This chapter shall be known as the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act.

The procedures set forth in this chapter shall be available to any local agency authorized by law to provide water, sewer, or water and sewer service, and authorized to fix, levy, or collect any standby or availability charge or assessment in connection with the provision of that service. Any local agency electing to utilize the standby charge procedures set forth in this chapter shall, in connection with the procedures for fixing and levying of these charges for the year in which the election is made, be governed by the provisions of this chapter alone. Nothing in this chapter shall affect the standby charge procedures authorized or provided for otherwise, if the local agency elects to use those procedures. Any charges imposed under this chapter are deemed to be assessments and, if imposed upon public entities, are subject to Chapter 13.7 (commencing with Section 54999).

Any local agency which is authorized by law to provide water, sewer, or water and sewer service, and which is providing either or both of those services within its jurisdiction, may fix, before either (a) August 10 of any given year with respect to local agencies the taxes or assessments of which are collected for the local agency by the county or (b) the start of the fiscal year with respect to local agencies the taxes or assessments of which are collected by the local agency, a water or sewer standby charge, or both, on land within the jurisdiction of the local agency to which water, sewer, or water and sewer services are made available for any purpose by the agency, whether the water or sewer services are actually used or not. The governing body of the agency which fixes the charge may establish schedules varying the charge according to land uses, benefit derived or to be derived from the use or availability of facilities to provide water, sewer, or water and sewer service, or the degree of availability or quantity of the use of the water, sewer, or water and sewer services to the affected lands, and may restrict the assessment to one or more improvement districts or zones of benefit established within the jurisdiction of the agency. The charge may be imposed on an area, frontage, or parcel basis, or a combination thereof.

The governing body of the local agency shall adopt a resolution to initiate proceedings to fix a standby charge. The resolution shall contain all of the following:

If the procedures set forth in this chapter at the time a charge was established were followed, the governing body may, by resolution, continue a charge pursuant to Section 54984.2 in successive years at the same rate. If new, increased, or extended assessments are proposed, the governing body shall comply with the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753.

After the making of a final determination pursuant to Sections 54984.4 and 54984.7, the local agency shall cause the charge to be collected at the same time, and in the same manner, as is available to it under applicable law.