BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
Senator Patricia Wiggins, Chair
BILL NO: AB 348 HEARING: 6/16/09
AUTHOR: Salas FISCAL: No
VERSION: 2/19/09 CONSULTANT: Detwiler
SOUTH BAY IRRIGATION DISTRICT'S GOVERNANCE
Background and Existing Law
Under the California Constitution, property ownership can't
be a condition to the right to vote or hold office. The
courts have declined to apply that prohibition to special
districts that don't provide general government services.
To be a member of an irrigation district's board, a person
must be both a voter and a landowner in that district.
In 2000, the Legislature deleted the landowner requirement
for directors of irrigation districts that provide retail
electricity; those directors must be registered voters (SB
1939, Alarc?n, 2000). In 2006, the Legislature deleted the
landowner requirement for directors of irrigation districts
that prepare "urban water management plans," in other
words, those irrigation districts which provide water for
municipal purposes to more than 3,000 customers or annually
supply more than 3,000 acre-feet of water for municipal
purposes (AB 159, Salinas, 2006).
Although the South Bay Irrigation District covers an
urbanized area, the District doesn't prepare its own urban
water management plan. The Sweetwater Authority, a joint
powers agency, is the actual water purveyor for that part
of southern San Diego County and so the Sweetwater
Authority prepares the urban water management plan.
Therefore, the requirements of the 2006 Salinas bill don't
apply to the South Bay Irrigation District. The District
wants the Legislature to remove the landowner requirement
for its board members, making the District like other
irrigation districts that serve urban areas and rely on
registered voter qualifications for their board members.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 348 declares that the landowner requirements
for irrigation districts' governing boards do not apply to
AB 348 -- 2/19/09 -- Page 2
the South Bay Irrigation District. AB 348 also explains
the need for special legislation.
AB 348 -- 2/19/09 -- Page 3
Comment
Power to the people . Irrigation districts used to deliver
only irrigation water to farms, orchards, and ranches. In
those settings, it may have been appropriate to require
landownership as a qualification for membership on an
irrigation district's board of directors. As California
urbanized, some irrigation districts became the retail
purveyors of domestic water, supplying people instead of
acres. The legislative trend is to delete the landowner
requirement for irrigation districts that supply
significant amounts of domestic water. Because of an
unusual local twist, the 2006 Salinas bill didn't affect
the South Bay Irrigation District. AB 348 resolves that
anomaly and eliminates the landowner requirement.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government Committee: 7-0
Assembly Elections & Reapportionment Committee: 7-0
Assembly Floor: 78-0
Support and Opposition (6/11/09)
Support : South Bay Irrigation District, Sweetwater
Authority.
Opposition : Unknown.