Opinion No. (1997)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General ANTHONY M. SUMMERS Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE RICHARD K. RAINEY, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a water district, without violating the constitutional limitation placed upon fees for service, impose a tiered water rate structure that assesses a higher charge per unit of water as the level of consumption increases? CONCLUSION A water district, without violating the constitutional limitation placed upon fees for service, may impose a tiered water rate structure that assesses a higher charge per unit of water as the level of consumption increases. ANALYSIS The East Bay Municipal Water District has imposed an "inclining block" or "tiered" rate structure. This type of water rate assesses a higher charge per unit of water as the level of consumption increases. ( Brydon v. East Bay Mun. Utility Dist . (1994) 24 Cal.App.4th 178 , 184 .) We are asked whether such a rate structure comports with the requirements of newly adopted article XIII D of the Constitution. Subdivision (b) of section 6 of article XIII D provides in part: "A fee or charge shall not be extended, imposed, or…