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Committee advances bill requiring groundwater sustainability agencies to publish board membership and Form 700 link
Summary
AB 293 would require all groundwater sustainability agencies to post their board membership and a link to the Fair Political Practices Commission filing for statements of economic interest to improve transparency for small and midsized farmers and other stakeholders.
Assemblymember Bennett presented AB 293, which would require Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to publish board membership and a link to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) where Form 700 statements of economic interest can be viewed. Bennett said many of the state’s roughly 260 GSAs do not make membership and disclosure links easily accessible, and the requirement is a straightforward transparency step following last year’s law requiring Form 700 filings.
Catherine Van Dyke of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAF) said the bill is aimed at helping small and mid‑size farmers understand who decides groundwater plans and that greater transparency can reduce conflicts of interest. Opposition came from Valley Ag Water Coalition (Bob Reeb) and the Association of California Water Agencies (Soren Nelson), who argued GSAs already operate with substantial oversight under SGMA and questioned singling out GSAs for a statutory posting requirement.
Senate members moved to pass AB 293 to Appropriations; the motion passed and the bill was placed on call. Proponents said the change is administrative and intended to improve public accessibility to disclosure records; opponents asked for no special treatment for any single local agency type.
