Amended in Assembly April 21, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 452

Introduced by Assembly Member Bigelow

February 23, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Sections 1529.5 and 1552 of, and to add Section 1553 to, end delete begin insert Section 1552 of end insert the Water Code, relating to groundwater.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 452, as amended, Bigelow. Water Rights Fund: begin delete Groundwater Regulation Subaccount. end delete begin insert groundwater regulation. end insert

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. begin insert Existing law establishes groundwater reporting requirements for a person extracting groundwater in an area within a basin that is not within the management area of a groundwater sustainability agency or that is a probationary basin. end insert Existing law establishes the Water Rights Fund, which consists of various fees and penalties.

begin delete

This bill would establish the Groundwater Regulation Subaccount in the Water Rights Fund and would provide that moneys in the subaccount are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Water Resources Control Board for the purpose of board enforcement of the provisions of the act.

end delete begin delete

Existing law authorizes the board to issue a cease and desist order in response to a violation or threatened violation of any decision or order of the board under the act or any extraction restriction, limitation, order, or regulation adopted or issued by the board under the act. Under existing law, a person who violates a cease and desist order of the board may be civilly liable, as prescribed.

end delete begin delete

Existing law establishes groundwater reporting requirements for a person extracting groundwater in an area within a basin that is not within the management area of a groundwater sustainability agency or that is a probationary basin. Existing law requires each report of groundwater extraction to be accompanied by a specified fee. Existing law subjects a person to civil liability if that person fails to file, as required, a report of groundwater extraction, tampers with a required measuring device, or makes a material misstatement in connection with the filing of a report of groundwater extraction. Existing law provides that the making of any willful misstatement in connection with these groundwater reporting requirements is a misdemeanor punishable as prescribed.

end delete

This bill would begin delete provide for the funds received under the above-described provisions to be deposited into the subaccount. end delete begin insert prohibit water rights fees from being available for expenditure by the board for the purposes of board enforcement of the provisions of the act and the groundwater reporting requirements. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 1529.5 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

1529.5.  

(a) The board shall adopt a schedule of fees pursuant
to Section 1530 to recover costs incurred in administering Chapter
11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6.
Recoverable costs include, but are not limited to, costs incurred
in connection with investigations, facilitation, monitoring, hearings,
enforcement, and administrative costs in carrying out these actions.

(b) The fee schedule adopted under this section may include,
but is not limited to, the following:

(1) A fee for participation as a petitioner or party to an
adjudicative proceeding.

(2) A fee for the filing of a report pursuant to Part 5.2
(commencing with Section 5200) of Division 2.

(c) Consistent with Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California
Constitution, the board shall set the fees under this section in an
amount sufficient to cover all costs incurred and expended from
the Groundwater Regulation Subaccount for the purposes of Part
5.2 (commencing with Section 5200) and Chapter 11 (commencing
with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6. In setting these
fees, the board is not required to fully recover these costs in the
year or the year immediately after the costs are incurred, but the
board may provide for recovery of these costs over a period of
years.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

Section 1552 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

1552.  

(a) The money in the Water Rights Fund is available
for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the
following purposes:

(1) For expenditure by the State Board of Equalization in the
administration of this chapter and the Fee Collection Procedures
Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section 55001) of Division 2 of
the Revenue and Taxation Code) in connection with any fee or
expense subject to this chapter.

(2) For the payment of refunds, pursuant to Part 30 (commencing
with Section 55001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, of fees or expenses collected pursuant to this chapter.

(3) For expenditure by the board for the purposes of carrying
out this division, Division 1 (commencing with Section 100), Part
2 (commencing with Section 10500) begin insert and Chapter 11 (commencing
with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 end insert of Division 6, and Article 7
(commencing with Section 13550) of Chapter 7 of Division 7.

(4) For expenditures by the board for the purposes of carrying
out Sections 13160 and 13160.1 in connection with activities
involving hydroelectric power projects subject to licensing by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(5) For expenditures by the board for the purposes of carrying
out Sections 13140 and 13170 in connection with plans and policies
that address the diversion or use of water.

(b)  begin delete The money in the Water Rights Fund end delete begin insert Water rights fees end insert shall
not be available for expenditure by the board for the begin delete purpose of end delete
begin insert purposes of Part 5.2 (commencing with Section 5200) and end insert Chapter
11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6.

begin delete

SEC. 3.  

Section 1553 is added to the Water Code, to read:

1553.  

(a) The Groundwater Regulation Subaccount is hereby
established in the Water Rights Fund.

(b) All of the following shall be deposited in the Groundwater
Regulation Subaccount:

(1) Funds recovered in response to a violation or threatened
violation of any decision or order of the board issued under Chapter
11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6
or any extraction restriction, limitation, order, or regulation adopted
or issued under that chapter.

(2) Funds received pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5202.

(3) Funds recovered pursuant to Section 5208.

(c) The money in the Groundwater Regulation Subaccount shall
be available to the board, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
for the purpose of carrying out Chapter 11 (commencing with
Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6.

end delete