IRWM Program Notice

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NaepcA1
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IRWM Program Notice

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San Diego IRWM Stakeholders –

As you may know, existing law allows organizations to receive advanced funding of up to half of an IRWM grant award, when the award is less than $1 million and the project sponsor is a nonprofit organization or disadvantaged community, or the project benefits a disadvantaged community. This law has gone a long way to addressing the cash-flow problems that occasionally arise when project sponsors have to submit invoices for project expenditures and wait for reimbursement from the Department of Water Resources.

However, under the existing law, once a project is 50 percent complete and the advanced funds are depleted, the project sponsor must then complete the project on a more traditional reimbursement basis. DWR lacks the statutory authority to provide another 50 percent advance payment for the remainder of the project. The reimbursable payment model for the second half of a project can create a significant financial hardship for small nonprofit organizations or disadvantaged communities with limited cash reserves.

AB 2064, authored by Assemblymembers Todd Gloria and Shirley Weber, revises the existing advanced payment policy to address this problem while retaining the structure described in the first paragraph above. Under this bill, once a project sponsor documents that it has accurately and appropriately spent the first half of its advanced grant funds, DWR will advance the remaining 50 percent. This bill will help to ensure that smaller nonprofits and disadvantaged communities receive the necessary financial assistance and flexibility while providing important accountability conditions and measures that protect the state’s interests relative to use of public funds.

The first legislative hearing for AB 2064 is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20 in the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee. Also on the schedule is AB 2060, a complementary bill authored by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, chair of the Water Committee, and sponsored by the Rural Communities Assistance Corporation. AB 2060 would eliminate the requirement that the grant award be less than $1 million to obtain advanced payment. Instead, it would require DWR to provide advanced payment of $500,000 or 50% of the grant award, whichever is less, when the project sponsor is a nonprofit organization or disadvantaged community, or the project benefits a disadvantaged community. The measure also would extend advance payment to several other grant programs besides IRWM.

Staff from the San Diego County Water Authority, sponsor of AB 2064, will be present to support the measure. We would welcome others who support this bill to join us at the hearing or to otherwise reach out to Assemblymembers Weber and Gloria. Letters of support sent to the Assemblymembers would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. A sample support letter and an AB 2064 fact sheet are attached for your information.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Mark Stadler, the San Diego IRWM program manager, at mstadler@sdcwa.org or 858-522-6735.

Sincerely,
San Diego IRWM Program


www.sdirwmp.org

Mark Stadler
IRWM Program Manager
San Diego County Water Authority
D: (858) 522.6735
C: (619) 850.7552
mstadler@sdcwa.org

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