Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2453

Introduced by Assembly Member Achadjian

February 21, 2014

An act to begin delete amend Section 380 of end delete begin insert add Part 8.2 (commencing with Section 37900) to Division 13 of end insert the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2453, as amended, Achadjian. begin delete Water supply. end delete begin insert Paso Robles Basin Water District. end insert

begin insert

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.

end insert begin insert

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.

end insert begin delete

Existing law makes findings and declarations relating to local or regional level water management decisions.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change in these provisions.

end delete

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Part 8.2 (commencing with Section 37900) is
added to Division 13 of the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

PART  begin insert 8.2. end insert   Paso Robles Basin Water District

 

Chapter   begin insert 1. end insert General Provisions

 

begin insert 37900. end insert   

(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.

begin insert 37902. end insert   

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.

begin insert 37904. end insert   

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   begin insert 2. end insert Elections

 

begin insert 37910. end insert   

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.

begin insert 37912. end insert   

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.

begin insert 37914. end insert   

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.

begin insert 37916. end insert   

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   begin insert 3. end insert Groundwater Management

 

begin insert 37920. end insert   

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.

end insert

begin delete

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.

end delete