SECTIONS 85210-85214 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 85210-85214

85210. The council has all of the following powers:
(a) To sue or be sued.
(b) To enter into contracts.
(c) To employ the services of public, nonprofit, and private
entities.
(d) To delegate administrative functions to council staff.
(e) To employ its own legal staff or contract with other state or
federal agencies for legal services, or both. The council may employ
special legal counsel with the approval of the Attorney General.
(f) To receive funds, including funds from private and local
governmental sources, contributions from public and private sources,
as well as state and federal appropriations.
(g) To disburse funds through grants, public assistance, loans,
and contracts.
(h) To request reports from state, federal, and local governmental
agencies on issues related to the implementation of the Delta Plan.
(i) To adopt regulations or guidelines as needed to carry out the
powers and duties identified in this division.
(j) To comment on state agency environmental impact reports for
projects outside the Delta that the council determines will have a
significant impact on the Delta.
(k) To hold hearings in all parts of the state necessary to carry
out the powers vested in it, and for those purposes has the powers
conferred upon the heads of state departments pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 11180) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code. Any hearing by the council may be
conducted by any member of the council, or other designee, upon
authorization of the council, and he or she shall have the powers
granted to the council by this section, provided that any final
action of the council shall be taken by a majority of the membership
of the council at a meeting duly called and held.

85210.5. A majority of the voting members of the council shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the
council. A majority vote of the voting membership shall be required
to take action with respect to any matter unless otherwise specified
in this division. The vote of each member shall be individually
recorded.

85211. The Delta Plan shall include performance measurements that
will enable the council to track progress in meeting the objectives
of the Delta Plan. The performance measurements shall include, but
need not be limited to, quantitative or otherwise measurable
assessments of the status and trends in all of the following:
(a) The health of the Delta's estuary and wetland ecosystem for
supporting viable populations of aquatic and terrestrial species,
habitats, and processes, including viable populations of Delta
fisheries and other aquatic organisms.
(b) The reliability of California water supply imported from the
Sacramento River or the San Joaquin River watershed.

85212. The council shall review and provide timely advice to local
and regional planning agencies regarding the consistency of local and
regional planning documents, including sustainable communities
strategies and alternative planning strategies prepared pursuant to
Section 65080 of the Government Code, with the Delta Plan. The
council's input shall include, but not be limited to, reviewing the
consistency of local and regional planning documents with the
ecosystem restoration needs of the Delta and reviewing whether the
lands set aside for natural resource protection are sufficient to
meet the Delta's ecosystem needs. A metropolitan planning
organization preparing a regional transportation plan under Section
65080 of the Government Code that includes land within the primary or
secondary zones of the Delta shall consult with the council early in
the planning process regarding the issues and policy choices
relating to the council's advice. No later than 60 days prior to the
adoption of a final regional transportation plan, the metropolitan
planning organization shall provide the council with a draft
sustainable communities strategy and an alternative planning
strategy, if any. Concurrently, the metropolitan planning
organization shall provide notice of its submission to the council in
the same manner in which agencies file a certificate of consistency
pursuant to Section 85225. If the council concludes that the draft
sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy is
inconsistent with the Delta Plan, the council shall provide written
notice of the claimed inconsistency to the metropolitan planning
organization no later than 30 days prior to the adoption of the final
regional transportation plan. If the council provides timely notice
of a claimed inconsistency, the metropolitan planning organization's
adoption of the final regional transportation plan shall include a
detailed response to the council's notice.

85213. (a) The council may contract for consultant services and
architectural and engineering services to assist the council with all
of the following functions:
(1) Preparation of the Delta Plan and associated environmental
review.
(2) Performance of the council's responsibilities, or the
responsibilities of the Delta Independent Science Board, with respect
to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
(3) Determination of the consistency of state and local public
agency actions with the Delta Plan.
(4) Performance of scientific review to inform water and
environmental decisionmaking in the Delta.
(b) (1) Contracts entered into pursuant to subdivision (a) for
consultant services shall be exempt from Article 4 (commencing with
Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division
2 of the Public Contract Code, and any rules or regulations adopted
pursuant to those laws. Contracts entered into pursuant to
subdivision (a) for architectural and engineering services shall be
entered into pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4525) of
Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code, but are exempt from
the requirement in Section 4526 of the Government Code to adopt
regulations prior to contracting.
(2) The council shall not enter into a contract pursuant to
subdivision (a) for consultant services unless at least three bids or
proposals to do the work have been evaluated by a competitive
process.
(3) The council shall establish procedures for contracting for
services pursuant to subdivision (a), consistent with paragraphs (1)
and (2). The procedures shall be exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.

85214. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to avoid any actual
or apparent conflict of interest with respect to contracts entered
into by the council for work relating to the Delta Plan and the Bay
Delta Conservation Plan.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that any
contract entered into by the council for purposes of developing the
Delta Plan should include provisions ensuring the independence of the
contractor's work on the Delta Plan with respect to any work that
the contractor may do, or may have completed, related to the Bay
Delta Conservation Plan.