AB 2470, as amended, Gonzalez. Municipal water districts: water service: Indian tribes.
Existing law, the Municipal Water District Law of 1911, provides for the formation of municipal water districts and grants to those districts specified powers. Existing law permits a district to acquire, control, distribute, store, spread, sink, treat, purify, recycle, recapture, and salvage any water for the beneficial use of the district, its inhabitants, or the owners of rights to water in the district. Existing law authorizes a district to sell water under its control, without preference, to cities, other public corporations and agencies, and persons, within the district for use within the district. Existing law authorizes a district to sell or otherwise dispose of water above that required by consumers within the district to any persons, public corporations or agencies, or other consumers.
This bill, upon the request of an Indian tribe
and the satisfaction of certain conditions, would require a district to provide service of water at substantially the same terms applicable to the customers of the district to an Indian tribe’s lands that are not within a district, as prescribed, if the Indian tribe’s lands meet certainbegin delete requirements.end deletebegin insert requirements and the Indian tribe satisfies prescribed conditions.end insert The bill would deem the service areas of a district and of any publicbegin delete agencyend deletebegin insert agenciesend insert providing water to the district for all purposes to include an Indian tribe’s land for a prescribed period of time if the district provides service of water to the Indian tribe’s lands
under these provisions.begin delete This bill would require an Indian tribe provided water service under these provisions to make all required payments as if it were annexed into a district’s service area and would make the payments a condition of continued service of water by the district.end delete By imposing new duties on a municipal water district, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 71611.5 is added to the Water Code, to
2read:
begin delete(a)end deletebegin delete end deleteNotwithstanding any otherbegin delete law, uponend deletebegin insert law:end insert
4begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertUponend insert the request of an Indian tribe and the satisfaction of
5the conditions stated in subdivision (b), a district shall provide
6service of water at
substantially the same terms applicable to the
7customers of the district to an Indian tribe’s lands that are not
8within a district as if the lands had been fully annexedbegin delete withinend deletebegin insert intoend insert
9 the district andbegin delete any other special districtsend deletebegin insert into any other public
P3 1agenciesend insert required for the provision of water service if the Indian
2tribe’s lands meet all of the following requirements:
3(1) The lands were owned by the tribe on January 1, 2016.
4(2) The lands are contiguous with at least two districts.
5(3) The lands lie within the special study area of at least one
6district.
7(4) At least 70 percent of the Indian tribe’s total Indian lands
8are currently within the boundaries of one or more districts.
9(b) Before a district provides service of water pursuant to this
10section, the Indian tribe shall satisfybegin delete bothend deletebegin insert allend insert of the following
11conditions:
12(1) The Indian tribe complies with all federal and tribal laws.
13(2) The Indian tribe acquires all federal and tribal approvals
14necessary for the applicable district to provide water service to the
15tribal lands on substantially the same terms applicable to customers
16of the district.
17
(3) The Indian tribe shall by agreement accept all terms of, and
18payments to (including service payments), the district and any
19public agency providing water to said district, as if the Indian
20tribe’s lands were fully annexed into the district and into the
21service area of any other public agency, which terms and payments
22are also a condition of continued service by a district and by any
23public agency providing water to said district.
24(c) If a district provides
service of water to an Indian tribe’s
25lands pursuant to this section, the service areas of the district and
26of any publicbegin delete agencyend deletebegin insert agenciesend insert providing water to the district are
27deemed for all purposes to include the Indian tribe’s lands for the
28longest of the following periods of time:
29(1) The time service of water is provided by the district to the
30Indian tribe.
31(2) The time moneys are owed by the Indian tribe to the district
32for the service of water.
33(3) The term of any agreement between the district and the
34Indian tribe.
35(d) An Indian tribe provided water service pursuant to this
36section shall make all required payments, including service
37payments, as if it were annexed into a
district’s service area. The
38payments are a condition of continued service of water by the
39district pursuant to this section.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
2Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
3a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
4charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
5level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
617556 of the Government Code.
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