BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1262


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1262 (Pavley and Wieckowski)


          As Amended  June 15, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  22-13


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Water           |13-0 |Levine, Gallagher,    |                    |
          |                |     |Dodd, Eggman,         |                    |
          |                |     |Cristina Garcia,      |                    |
          |                |     |Eduardo Garcia,       |                    |
          |                |     |Gomez, Harper, Lopez, |                    |
          |                |     |Mathis, Nazarian,     |                    |
          |                |     |Salas, Williams       |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Local           |8-0  |Eggman, Waldron,      |                    |
          |Government      |     |Alejo, Bonilla, Chiu, |                    |
          |                |     |Cooley, Gordon,       |                    |
          |                |     |Linder                |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |14-0 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |                    |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |                    |








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          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |                    |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo       |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden,       |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood, Chau     |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  This bill revises requirements that new developments  
          must meet in order to demonstrate that its water supply is  
          sufficient to include consideration of provisions of the  
          Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).  Specifically,  
          this bill:  
          1)Adds information about the reliance on, and management of,  
            groundwater supplies in factors considered in determining if  
            there are sufficient water supplies for residential  
            development of more than 500 units.


          2)Specifies that a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) may be  
            included as substantial evidence in a public water system's  
            written verification of its ability or inability to provide  
            sufficient water supply as part of the approval of a  
            residential development of more than 500 units.  


          3)Includes an identification of water systems that are adjacent  
            to large-scale projects subject to the California  
            Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that trigger a water supply  
            assessment.


          4)Adds SGMA compliance status to required information in a water  
            supply assessment for projects that receive water supply from  
            groundwater.










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          5)Excludes hauled water from consideration as a source of water  
            under a water supply assessment.  


          EXISTING LAW: 


          1)Requires every large-scale development project of 500 new  
            residential connections or an equivalent size to have a water  
            supply assessment prepared according to the following:


             a)   A city or county, at the time that it determines that a  
               development is subject to CEQA, must identify any water  
               system that may supply water for the project.


             b)   Identify any existing water supply entitlements, water  
               rights, or water service contracts relevant to the  
               identified water supply for the proposed project, and  
               describe the quantities of water received in prior years by  
               the public water system, or the city or county, through its  
               water rights or other sources. 


             c)   If the project relies in whole or in part on  
               groundwater, requires additional information, including a  
               description of any groundwater basins that will supply the  
               project; the court or State Water Resources Control Board  
               (SWRCB) order if the basin is adjudicated; and an analysis  
               of the sufficiency of the groundwater from the basin or  
               basins.


          2)Requires that, under CEQA, whenever a city or county  
            determines that a large-scale project is subject to CEQA, it  
            must comply with the water supply assessment requirements  
            triggered by that determination.









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          3)Requires, under the Subdivision Map Act, cities and counties  
            to demonstrate that a sufficient water supply is available as  
            a condition of their approval of a tentative map for a  
            subdivision with more than 500 dwelling units.  


          4)Specifies that SGMA, among other provisions, directs the  
            Department of Water Resources (DWR) to categorize the state's  
            groundwater basins into high, medium, low, and very low  
            priorities, based on factors such as the population overlying  
            the basin, number of wells in the basin, and overlying  
            irrigated acreage.  The DWR must also identify basins subject  
            to critical overdraft.  Under SGMA:


             a)   Basins designated as high or medium priority must be  
               managed by a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA).   
               GSA's must develop a GSP to ensure that by 2040, the basin  
               is in a sustainable condition. 


             b)   A GSP must include, among other things, a description of  
               the consideration given to the applicable county and city  
               general plans, and a description of the various adopted  
               water resources-related plans and programs within the  
               basin, and an assessment of how the GSP may affect those  
               plans.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to Assembly Appropriations Committee,  
          the bill has negligible state fiscal impact.  Although a state  
          mandate, costs are not reimbursable because the Agency has  
          authority to levy fees sufficient to cover any costs. 


          COMMENTS:










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          In 2001, in response to local land use decisions that adversely  
          affected local water supplies, the Legislature enacted a package  
          of bills that linked land use planning with water use planning.   
          These bills are often referred to as the "show me the water"  
          legislation.


          In 2014, the Legislature passed SGMA creating a statewide  
          requirement to sustainably manage groundwater resources.  The  
          package of bills was signed by Governor Brown with the objective  
          to ensure the long-term reliability of groundwater resources and  
          connected surface water resources by requiring sustainable  
          management.  Prior to 2014, there was no statutory mandate to  
          manage groundwater in California.


          When passing SGMA the Legislature updated some water and land  
          use planning laws to reflect SGMA, but did not make conforming  
          changes to the "show me the water" legislation.  This bill  
          updates the "show me the water" bills to integrate GSAs and  
          consideration of GSPs into water supply and land use planning.   
          In addition, it prohibits the use of hauled water to comply with  
          show me the water bills.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Ryan Ojakian / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096   
          FN: 0003790

















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