BILL NUMBER: AB 2453 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Achadjian
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 380 of add Part
8.2 (commencing with Section 37900) to Division 13 of the Water
Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2453, as amended, Achadjian. Water supply.
Paso Robles Basin Water District.
Existing law, the California Water District Law, provides for the
formation of California water districts and grants these districts
authority relating to, among other things, the production, storage,
transmission, and distribution of water. That district law generally
requires the members of the board of a California water district, and
the voters of that district, to be landowners, but provides for the
modification of these requirements by the board of that district.
This bill would set forth the composition of, and method of
election by landowners and registered voters for, the board of
directors for the Paso Robles Basin Water District, the boundaries of
which shall be established and may be modified by the San Luis
Obispo County Local Agency Formation Commission.
Existing law makes findings and declarations relating to local or
regional level water management decisions.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change in these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 8.2 (commencing with Section
37900) is added to Division 13 of the Water Code
, to read:
PART 8.2. Paso Robles Basin Water District
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
37900. (a) For purposes of this part, "district" means the Paso
Robles Basin Water District, the boundaries of which shall be
established and may be modified by the San Luis Obispo County Local
Agency Formation Commission.
(b) This part shall apply only to the Paso Robles Basin Water
District.
37902. The Legislature finds and declares that the provisions of
this part are enacted in order to provide a governmental framework
for the district to balance the supply to and consumption of
groundwater within the basin underlying the district, and thereby
pursue stabilizing that basin and sustaining its resources for the
beneficial use of all who use water within the district.
37904. The creation of the district is not intended to and shall
not modify the powers of the County of San Luis Obispo and the San
Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District,
carried out consistent with applicable law, to manage and protect
groundwater resources within the County of San Luis Obispo, including
the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin.
CHAPTER 2. ELECTIONS
37910. Notwithstanding any other law or the bylaws of the
district, all elections for the board of directors of the district
shall be conducted in accordance with this part.
37912. The composition of the board of directors shall be as
follows:
(a) There shall be a total of nine directors, each of whom shall
be qualified for office by being a person who holds title to land
within the district or a person authorized to vote in elections by
landowners as provided in Section 37916. A person may only be a
candidate for one director.
(b) Six of the directors shall be elected by landowners within the
district as provided by Article 1 (commencing with Section 35003) of
Chapter 1 of Part 4, except that each voter shall be entitled to
cast one vote for each acre owned by the voter within the district.
If the voter owns less than one acre, the voter shall be entitled to
one vote and any fraction shall be rounded to the nearest full acre.
(1) For the purposes of election of the six directors described by
this subdivision, landowners within the district shall be divided
into three classes as follows:
(A) "Large landowners," meaning holders of title owning a total of
400 acres or more.
(B) "Medium landowners," meaning holders of title owning a total
of 40 acres or more but less than 400 acres.
(C) "Small landowners," meaning holders of title owning a total of
less than 40 acres of land.
(2) Of the six directors elected pursuant to this subdivision,
large landowners shall elect two directors, medium landowners shall
elect two directors, and small landowners shall elect two directors.
(3) Candidates for the six directors elected pursuant to this
subdivision may be within any landowner class.
(c) Three of the directors shall be elected by registered voters
within the district at large.
(d) All directors, whether qualified under subdivision (b) or (c),
shall reside within the district, within two miles of the district
boundary, or within the boundaries of the City of Paso Robles, the
Atascadero Mutual Water Company, the Templeton Community Services
District, the San Miguel Community Services District, or the San Luis
Obispo County Service Area 16.
37914. District elections shall be conducted in conformance with
the Uniform District Election Law (Part 4 (commencing with Section
10500) of Division 10 of the Elections Code) and the laws generally
applicable to districts created and operated pursuant to this
division, provided the following shall apply:
(a) Separate ballots shall be prepared and separate elections
shall be conducted for those director positions which will be elected
by resident voters and for those which will be elected by landowner
voters. Notwithstanding Section 10555 of the Elections Code, these
landowner voter elections and resident voter elections shall be
conducted simultaneously.
(b) District elections may be conducted by all-mailed ballots
pursuant to Section 4108 of the Elections Code. Separate voter lists
of resident voters and landowner voters eligible to vote within the
district shall be prepared and maintained according to applicable
provisions of law, including Section 10525 of the Elections Code.
Separate all-mailed ballot elections shall be held for the directors
to be elected by resident voters and for those to be elected by
landowner voters.
(c) The directors elected upon formation of the district shall
hold office pursuant to Section 10505 of the Elections Code. For the
purposes of implementing this section, the director positions elected
by large landowners shall be divided into two director term classes,
the directors elected by medium landowners shall be divided into two
director term classes, the directors elected by small landowners
shall be divided into two director term classes, and the directors
elected by registered voters shall be divided into two director term
classes.
(d) Elections of directors shall be held on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in October of each odd-numbered year.
(e) The voters list used for purpose of an election of directors
shall be based upon the last assessment roll prepared by the county
assessor, which shall be conclusive evidence of ownership and acreage
for purpose of carrying out the election. The voters list shall be
amended if satisfactory evidence of a change in ownership is
presented at least 45 days prior to the election to the elections
official in the case of the formation election, and thereafter to the
district secretary. The county assessor shall be compensated for all
costs incurred in determining the ownership and acreage information
and providing the information to the county clerk.
37916. Notwithstanding any other provision of this division or
the Uniform District Election Law (Part 4 (commencing with Section
10500) of Division 10 of the Elections Code), election participation
by landowners as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 37912 shall
be carried out as follows:
(a) If the holder of title is a trust, any trustee of the trust
may vote on behalf of the trust.
(b) If the holder of title is a corporation, the president, vice
president, secretary, or other duly designated officer may vote on
behalf of the corporation.
(c) If the holder of title is a limited liability company, any
managing member may vote on behalf of the limited liability company.
(d) An officer or partner with managerial responsibilities of a
legal entity not listed in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, may
vote on behalf of the entity.
CHAPTER 3. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT
37920. The district shall have the authority afforded to local
agencies as provided in Part 2.75 (commencing with Section 10750) of
Division 6, as that part may be amended, consistent with the
requirements and limitations of applicable law.
SECTION 1. Section 380 of the Water Code is
amended to read:
380. The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:
(a) The various regions of the state differ widely in the
availability of water supplies and in the need for water to meet
beneficial uses.
(b) Decisions regarding operations to meet water needs can depend
in part upon regional differences.
(c) Many water management decisions can best be made at a local or
regional level, to the end that local and regional operational
flexibility will maximize efficient statewide use of water supplies.
(d) The authority granted by this chapter to local and regional
public agencies, as defined in Section 65930 of the Government Code
and not including federal agencies, is in furtherance of the policy
declared in Section 2 of Article X of the California Constitution and
in Section 109.