A new bill headed to the Assembly for a vote could add more than $1,000 to local property tax bills, according to a taxpayer watchdog group opposing the measure.

Senate Bill 231 is set for a vote Monday in the Assembly, and the bill would allow local governments to bypass voter approval for any fee hike regarding sewer maintenance, which is mandated by voters with the passage Proposition 218.

This is the second time Senator Robert Hertzberg has tried to pass this bill, which categorizes “sewer” as stormwater, in order to work around the Proposition 218 requirement for voter approval on any new fees.

The fees proposed in SB 231 for stormwater or sewer maintenance could reach as high as $1,400 per parcel annually.

Essentially, local governments have had a hard time convincing ratepayers about their need to approve fee increases to pay for growing infrastructure need in California, due to Proposition 218.

SB 231 authorizes counties, cities, and local water agencies to finance stormwater projects in the same manner as other public works projects under Proposition 218, meaning they wouldn’t necessarily need to be approved at the ballot.

“Counties, cities and local water agencies throughout California face many cost pressures and funding challenges that affect water, including maintenance of aging infrastructure and requirement to comply with higher regulatory standard,” according to a legislative analysis of SB 231. “These entities need to fund stormwater and flood control projects to protect people and property from flooding, remove pollutants from stormwater, and increase groundwater recharge. However, financing these projects is costly and difficult under current law.”

Proposition 218, or the Omnibus Implementation Act, requires a voter approval at the ballot to approve almost any new fees for ratepayers and voters. SB 231 is looking to address the challenges facing stormwater infrastructure by changing the categorization of sewer as “stormwater.”

Most taxpayer watchdog groups, such as the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association and the Southern California Republican Women and Men, are crying foul on the process, calling it an end-around on voters’ rights.

“This is a taxpayer emergency…” says Howard Hyde, president of Southern California Republican Women and Men, “because this bill, S.B. 231, redefines the word “sewer” to include ‘stormwater,’ even though the California Court of Appeal said it doesn’t.”