Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, by regulation, to establish, maintain, and amend as necessary minimum standards for the sanitation of public beaches, as provided. Existing law requires the regulations to do certain things, including requiring the testing of the waters adjacent to all public beaches for microbiological contaminants, as provided. Existing law authorizes a local health officer to meet the testing requirements by utilizing test results from other parties conducting microbiological contamination testing of the waters under their jurisdiction.
This bill would provide that the local health officer may only rely on data from test results from other parties if that data meets the same quality requirements that apply to local agencies pursuant to specified regulations and standards. The bill would also require that test results used by the local health officer be made available to the public.
Existing law requires a health officer having jurisdiction over an area in which a public beach is created to do certain things, including, in the event of a known untreated sewage release, immediately test the waters adjacent to the public beach and take certain actions and, in the event of an untreated sewage release that is known to have reached recreational waters adjacent to a public beach, immediately close those waters until it has been determined by the local health officer that the waters are in compliance with specified standards.
This bill would authorize the health officer to meet the requirements described above by using test results from other parties that have conducted microbiological contamination testing of the waters under the health officer's jurisdiction, as provided. The bill would provide that the local health officer may only rely on data from test results from other parties if that data meets the same quality requirements that apply to local agencies pursuant to specified regulations and standards. The bill would also require that test results used by the local health officer be made available to the public.
Existing law, the Water Shutoff Protection Act, authorizes the Attorney General, at the request of the State Water Resources Control Board or upon the Attorney General's own motion, to bring an action in state court to, among other things, restore to any person in interest any money or property, real or personal, that may have been acquired by any method, act, or practice prohibited by the act.
This bill would instead authorize the Attorney General, at the request of the board or upon the Attorney General's own motion, to bring an action in state court to restore to any person in interest any money or real property acquired by any method, act, or practice prohibited by the act. The bill would also state that these provisions do not provide public water systems with authorities not otherwise provided by law.

Statutes affected:
AB2599: 115880 HSC, 115885 HSC, 116920 HSC
02/14/24 - Introduced: 115885 HSC
03/06/24 - Amended Assembly: 115885 HSC, 116920 HSC, 116920 HSC
05/21/24 - Amended Senate: 115880 HSC, 115880 HSC, 115885 HSC, 116920 HSC
08/07/24 - Amended Senate: 115880 HSC, 115885 HSC, 116920 HSC
08/28/24 - Enrolled: 115880 HSC, 115885 HSC, 116920 HSC
09/22/24 - Chaptered: 115880 HSC, 115885 HSC, 116920 HSC
AB 2599: 115885 HSC