Article 12. Irrigation Standby Or Immediate Availability Charge of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 6. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 12.

This article shall apply only to the ownership, operation, control, or use by a district of a system for the distribution of irrigation water and shall not affect, but shall be in addition to, the right of the board of directors of the district to fix rates and charges, and to supervise and regulate every utility owned and operated by the district pursuant to this division.

(a) A district which acquires, constructs, owns, operates, controls, or uses works for supplying its inhabitants and lands within the district with irrigation water, may, pursuant to the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753 of the Government Code, fix by resolution on or before the first day of July of each year a water standby or immediate availability charge on all land within its boundaries to which water is made available by the district for irrigation purposes, whether the water is actually used or not. Such charge shall not apply to lands permanently dedicated exclusively to transportation of persons or property.
  (b) The board of directors of a district which fixes such a standby charge may establish schedules varying the charges in different areas within a district. The board of directors may not, however, fix an annual standby charge at a rate in excess of ten dollars ($10) per acre or portion thereof, unless the standby charge is imposed pursuant to the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act (Chapter 12.4 (commencing with Section 54984) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).
  (c) If the procedures set forth in this section as it read at the time a standby charge was established were followed, the district's board may, by resolution, continue the charge pursuant to this section in successive years at the same rate. If new, increased, or extended assessments are proposed, the board shall comply with the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753 of the Government Code.

(a) Any district levying a standby charge, which has elected under Section 12897 to use county and state assessment and tax collection procedures, shall, on or before the first day of August of each year, furnish in writing to the county auditor of each affected county a description of each parcel of land within the district upon which a standby charge has been levied for the current fiscal year, together with the amount of standby charge fixed by the district on each parcel of land.
  (b) All county officers charged with the duty of collecting taxes shall collect district standby charges with the regular tax payments to the county. Such charges shall be collected in the same form and manner as county taxes are collected and shall be paid to the district. Charges fixed by the district shall be a lien on all the property benefited thereby. Liens for such charges shall be of the same force and effect as other liens for taxes, and their collection may be enforced by the same means as provided for the enforcement of liens for state and county taxes.

Any funds derived from the standby charges levied pursuant to this article may be used by the district for all purposes which a district is authorized to expend funds insofar as such purposes relate to the acquisition of a water supply or the acquisition, construction, operation, control, or use of works for supplying land within the district with irrigation water.