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Senate committee advances measure allowing single-member Metropolitan Water District agencies to assign proxies
Summary
AB 523 would let member agencies that only have a single director on the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) board authorize another sitting MWD director to vote on their behalf at board meetings under strict limits; the committee advanced the bill despite concerns about potential overuse and questions about the sunset date in the bill text.
Assemblymember Erwin presented AB 523 to allow member agencies that are represented by a single director on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California board to designate another sitting MWD director to vote on their behalf at board meetings when their director cannot attend. Sponsors said the bill corrects an inequity: multi-representative agencies can vote full entitlements when at least one member is present, while single-member agencies currently lose the opportunity to cast their vote when their single director is absent.
Joe Mawad, general manager of Eastern Municipal Water District, said the change would “modernize and improve the Metropolitan Act” and allow single-member agencies to have their priorities considered. The bill includes guardrails, such as limits on how often a proxy can be assigned in a year, a restriction that the proxy only covers board meetings (not committees), and a sunset clause the author described in testimony as repealing the provision on "02/1930" (the date given in the hearing transcript was not clear).
Supporters including Rancho California Water District, the Association of California Water Agencies and other members of the water community testified in favor; no formal opposition was recorded at the hearing. Committee members asked clarifying questions about how the proxy would interact with teleconference provisions and the Brown Act; the author said the bill is intended to work with recent teleconferencing flexibility to ensure single-member agencies can be represented when remote participation is not available.
The committee voted to advance AB 523 to the Senate floor.
