Amended in Assembly June 12, 2014

Senate Bill No. 868

Introduced by Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review

January 9, 2014

begin delete An act relating to the Budget Act of 2014. end delete begin insert An act to add Section 113 to the Water Code, relating to water, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 868, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. begin delete Budget Act of 2014. end delete begin insert State water policy: groundwater resources. end insert

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The California Constitution requires the reasonable and beneficial use of water. Existing law establishes various state water policies, including the policy that the people of the state have a paramount interest in the use of all the water of the state and that the state is required to determine what water of the state, surface and underground, can be converted to public use or controlled for public protection.

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This bill would declare that it is the policy of the state that groundwater resources be managed sustainably.

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This bill would appropriate $4,500 from the General Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board for its administrative costs during the 2014-15 fiscal year.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

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This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2014.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

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(a) The people of the state have a primary interest in the
protection, management, and reasonable beneficial use of the
water resources of the state, both surface and underground, and
that the integrated management of the state’s water resources is
essential to meeting its water management goals.

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(b) Groundwater provides a significant portion of California’s
water supply. Groundwater accounts for more than one-third of
the water used by Californians in an average year and more than
one-half of the water used by Californians in a drought year when
other sources are unavailable.

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(c) Excessive groundwater pumping can cause overdraft, failed
wells, deteriorated water quality, environmental damage, and
irreversible land subsidence that damages infrastructure and
diminishes the capacity of aquifers to store water for the future.

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(d) When properly managed, groundwater resources will help
protect communities, farms, and the environment against prolonged
dry periods and climate change, preserving water supplies for
existing and potential beneficial use.

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(e) Groundwater resources are most effectively managed at the
local or regional level.

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(f) Some local agencies manage their groundwater sustainably,
either through local management structures or pursuant to an
adjudication of water rights, while others have not done so, leading
to a variety of serious local groundwater problems.

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(g) Groundwater management will not be effective unless local
actions to sustainably manage groundwater basins are taken.

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(h) Local and regional agencies need to have the necessary
support and authority to manage groundwater sustainably.

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(i) In those circumstances where a local groundwater
management agency is not managing its groundwater sustainably,
the state needs to protect the resource until it is determined that
a local groundwater management agency can sustainably manage
the groundwater basin.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 113 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 113. end insert   

(a) It is the policy of the state that groundwater resources
be managed sustainably.

(b) Sustainable groundwater management means the
management of groundwater to provide for multiple long-term
benefits without resulting in or aggravating conditions that cause
significant economic, social, or environmental impacts such as
long-term overdraft, land subsidence, ecosystem degradation,
depletions from surface water bodies, and water quality
degradation, in order to protect the resource for future generations.
Sustainable groundwater management requires the development,
implementation, and updating of local water budgets, plans, and
programs based on the best available science, monitoring,
forecasting, and use of technological resources.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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The amount of four thousand five hundred dollars
($4,500) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the
State Water Resources Control Board for its administrative costs
during the 2014-15 fiscal year.

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

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This act is a bill providing for appropriations related
to the Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section
12 of Article IV of the California Constitution, has been identified
as related to the budget in the Budget Bill, and shall take effect
immediately.

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SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory
changes relating to the Budget Act of 2014.

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