On September 28, 2018, California Governor Brown signed into law, SB 998 (Dodd), the Water Shutoff Protection Act. The law seeks to minimize the number of Californians who lose access to water service due to their inability to pay water charges by restricting how water agencies discontinue residential water service. The bill’s restrictions apply to all public water systems supplying water to more than 200 service connections. The restrictions will go into effect on February 1, 2020, for water systems regulated by the Public Utilities Commission or which supply water to more than 3,000 customers annually. On April 1, 2020, the restrictions go into effect for all other water systems with more than 200 service connections. Among other requirements, under SB 998, water systems must:

• Create a written policy on discontinuation of residential service for nonpayment which includes a plan for deferred or reduced payments, alternative payment schedules, and formal appeal procedures;
• Translate the policy into English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, and any other language spoken by at least 10 percent of the people residing in the service area;
• Post the policy on the water system’s website or provide the policy in writing to customers upon request;
• Not discontinue residential service for nonpayment until the water bill is delinquent for at least 60 days;
• Contact the residential water customer at least seven days before discontinuation of water service to offer options to avert discontinuation of residential water service;
• Not discontinue residential water service for nonpayment if: the customer or customer’s tenant demonstrates that the discontinuation of water service is life threatening, or poses a threat to the health and safety of, a resident of the premises; the customer meets certain low-income qualifications; and the customer is willing to enter into an alternative payment schedule or other agreement pursuant to the written policy discussed above;
• Limit service reconnection fees for low-income customers to $50 during business hours and $150 during nonoperational hours, or the actual cost of reconnection if the actual cost is lower; and
• Waive interest charges on delinquent bills once every 12 months for low-income customers.

Water systems may proceed with discontinuation of water service for nonpayment only after the customer: (1) fails to comply with an alternative payment arrangement for delinquent charges for 60 days or more; or (2) while undertaking the alternative payment arrangement for delinquent charges, the customer does not pay his or her current residential service charges for 60 days or more. Water systems should prepare to evaluate and update their current policies and practices in managing and discontinuing delinquent utility accounts by the February 1 or April 1, 2020, implementation dates. If your agency has any questions about SB 998, please contact Barbara Brenner at barbara@whitebrennerllp.com, Elaine Won at elaine@whitebrennerllp.com, or Churchwell White LLP at (916) 468-0950.