(a) The board of directors of the Eastern Water Alliance Joint Powers Agency may grant available funds to a member public agency for the purposes of assisting that member public agency in acquiring water if the board determines that that water supply will benefit the Eastern San Joaquin County Groundwater Basin as a whole and that that member public agency would otherwise be unable to acquire that water. Section 10753.1 of the Water Code applies to any groundwater regulation under this section. As used in this section, the term “groundwater” has the same definition as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 10752 of the Water Code.

(b) (1) For the purpose of supplementing the general operating revenues of the joint powers agency, upon the request of the board of directors of the joint powers agency, the Board of Supervisors of San Joaquin County may grant to the joint powers agency funds from the county general fund or Zone 2 of the San Joaquin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District that are available to carry out any purpose of the joint powers agency for which the county or district is authorized to expend funds.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) grants a preference to the joint powers agency over other public agencies for the purposes of receiving funds described in that paragraph.

(c) The joint powers agency shall deposit any county or district funds received pursuant to subdivision (b) in a separate account, and upon request of the county or district, shall demonstrate that all expenditures made from that account are being used only to carry out the powers, projects, and purposes of the joint powers agency and San Joaquin County or Zone 2 of the San Joaquin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

(d) Subject to Article XIII D of the California Constitution, the joint powers agency may impose a plan implementation charge, in accordance with this subdivision, on landowners within its boundaries for the property related service received from improved groundwater management and planning, and for improved groundwater levels and availability, provided by the joint powers agency. This plan implementation charge shall be a charge for water subject to the procedures and requirements set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 6 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution, as follows:

(1) Each year the board of directors of the joint powers agency may fix a plan implementation charge that may not exceed the annual cost of carrying out the actions financed by the charge. The board of directors may use multiyear budgeting to determine the plan implementation charge for up to five years and adopt a schedule of charges for this time period.

(2) Before imposing the plan implementation charge, the board of directors of the joint powers agency shall identify the parcels of land within the joint powers agency to be benefited by the actions financed by the charge, the need for the plan implementation charge, and the amount of the charge to be imposed on each parcel. The amount of the charge upon any parcel may not exceed the proportional costs of the actions financed by the charge attributable to that parcel. The joint powers agency shall provide written notice of the plan implementation charge and conduct a public hearing as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 6 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution. The joint powers agency may not impose the plan implementation charge if written protests against the charge are presented by a majority of the owners of the identified parcels upon which the charge will be imposed.

(3) (A) The plan implementation charge, at the option of the joint powers agency, may be collected on the tax rolls of the county in the same manner, by the same persons, and at the same time as, together with and not separate from, county ad valorem property taxes. In that event, of the amount collected pursuant to this paragraph, the county auditor may deduct that amount required to reimburse the county for its actual cost of collection.

(B) In lieu of that option, the joint powers agency shall collect plan implementation charges at the same time, together with penalties and interest at the same rates as is prescribed for the collection of county ad valorem property taxes.

(4) The amount of an unpaid plan implementation charge, together with any penalty and interest thereon, shall constitute a lien on that land as of the same time and in the same manner as does the tax lien securing county ad valorem property taxes.

(5) In lieu of a plan implementation charge being imposed on parcels within the boundaries of any individual member public agency of the joint powers agency, any member of the joint powers agency may determine by resolution to make payment to the joint powers agency of funds in an amount equal to the amount that would be raised by imposition of the plan implementation charge within the boundaries of that member, to be paid at the same time that the plan implementation charge would be collected if imposed.

(e) For the purposes of this section, “joint powers agency” means the Eastern Water Alliance Joint Powers Agency.

(f) For the purposes of this section, “Eastern San Joaquin County Groundwater Basin” means the Eastern San Joaquin County Basin described on pages 38 and 39 of the Department of Water Resources’ Bulletin No. 118-80.

(Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 740, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2004.)