BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1578
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1578 (Logue)
As Amended June 13, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-0 |(May 17, 2012) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Creates the Indian Valley Watermaster District
(District).
The Senate amendments clarify that the District will assume all
powers and duties previously assigned to the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) as watermaster.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that, upon written request submitted to DWR by the
owners or governing bodies of at least 15% of the conduits
lawfully entitled to directly divert water from the streams or
other sources of water supply in any service area, DWR may, if
it determines that it is necessary, appoint a watermaster and
if necessary, in its discretion, one or more deputy
watermasters for the service area.
2)Provides that, upon petition made to a court in which a
relevant judicial decree has been entered by the owners or
governing bodies of at least 15% of the conduits lawfully
entitled to directly divert water from the streams or other
sources of water supply in any service area, the court may
appoint a public agency as watermaster under this part to
replace the watermaster appointed by DWR.
3)States that a watermaster appointed by the court shall have
the powers and duties prescribed by the court pursuant to the
exercise of its judicial authority.
4)Establishes a Watermaster District for Siskiyou County.
5)Establishes a Watermaster District for Shasta and Tehama
Counties.
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AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Created a watermaster district in Plumas County to be known as
the Indian Valley Watermaster District.
2)Stated that the purpose of the District is to act as
watermaster over those decreed water rights whose places of
use are within the territory of the District and for which the
court has appointed the District as the watermaster.
3)Established the exterior boundaries of the District.
4)Defined the following terms for purposes of this measure:
a) "Appointed decree" means a decree for which the District
is appointed the watermaster by the court;
b) "Appointed parcel" means a parcel of real property
within the District that is a place
of use for water rights under an appointed decree;
c) "Board of directors" or "board" means the board of
directors of the District;
d) "Contracted parcel" means an eligible parcel whose owner
has entered into a contract with the District to provide
watermaster service for that parcel;
e) "County" means Plumas County;
f) "Court" means the Superior Court for the County of
Plumas;
g) "Decree" or "decrees" means any water right decree,
entered by the court that adjudicates water rights within
the county in which the decreed points of diversion are
within the county;
h) "Department" means the Department of Water Resources
(DWR);
i) "District" means the Indian Valley Watermaster
District;
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j) "Eligible parcel" means a parcel of real property
within the District that is a place of use for water rights
under a decree that is not an appointed decree, and for
which the department is not the watermaster;
aa) "Fund" means the fund designated by the court, or by
the District in the absence of a designation by the court,
into which charges levied by the District shall be paid by
the county upon collection;
bb) "Owner" means a person who is an owner of a parcel of
real property within the District that is a place of use
for water rights under a decree;
cc) "Person" means any state or local governmental agency,
private corporation, firm, partnership, individual, group
of individuals, or, to the extent authorized by law, any
native tribe or federal agency;
dd) "Indian Valley Service Area" means the territory
included in the Indian Valley Water District as described
in the measure;
ee) "Indian Valley" means that portion of the District
generally drained by Indian Creek; and,
ff) "Voter" means a holder of water rights whose place of
use under a decree is an appointed or contracted parcel.
5)Specified that the District board (Board) would consist of
five members.
6)Stated that one member of the Board shall be a voter holding
water rights whose places of use under a decree are appointed
or contracted parcels within the Indian Valley Service Area;
these members shall be elected at large from the Indian Valley
Service Area.
7)Stated that, two members of the Board be appointed by the
Plumas County Board of Supervisors, specifying that these
members shall be residents of the County and shall not be
voters.
8)Specified that a quorum of the Board is three members.
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9)Required, on or before February 1, 2013, the board of
supervisors of Plumas County to appoint the members of the
board of directors and specifies these initial members will
hold office until their successors are elected.
10)Required the board of directors at their first meeting to
classify themselves by lot into two classes where in class
one, three members of the first Board shall serve a term of
four years and the other class will have two members that will
serve for a two-year term.
11)Specified that the remaining Board member terms shall serve
four years.
12)Allowed members of the Board to be reelected.
13)Required that all elections of the District follow the
Uniform District Election Laws.
14)Stated that if a vacancy occurs on the Board, it shall be
filled by appointment by a majority
of the remaining Board members.
15)Required that for parcels with multiple owners, the owners
must designate in writing to the District a single voter to
represent them for voting purposes.
16)Required the Board to do all of the following:
a) Act only by ordinance, motion, or resolution;
b) Keep a record of all its actions, including financial
transactions; and,
c) Adopt rules or bylaws for its proceedings.
17)Authorized the Board to provide, by ordinance or resolution,
that members may receive their actual and necessary traveling
and incidental expenses incurred while on official business.
18)Required that prior to taking office, each elected director
must take the official oath of office and execute any
requirement bond that may be established by the Board.
19)Required the Board to select a chairperson and a vice
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chairperson at the first meeting of the Board and annually
thereafter.
20)Specified that the meetings of the Board are subject to the
Ralph M. Brown Act.
21)Provided the District with the basic powers generally given
to all special districts.
22)Specified that the District is not subject to Local Agency
Formation Commission laws.
23)Stated that the District shall serve as the watermaster for
any appointed decree, including but not limited to, taking
specific actions ordered by the court in the administration of
that decree or decrees.
24)Stated that in carrying out its duties as watermaster, the
District shall have the powers and duties as provided to DWR
in managing a watermaster service area except as modified by
the court.
25)Authorized the District to enter into agreements to provide
watermaster service to holders of a water right whose place of
use is an eligible parcel where all holders of the water right
have agreed to the service.
26)Required that an agreement to provide watermaster services to
an eligible parcel must include a provision that the owners
agree to pay in full for the service prior to the provision of
service.
27)Required that the amount being paid must be determined to
ensure that the provision of the watermaster service to
contracted parcels does not increase the cost of the
watermaster services to appointed parcels.
28)Required charges levied by the District to comply with
Proposition 218.
29)Stated that amounts owed to Plumas County on account of
services provided to the District by Plumas County shall be
included on a proportional basis in the District's budget for
each watermaster service area.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The main purpose of the watermaster program is to
ensure water is allocated according to established water rights
as determined by court adjudications or agreements by an
unbiased, qualified person, thereby reducing water rights court
litigation, civil lawsuits, and law enforcement workload. It
also helps prevent the waste or unreasonable use of water.
According to DWR, there are eight Northern District field
watermasters working full time in their respective service areas
during the irrigation season, usually April 1 through September
30. It is the watermaster's responsibility to physically
regulate between 100 to 200 diversions within one or more
service areas during this period.
According to the author's office, the basic problem that this
bill is trying to address is the cost of the watermaster's
services. In 2011 the Legislature eliminated all General Fund
support for the state watermaster services, forcing DWR to
dramatically increase fees on property owners that receive these
services. In Indian Valley fees are now five times higher than
they were in 2010. According to the author, the purpose of the
bill is to transfer responsibility for watermaster services from
DWR to a local watermaster district thus allowing the local
district to be more cost-effective in the long run than
continuing with DWR.
This bill creates a special district that can serve as
watermaster to enforce local court decrees for water rights in
Plumas County, in place of the watermaster presently appointed
by DWR. No existing special district or local government within
Plumas County is well suited and prepared to serve in this
capacity, and special districts that could be formed through the
Plumas County Local Agency Formation Commission lack the
appropriate characteristics for serving as a watermaster.
This bill creates a special district to serve as watermaster,
but would not cause any actual substitution of service to take
place. After the proposed watermaster district is formed by
enactment of the bill, water right holders would then take
action in the Superior Court to replace the DWR watermaster with
the new district.
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This measure is almost identical to AB 1580 (La Malfa), Chapter
416, Statutes of 2007, that established a Watermaster District
for Siskiyou County and SB 516 (Aanestad), Chapter 434, Statutes
of 2007, that established the Shasta-Tehama Watermaster
District.
Support arguments: Given the factors that drive significant
elements of cost for the state as a service provider, and their
own initial budget estimates, the proponents of the bill feel
that a local agency would be more cost-effective in the long run
than continuing with DWR.
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that although the
cost of having DWR continue as the watermaster may be more
expensive for property owners, DWR is best suited for acting as
watermaster because of its expertise in ensuring that California
water sources are protected and being used for the benefit of
all Californians.
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
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