BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Adopt Recommended Positions on Federal Legislation: H.R. 4733 (Sorensen) - Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act; H.R. 3572 (Valadao) - Farm to Market Road Improvement Act; S. 1413 (Padilla) - To Authorize Additional Funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act; S. 1477 (Padilla) / H.R. 2945 (Lieu) - Housing for All Act of 2025; And Other Legislation That May Require Consideration by the Board.
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Adopt a Position of “Support and Amend” on H.R. 4733 (Sorensen) - Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act;
B. Adopt a Position of “Support and Amend” on H.R. 3572 (Valadao) - Farm to Market Road Improvement Act;
C. Adopt a Position of “Support” on S. 1413 (Padilla) - To authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act; and
D. Adopt a Position of “Support and Amend” on S. 1477 (Padilla) / H.R. 2945 (Lieu) - Housing for All Act of 2025.
Body
SUMMARY:
A. H.R. 4733 (Sorensen) - Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act
Recommended Position: Support and Amend
Priority Recommendation: 2
This bipartisan bill would make permanent the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), which was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide water rate assistance to eligible low-income households nationwide. That program expired at the end of 2023. The bill would also authorize $500 million to carry out the program for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
The bill would define eligible entities for the funding to include States, Indian Tribes, territories, and others that received Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) grants. Those entities would then provide grants to public water systems, treatment works, and non-profit organizations to assist low-income households in paying arrearages and other rates charged for drinking water or wastewater services.
The Board adopted a position of “Support and Amend” on a similar bill in 2024. This version removes language from that bill that staff found problematic.
Proposed Amendment:
To better serve Valley Water interests, staff recommends language to allow public water systems to be eligible to receive assistance directly from HHS rather than going through the state. While the draft bill is an improvement over how eligibility is defined in the HHS program (public water systems would be able to apply for assistance through the state, rather than having that assistance only go to community organizations), the bill would still create an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy by forcing public water systems and other eligible entities to apply for assistance through the state.
Status:
The bill was introduced in the House on July 23, 2025, and it was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Importance to Valley Water:
This bill would create a permanent program to provide low-income households with assistance paying their water and wastewater bills, taking the place of the now-expired LIHWAP program that was always intended to be temporary. Valley Water also has its own low-income rate assistance program that we fund and that we administer through Sacred Heart Community Services (Sacred Heart). Staff has received feedback from Sacred Heart that Valley Water’s program is very beneficial, including being easier to navigate than the LIHWAP program. If this bill were to pass with the proposed amendment, it could improve how LIHWAP operates and how the funds are administered by removing a layer of bureaucracy (allowing the funds to go directly to public water systems). It could also allow Valley Water to access federal funding to support its own low-income rate assistance program, allowing for reallocation of program funds to other priority projects.
Pros:
• Makes the low-income water rate assistance program permanent, ensuring that there will be a federal program to provide this aid into the future.
• Broadens the definition of low-income households to ensure that regional affordability factors are taken into account, thereby expanding eligibility to many residents in Santa Clara County and the Bay Area who are currently ineligible.
• Could fund Valley Water’s own low-income rate assistance program, thereby freeing up those funds for other purposes.
Cons:
• Without the proposed amendment, the funding would go to the state before Valley Water could access it. This would introduce an unnecessary level of bureaucracy that could slow down the allocation of funds.
B. H.R. 3572 (Valadao) - Farm to Market Road Improvement Act
Recommended Position: Support and Amend
Priority Recommendation: 2
This bipartisan bill would amend the Department of Transportation’s Rural Surface Transportation Program to expand eligibility to counties with a strong agricultural nexus. Under the bill, counties would be eligible for this program if they have at least $1 billion in annual gross agricultural production and at least $500,000 in agricultural output per square mile. The bill would make eligible “farm-to-market roads,” which are defined as any road located in a county that meets the aforementioned agricultural production criteria. The bill would set aside 10 percent of funding made available for the program in any given year to provide grants to eligible projects located on farm-to-market roads.
Proposed Amendment:
While the bill would expand eligibility for the Rural Surface Transportation Program to counties like Merced County, where San Luis Reservoir and B.F. Sisk Dam are located, the bill does not prioritize infrastructure projects that are interdependent - e.g., raising Highway 152 and raising B.F. Sisk Dam. Staff recommends adding language to prioritize these interdependent projects.
Status:
The bill was introduced in the House on May 21, 2025, and it was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Importance to Valley Water:
The Rural Surface Transportation Program provides grants to eligible entities of at least $25 million to improve roads, highways, bridges, and tunnels in rural areas. Expanding eligibility to include projects in certain agricultural areas, as this bill would do, could provide an important source of funding for the transportation components of the Sisk Dam Raise Project - a key Valley Water priority. Raising Highway 152 as part of the dam raise is estimated to cost more than $450 million, or nearly half the total project cost. The Bureau of Reclamation has determined that those costs must be paid by the local sponsor, the San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority, and Valley Water is the largest investor in the local portion. As the largest investor, Valley Water is pursuing all available federal and state funding options to minimize the costs for the project that will ultimately be borne by our ratepayers.
Pros:
• Expands eligibility of rural transportation funds to projects in agricultural areas, which could include the transportation components of the Sisk Dam Raise Project.
• Sets aside 10 percent of funds in the program for projects in agricultural areas, such as Merced County.
Cons:
• Without the recommended amendment, there is no prioritization for projects with interdependent infrastructure, like Highway 152.
C. S. 1413 (Padilla) - To authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act
Recommended Position: Support
Priority Recommendation: 3
This bipartisan bill would amend the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act to increase the authorized funding provided under the San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP) from $250 million to $750 million. The bill would also increase the authorized funding for Friant division improvements from $50 million to $75 million.
SJRRP prioritizes restoration of the Chinook salmon population and the flow of the river from Friant Dam to the Merced River, as well as water management to reduce negative impacts brought on by climate change. The program is managed by five federal and state agencies: Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and California Department of Water Resources. Decades of mining and exploitation had reduced the river flow by 97 percent, decimated the salmon population, ruined the floodplain, and altered the wetlands. In a May 2018 report titled “Funding Constrained Framework for Implementation,” SJRRP detailed that the Settlement Act did not provide enough funding. Initial estimates were overly optimistic and now funding is crucial to continue the program.
Status:
The bill was introduced in the Senate on April 10, 2025, and it was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Importance to Valley Water:
Although the additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Act does not directly impact Valley Water, the funds align with many of Valley Water’s 2025 Legislative Guiding Principles: II.A.1. “Support funding for infrastructure, construction, and repair of flood protection systems;” III.A.2. “Support efforts to protect the environment through conservation, preservation of natural resources and habitat, and improving the health of local watersheds;” IV.1. “Support innovative funding proposals that leverage government dollars;” and VI.1. “Support efforts to strengthen drought relief policies.” SJRRP touches on the Eastside Bypass Improvements, Seepage, Arroyo Canal Fish Screen & Sack Dam Passage, Mendota Pool Bypass & Reach 2B Improvements, and Salmon Conservation & Research Facility. These projects within the grand scope of SJRRP encompass fish passage, flood protection, levee improvements, channel capacity improvements, agricultural benefits, increase restoration flows, water supply reliability, water quality improvement, fish screen, species habitat, fisheries reintroduction, scientific understanding, and adaptive management.
Pros:
• Positively impacts our neighbors in the San Joaquin River area by advancing many water-related issues affecting the San Joaquin River.
Cons:
• None identified at this time.
D. S. 1477 (Padilla) / H.R.2945 (Lieu) - Housing for All Act of 2025
Recommended Position: Support and Amend
Priority Recommendation: 3
This comprehensive housing bill would significantly increase the federal investment in solutions to the nationwide housing crisis. The bill would authorize robust new funding for a range of programs, including those that:
• Support housing for low-income households, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
• Provide housing choice vouchers and rental assistance. The bill would expand the Housing Choice Voucher Program by adding 5.5 million new vouchers over four years and reduce the wait time for eligible families.
• Provide street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and continuums of care.
• Invest in hotel and motel conversions to permanent supportive housing.
• Support mobile crisis intervention teams.
• Provide safe places to park for those living in their vehicles and access to rehousing services.
In total, the bill would authorize more than $530 billion over ten years for all these programs.
Proposed Amendment:
To better serve Valley Water’s interests, staff recommends language to clarify that special districts would be eligible recipients of these grant funds. As currently written, it appears that only States and general local government entities (municipalities and counties) would be eligible to access these funds.
Status:
The bill was introduced in the Senate on April 10, 2025, and it was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Importance to Valley Water:
This bill would invest heavily in state and local initiatives that address housing and homelessness, including efforts to support low-income housing development and provide health and social services for at-risk populations. The housing crisis remains an ongoing challenge and serious concern in Santa Clara County, as many of our unsheltered neighbors continue to live along our creeks and waterways. Valley Water is proactively working to do what it can within its power to assist our unsheltered residents living along our creeks and waterways, but many funding programs are only accessible for municipalities, counties, and states. With the proposed amendment, Valley Water could access the funds authorized in the bill, helping to improve Valley Water’s ability to provide access to critical services in the community.
This bill aligns directly with the Board’s 2025 Legislative Guiding Principle III.A.6: “Support efforts to fund and facilitate the cleanup of unlawful encampments and reduce or prevent homelessness and continue to explore potential avenues of collaboration with other public agencies and initiatives.”
Pros:
• Supports programs that increase access to affordable housing, particularly for the most vulnerable.
• Supports efforts to reduce homelessness, including funding health and social service programs.
• If the proposed amendment were adopted, Valley Water could access these funds to support its efforts to address encampments along our waterways and support housing for unsheltered residents.
Cons:
• Without the proposed amendment, Valley Water would not be able to access these funds directly.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There are no direct Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item, as the Board’s position does not enact the legislation discussed above. However, if these bills were to be enacted, it would further environmental justice goals nationwide and could benefit overburdened and disadvantaged communities in Santa Clara County.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with this item.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER: Manager
Marta Lugo, 408-630-2237