Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Groundwater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances clarifying bill allowing GSAs to amend coordination agreements after DWR plan assessments
Summary
AB 709 clarifies that groundwater sustainability agencies with multiple sustainability plans may amend coordination agreements after Department of Water Resources plan assessments. Supporters said the change gives GSAs needed flexibility to implement SGMA efficiently; the author said the bill is narrowly focused and will take no amendments.
Assemblymember Gonzalez presented AB 709, a narrowly tailored clarification to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) that would allow groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) that share a basin and that maintain multiple groundwater sustainability plans to amend their coordination agreements after the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has completed plan assessment.
The author described the bill as a simple technical fix to provide local GSAs with the flexibility to adjust coordinated planning after DWR assessment, rather than a substantive change to SGMA’s requirements. No witnesses testified in opposition; the author committed on the record not to accept additional amendments that would broaden the bill.
Action: The committee recorded a motion to ‘‘do pass’’ AB 709; the motion carried and the bill was advanced (reported out of the committee). The chair and members discussed the limited scope and the author’s pledge not to accept amendments.
Background: AB 709 is intended to reduce procedural uncertainty for GSAs with multi‑plan coordination agreements by clarifying when and how those agreements can be amended following state assessment.
Next steps: AB 709 was advanced from committee and will proceed to the Senate Appropriations Committee or the next appropriate committee stage.
