The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the State of California. The act requires the state board to adopt primary drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water based upon specified criteria. Existing law makes certain violations of the act a crime.
This bill would require an owner of a domestic well that serves a rental property who is provided written notice of a free domestic well testing program, as defined, to participate in the program and its related requirements, as specified. The bill would require an owner of the rental property to provide testing results to all current residents of the rental property, as specified. The bill would require, if the testing demonstrates a violation of any primary drinking water standards, the domestic well owner to ensure that, within 14 days of receiving test results, tenants of rental properties served solely by that domestic well have access to an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The bill would prohibit an owner of a domestic well from imposing any charge, or increasing any fee, rent, or other charge imposed, on any tenant solely as a result of the requirements of these provisions.
To the extent that an owner of the rental property, when providing notice of the results of domestic well testing to tenants pursuant to these provisions, would make any false statement or representation, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and impose a state-mandated local program.
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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
AB2454: 25197.2 HSC
02/13/24 - Introduced: 25197.2 HSC
04/15/24 - Amended Assembly: 116681 HSC, 25197.2 HSC
AB 2454: 25197.2 HSC