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County pursuing legislatively formed GSA to resolve Eastern Tule governance gaps
Summary
Tulare County staff said they are sponsoring a bill with Assemblymember Macedo to create a new legislatively formed groundwater sustainability agency covering residual portions of the Eastern Tule GSA, aiming to replace a dysfunctional JPA and enable SGMA implementation.
County staff updated the Tulare County Water Commission on April 14, 2025, about efforts to craft state legislation that would create a new, legislatively formed groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) to serve remaining portions of the Eastern Tule GSA.
Denise said the county, working with Assemblymember Devon Mathis' office and Assemblymember Vince Fong's staff, and specifically naming Assemblymember Macedo as a sponsor, drafted a bill (staff cited a working number, "1044," but noted the number may change) modeled on the 2016 bill that formed the Kings River East GSA. Denise said the new bill would create a special district to replace a JPA in which member departures left the county as the sole remaining JPA member and hindered implementation of groundwater sustainability obligations.
"It gets really, really ugly. This is the map. You can see it looks like Swiss cheese," Denise said, describing the patchwork of jurisdictional boundaries in the subbasin. She said the legislatively created district would take in specific water districts and aim to provide an entity that can implement SGMA requirements and Sigma work for the area.
Staff said they testified in the Assembly Parks, Water and Wildlife Committee and the bill passed the committee without questions or amendment. Denise said the county is working with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to provide a shapefile so DWR can help align boundaries and avoid future conflicts between GSA boundaries and DWR exclusive‑GSA mapping. The county also flagged name confusion — earlier drafts used names similar to existing basin labels — and said it is considering language borrowed from previous bills to allow LAFCO to add entities in the future if needed.
Commissioners asked whether the legislative route would permit additional entities to join later; staff said boundaries have not been finalized and that the draft does not yet close the door on new members. Staff emphasized the intent is to provide a governance structure that can move from planning to implementation in the subbasin.
Why it matters: County officials said a stable, legislatively formed GSA is necessary in parts of the subbasin to meet SGMA timelines and to implement projects and recharge actions that require coordinated governance and funding.
