Alpine Amador Butte Calaveras Colusa Del Norte Mono Napa Nevada Placer Plumas San Benito El Dorado Glenn Imperial Inyo Lake Lassen Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Sutter Tehama Madera Mariposa Mendocino Merced Modoc Trinity Tulare Tuolumne Yolo Yuba Chair - Kevin Cann, Mariposa County President and CEO – Greg Norton First Vice Chair - Nate Beason, Nevada County Executive Vice President – Patricia J. Megason Second Vice Chair – Lee Adams, Sierra County Chief Financial Officer – Karl Dolk Past Chair - Kim Dolbow Vann, Colusa County To: RCRC Board of Directors From: Kathy Mannion, Legislative Advocate Date: June 11, 2013 Re: H.R. 836 (Miller) - Sunshine on Conflicts Act of 2013 Summary RCRC has joined a varied coalition in supporting H.R. 836 by Congressman Gary Miller which addresses a regulatory obstacle that prevents the most qualified individuals from serving on water quality permitting boards. RCRC staff is encouraging member counties to send a letter supporting H.R. 836 and requesting that their Congressional representative join as a co-sponsor of the bill. Background Current U.S. EPA regulations preclude any individual from serving on a water quality permitting authority if that person receives “significant” income, defined as 10% or more of his or her income, from an entity holding or applying for a federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Because general permits and NPDES permits now cover the vast majority of local governments, school districts, etc., the 10% requirement is an obstacle for many qualified local government candidates. Issue H.R. 836 would replace the income restriction approach with a conflict of interest test by requiring the promulgation of a rule that would prohibit any member of a board or body that approves permit applications from voting on, or seeking to influence, the approval of any permit in which that member has a direct or indirect financial interest as defined in State law. Cosponsors to date are: Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA); Grace Napolitano (D-CA); Howard Coble (R-NC); Linda Sanchez (D-CA); Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA). Staff Recommendation RCRC encourages member counties to write to their Congressional representative and request their support and co-sponsorship for H.R. 836. RURAL COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES OF CALIFORNIA 1215 K STREET, SUITE 1650 SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 PHONE: 916-447-4806 FAX: 916-448-3154 WEB: WWW.RCRCNET.ORG Attachments H.R. 836 Coalition Letter to Congressman Miller Sample Support/Co-Sponsor Letter .