Bill Text: CA AB779 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Groundwater: adjudication.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 665, Statutes of 2023. [AB779 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB779-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 26, 2023 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Wilson |
February 13, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 831.5 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to read:The plaintiff and defendant involved in an adjudication shall forward all relevant pleading and briefing materials to the department after a decision has been rendered by the court.
831.5.
(a) The court shall appoint one party to forward all case management orders, judgments, and interlocutory orders to the department within 10 business days of issuance. The department shall post the documents on its internet website in the interest of transparency andThe court shall invite a representative from the department or the State Water Resources Control Board to provide technical assistance or expert testimony on the amount of water in the basin subject to adjudication, equitable and sustainable pumping allocations for the basin, and sustainable groundwater management best practices and recommendations.
SEC. 2.
Section 840 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:840.
(a) In managing a comprehensive adjudication, the court shallSEC. 3.
Section 850 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:850.
(a) The court may enter a judgment in a comprehensive adjudication if the court finds that the judgment meets all of the following criteria:(b)The court shall to take into account the needs of small farmers and disadvantaged communities when entering a judgment.
(c)
(d)
(a)(1)A groundwater sustainability agency with jurisdiction over a basin subject to adjudication proceeding shall submit a comprehensive monitoring plan to the court to be followed during the adjudication proceeding.
(2)A groundwater sustainability agency with jurisdiction over a basin subject to an adjudication shall report monitoring data regarding the subject basin to the court and the department during the duration of the proceeding.
(b)Groundwater users involved in the adjudication shall not increase any pumping beyond the level permitted in their basin’s groundwater sustainability plan throughout the duration of the proceeding and shall not increase
any pumping without permission from the court, or use new or increased pumping to establish a claim of prescription during the proceeding.