AB 747: Water rights protection

On June 30, 2019, California will see the first increased protections for water-rights holders in years. California Assembly Bill 747, authored by California Assembly member Anna Caballero, was signed into law on Sept., 24, 2018, by Gov. Jerry Brown. Historic water rights have been under significant pressure and scrutiny amid years of regulatory mandates due to sustained drought, environmental regulation in the California Delta, and groundwater basin depletion challenges.

The new law will remove the conflicts of interest in the current structure, leveling the playing field for water users who have felt obligated to settle enforcement actions brought by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The board currently acts as both prosecutor and judge in enforcement actions that the board itself initiates. This law creates an Administrative Hearings Office within the board. Expert attorneys will act as an objective third party to oversee and adjudicate complex, critically important water rights matters. A similar structure is already in effect for many similar state agencies.

This change would not have happened without the strong support of California water districts, such as Byron-Bethany Irrigation District. Byron-Bethany's general manager, Rick Gilmore, is encouraged by the change, "The Governor's action cements a significant step toward improving the transparency, objectivity and accountability for California's water rights administration and enforcement. This law will go a long way toward implementing the necessary checks and balances in water rights cases, as well as restoring the water community's faith in the process." It hasn't been an easy fight. This legislation was just a new version of legislation that had been introduced during the previous legislative session, that time by Assembly member Adam Gray. Gray's bill also succeeded in the legislature, but it was then vetoed by Gov. Brown.