BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 564|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 564
Author: Cannella (R)
Amended: 8/18/16
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-0, 8/25/16 (Pursuant
to Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Jackson, Monning,
Vidak, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hueso
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-1, 8/24/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency
Act
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill creates the North Fork Kings River
Groundwater Sustainability Agency, specifies the board
composition of the Agency, and adds the Agency to the list of
agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are
deemed the exclusive local agencies to comply with the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Assembly Amendments delete prior language regarding Proposition
1E funding and replace it with the current language creating the
North Fork Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act.
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ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Includes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
SGMA, among other things:
a) Requires that a groundwater sustainability plan be
adopted for high and medium priority groundwater basins in
California.
i) Limited to "high & medium priority basins" - 127
out of 515 basins in the state.
ii) Adjudicated basins are exempt (except for
minimal reporting), bringing the number to fewer than
100 affected basins.
iii) "Low & very low priority" basins are exempt,
though they are encouraged to adopt plans.
b) Establishes a timetable for adoption of groundwater
sustainability plans.
i) By 2017, local groundwater sustainability
agencies must be identified.
ii) By 2020, overdrafted basins must be covered by a
groundwater sustainability plan. Other high and medium
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priority basins not in overdraft must have plans by
2022.
iii) By 2040, each high and medium priority basin
must achieve sustainability, though this can be
extended by 10 years for good cause.
c) Empowers local agencies to manage their basins
sustainably.
i) Gives local agencies new authority to adopt and
enforce rules, require reporting, raise funds and build
new water projects.
ii) Department of Water Resources (DWR) will provide
technical assistance to local agencies.
d) Establishes basic requirements for groundwater
sustainability plans.
i) Long-term planning and implementation horizon.
ii) Measurable objectives and interim milestones to
achieve sustainability in 20 years.
iii) Most requirements similar to the current,
voluntary groundwater plan requirements adopted 22
years ago.
iv) DWR will develop new regulations for updating
basin boundaries and criteria to evaluate
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sustainability plans.
2)Creates 15 special act districts to manage groundwater, which
are also deemed the exclusive local agencies within their
respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with
SGMA. These include districts, for example:
a) Alameda County Water District.
b) Desert Water Agency.
c) Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency.
d) Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.
e) Ojai Groundwater Management Agency.
f) Orange County Water District.
This bill:
1)Enacts the North Fork Kings River Groundwater Sustainability
Agency Act, which creates the North Fork Kings River
Groundwater Sustainability Agency (agency) created in the
Counties of Fresno and Tulare.
a) The boundaries of the agency generally comprise the
north-central portion of the Kings groundwater subbasin.
i) The initial boundaries of the agency may be
changed upon a petition to the boards of supervisors of
the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed
public hearing in the county in which the change is
proposed.
ii) The boundaries of the agency shall not be
adjusted to include an area of the basin within the
management area of another groundwater sustainability
agency unless the agency has entered into a memorandum
of agreement or other legal agreement with that
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groundwater sustainability agency that permits the area
to be included.
b) The agency shall be governed by a board of directors
that shall consist of seven members, as follows:
i) One member shall be a resident or landowner within
the territory of the agency chosen by the County of
Fresno.
ii) One member shall be a resident or landowner within
the territory of the agency chosen by the members of the
governing boards of the following entities:
(1) Clark's Fork Reclamation District.
(2) Laguna Irrigation District.
(3) Upper San Jose Water Company.
iii) One member shall be a resident or landowner within
the territory of the agency chosen by the members of the
governing boards of special districts that are
authorized to provide drinking water within the
territory of the agency, who shall be chosen from the
members of the governing boards of the special
districts, including, but not limited to, the following
special districts:
(1) Laton Community Services District.
(2) Riverdale Public Utility District.
(3) Lanare Community Services District.
iv) One member shall be a resident or landowner within
the territory of the agency chosen by the members of the
governing boards of the following entities:
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(1) Crescent Canal Company.
(2) Stinson Canal and Irrigation Company.
v) One member shall be a resident or landowner within
the territory of the agency chosen by the members of the
governing boards of the following entities:
(1) Riverdale Irrigation Company.
(2) Reed Ditch Company.
vi) One member shall be a resident or landowner within
the territory of the agency chosen by the members of the
governing boards of the following entities:
(1) Liberty Mill Race Company.
(2) Burrel Ditch Company.
vii) One member shall be chosen by the members of the
governing boards of the following special districts, who
shall be chosen from the members of the governing boards
of the special districts:
(1) Liberty Water District.
(2) Liberty Canal Company.
c) The board may adopt ordinances for the purpose of
regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use
and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the
agency.
d) The agency shall enter into a coordination agreement
with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the
agency's plan with other agencies or groundwater
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sustainability plans within the Kings Subbasin as required
by SGMA.
e) The agency may exclude from any of the requirements of
the act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator
who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of
groundwater as specified by an ordinance adopted by the
board.
f) The agency may collect data and conduct technical and
other investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the
provisions of this act.
g) The agency shall develop and implement a groundwater
sustainability plan pursuant to SGMA to achieve sustainable
groundwater management within the territory of the agency.
h) The agency may exercise any of the powers granted to
groundwater sustainability agencies by SGMA.
i) The agency may establish advisory committees that
include persons representing interests of beneficial uses
and users of groundwater for purposes of assisting the
board in the development and operation of the groundwater
sustainability agency and the development and
implementation of the agency's groundwater sustainability
plan.
j) The agency shall establish a rural community advisory
committee for purposes of assisting the board to consider
the interests of all beneficial uses and users of
groundwater.
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aa) The agency may impose fees, including groundwater
extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the costs
of a groundwater sustainability program.
2)Adds North Fork Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency
to the list of special act districts which are deemed the
exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory
boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA.
3)Includes chaptering instructions should both this bill and SB
37 (Vidak) pass.
Comments
Kings Groundwater Subbasin. The Kings subbasin has been
designated by DWR as a high-priority basin. DWR has also
identified it as being one of 21 basins in critical overdraft.
Seats For Mutual Water Companies? This bill allows for several
mutual water companies to have a say in choosing board members,
and for the board members to either be a "resident" or a
"landowner." Essentially, the bill allows several of the
seven-member board to be representatives of mutual water
companies.
As noted in the Assembly Local Government Committee analysis of
this bill, "Most mutual water companies are organized, pursuant
to the General Corporation Law or the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit
Corporation Law. Shareholders in a mutual water company hold a
right to purchase water from the company. Stock in a company is
usually linked to the ownership of a parcel served by the
company and transfers with the land when the parcel is sold to
successive owners. This type of corporate structure allows
landowners to establish, essentially, a customer-owned water
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provider to serve their properties. State law exempts a mutual
water company from state regulation if it is organized to
deliver water to its stockholders and members, with specified
exceptions. Governance of a mutual water company is generally
limited to shareholders, or members, of the company. While the
details of any particular company's governing structure are
determined by its articles and bylaws, most mutual water
companies allow only shareholders and members to vote on
organizational matters and serve on the company's governing
board."
The Legislature has, on occasion, excluded mutual water
companies from participation in some water projects and
programs. Most notably, the recent water bond authorized by
Proposition 1 included specific language in Chapter 8 that
prevented mutual water companies from being a part of a joint
powers authority (JPA) that sponsors a surface storage project
funded by that bond.
It is not clear, from a water policy perspective, if a
groundwater sustainability agency is analogues to a JPA
sponsoring a surface storage project.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 37 (Cannella, 2016) creates the Kings River East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency, also overlaying a portion of the Kings
subbasin and located south east of the North Fork Kings
Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, "Negligible
state fiscal impact. Although a state mandate, costs are not
reimbursable because the Agency has authority to levy fees
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sufficient to cover any costs."
SUPPORT: (Verified8/25/16)
Burrel Ditch Company
Clark's Fork Reclamation District #2069
Community Water Center
Crescent Canal Company
Laguna Irrigation District
Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Liberty Canal Company
Liberty Mill Race Co.
Liberty Water District
Reed Ditch Company
Riverdale Irrigation District
Riverdale Public Utility District
Stinson Canal & Irrigation Co.
Upper San Jose Water Company
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/25/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "It was the
expressed intent of the Legislature in writing SGMA to 'manage
groundwater basins through the actions of local governmental
agencies to the greatest extent feasible, while minimizing state
intervention to only when necessary to ensure that local
agencies manage groundwater in a sustainable manner' [Water
Code Section 10720.1(h)].
"This legislation, in creating a special act agency to serve as
the groundwater sustainability for an area encompassing 265
square miles, is fully consistent with legislative intent for a
number of reasons. First, the portion of the basin to be
covered by the GSA would not contain any so-called "white areas"
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as the territory of the GSA would cover the entire area. Second,
this is important because significant acreage in the territory
is not served by local agencies, but by mutual water companies.
The special act agency would include in its governing body
traditionally disparate interests, including representatives
appointed by the principal land use agency, local agencies
providing drinking water to disadvantaged communities, local
agencies providing farm water supplies and mutual water
companies that provide farm water supplies. Mutual water
companies would not be a member of the GSA, but a representative
of a mutual water company may be appointed to serve on the
governing body.
"The goal of this legislation is to provide 'a seat at the
table' for all of the entities that have a stake in sustainable
groundwater management in this area. This approach offers the
best governance model for achieving sustainable groundwater
management in this area. A GSA that consists of only local
agencies would require other interested parties to participate
only through attending meetings and reviewing and commenting on
the development and implementation of the groundwater
sustainability plan. It will be far better to provide equal and
equitable access to the decision making process."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-1, 8/24/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Harper
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough
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Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/25/16 17:37:31
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