(a) In addition to the actions described in Section 116760.40, the board may, to implement the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, improve access to financial assistance for small community water systems and not-for-profit nontransient noncommunity water systems serving severely disadvantaged communities by doing both of the following:

(1) Working to establish a payment process pursuant to which the recipient of financial assistance would receive funds within 30 days of the date on which the board receives a complete project payment request, unless the board, within that 30-day period, determines that the project payment would not be in accordance with the terms of the program guidelines.

(2) Investigating the use of wire transfers or other appropriate payment procedures to expedite project payments.

(b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

(Repealed (in Sec. 71) and added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 35, Sec. 72. (SB 861) Effective June 20, 2014. Section operative July 1, 2014, by its own provisions.)