AB 938
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Marc Levine, Chair
AB 938 (Salas) – As Introduced February 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
SUMMARY: Clarifies that a statutory section that refers to an agency in the singular also
means agencies in the plural.
Specifically, this bill amends the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to specify
if the Department of Water Resources reclassifies a basin such that it becomes subject to SGMA
then not just a local agency overlying a groundwater basin subject to SGMA would be entitled to
additional time to comply with SGMA but also if there is a combination of local agencies
overlying a groundwater basin they would be entitled to additional time.
EXISTING LAW:
1) States that the singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular in the Water
Code.
2) Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to evaluate groundwater basins and
designate them as high, medium, low or very low, according to various factors including, but
not limited to, level of dependence upon the basin by municipal and agricultural users;
3) Requires that local agencies in high- and medium-priority groundwater basins subject to
SGMA form one or more local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) by June 30,
2017 in order to develop and implement Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) that
provide for the sustainable management of the groundwater basin or subbasin, as defined.
4) Requires that GSAs in basins with chronic overdraft develop and adopt GSPs for their basin
or subbasin by January 31, 2020.
5) Requires that GSAs in all other high- and medium-priority basins subject to SGMA develop
and adopt GSPs by January 31, 2022.
6) Delays enforcement for failure to a adopt a GSP in a high- or medium-priority basins that is
in a condition where groundwater extractions result in significant depletions of
interconnected surface waters until January 31, 2025.
7) Requires that adopted GSPs utilize a 50 year planning horizon that will achieve sustainability
in a basin or subbasin within 20 years and include identified milestones at five year intervals.
8) Allows that if a low or very low priority basin is reprioritzed by DWR such that it becomes
subject to SGMA, then local agencies shall have two years from the date of reprioritization to
form a GSA and five years from the date of reprioritization to adopt a GSP.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
AB 938
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COMMENTS: This bill would make a minor technical change to SGMA. The author states
this bill is needed because it is ambiguous as to whether the language stating that local agencies
shall have two years from the date of reprioritization to form a GSA and five years from the date
of reprioritization to adopt a GSP would also apply to "a combination of agencies."
Supporting arguments. Supporters state that this bill clarifies that "a combination of local
agencies" can also establish a Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
SGMA-related legislation
This is one of 14 bills in the Legislature proposing changes to SGMA and its related statutes.
The other bills are: AB 452 (Bigelow) prohibiting the State Water Board from using Water
Rights Fund monies for SGMA enforcement, except funds collected from SGMA enforcement;
AB 453 (Bigelow) allowing groundwater management plans adopted prior to SGMA to be
amended and extended; AB 454 (Bigelow) adding one year to the deadline to form a GSA or
adopt a GSP; AB 455 (Bigelow) requiring the Judicial Council to come up with a 270-day
process for completing all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) legal challenges to
SGMA projects; AB 617 (Perea) adding mutual water companies to GSAs; AB 939 (Salas)
changing the time period for providing technical data upon which a fee is based from 10 days to
20 days before the meeting to adopt the fee; AB 1242 (Gray) prohibiting the State Water Board
from setting in-stream flows standards unless the Board mitigates for the potential local response
of increased groundwater use; AB 1243 (Gray) rebating 50% of all SGMA enforcement penalties
back to local governments and water districts for groundwater recharge projects; AB 1390
(Alejo) creating a streamlined process for groundwater adjudications and exempting them from
SGMA, except minimal reporting requirements; AB 1531 (Environmental Safety and Toxic
Materials Committee) making minor technical changes to SGMA; SB 13 (Pavley) making
noncontroversial technical cleanup changes to SGMA; SB 226 (Pavley) adding a streamlined
groundwater adjudication section to SGMA; and SB 487 (Nielsen) exempting SGMA projects
from CEQA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Association of California Water Agencies
Rural County Representatives of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096