(a) For a residential customer who demonstrates to a covered water system household income below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, the covered water system shall do both of the following:

(1) Set a reconnection of service fee for reconnection during normal operating hours at fifty dollars ($50), but not to exceed the actual cost of reconnection if it is less. Reconnection fees shall be subject to an annual adjustment for changes in the Consumer Price Index beginning January 1, 2021. For the reconnection of residential service during nonoperational hours, a covered water system shall set a reconnection of service fee at one hundred fifty dollars ($150), but not to exceed the actual cost of reconnection if it is less. Reconnection fees shall be subject to an annual adjustment for changes in the Consumer Price Index beginning January 1, 2021.

(2) Waive interest charges on delinquent bills once every 12 months.

(b) A covered water system shall deem a residential customer to have a household income below 200 percent of the federal poverty line if any member of the household is a current recipient of CalWORKs, CalFresh, general assistance, Medi-Cal, Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or the customer declares that the household’s annual income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 855, Sec. 8. (SB 3) Effective January 1, 2024.)