Section 116761.20.

(a)  Planning and preliminary engineering studies, project design, and construction costs may be funded under this chapter by loans, or, in the case of public agencies or private not-for-profit water companies, by grants or a combination of grants and loans.

(b)  The department shall determine what portion of the full costs the public agency or private not-for-profit water company is capable of repaying and authorize funding in the form of a loan for that amount. The department shall authorize a grant only to the extent the department finds the public agency or not-for-profit water company is unable to repay the full costs of a loan.

(c)  At the request of the department, the Public Utilities Commission shall submit comments concerning the ability of suppliers, subject to its jurisdiction, to finance the project from other sources and to repay the loan.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 619, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)