't want to ... walk to the playground with my kids and smell it." Activists have been promising to qualify a bal- lot proposal for 2016 that, if enacted, would legalize recreational use, follow- ing Colorado, Washington state, Oregon and Alaska. Medical marijuana is le- gal in California and more than 20 other states. The drug remains illegal under federal law. Among California Dem- ocrats, positions are mixed. Gov. Jerry Brown opposes legalization. For candidate Newsom, "he has to be aware of the inevitable downside of le- galization," said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney. "Even though polls show there is increasing sup- port for legalization, there is still a lot of resistance, particularly among older voters. And older voters make up a disproportion- ate share of the electorate," Pitney added. MARINJUANA Legal pot in California? Taxes, black market pose challenges Confused About Hearing Aids? 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