AB 1413: Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater adjudication.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans, except as specified. Existing law requires the department to periodically review the groundwater sustainability plans developed by groundwater sustainability agencies pursuant to the act to evaluate whether a plan conforms with specified laws and is likely to achieve the sustainability goal for the basin covered by the plan. Existing law requires a groundwater sustainability agency to evaluate its groundwater sustainability plan periodically.

This bill would require a groundwater sustainability agency to, at least once every 7 years, review, and update if appropriate, its sustainable yield to ensure that the sustainable yield is based on the best available information and best available science, as defined, and will achieve sustainable groundwater management. The bill would also require a groundwater sustainability agency to provide an opportunity for public review and comment before making a determination whether to update its sustainable yield. To the extent that these requirements impose additional duties on groundwater sustainability agencies that are local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law authorizes a groundwater sustainability agency that adopts a groundwater sustainability plan to file a court action to determine the validity of the plan no sooner than 180 days following the adoption of the plan, as provided. Existing law provides that actions by a groundwater sustainability agency are subject to judicial review, except as provided.

This bill would instead authorize groundwater sustainability agencies to file those actions within 180 days following the adoption of the plan. The bill would also authorize, for any groundwater basin in which a comprehensive groundwater adjudication was filed prior to January 1, 2025, a party that has timely appeared in that adjudication to file an action on or before March 2, 2026, under specified circumstances. The bill would require a legal challenge to an action or determination by the groundwater sustainability agency to be filed within 90 days of the action or determination.

Existing law requires a court, in an adjudication action for a basin required to have a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to the act, to manage the proceedings in a certain manner, including in a manner that minimizes interference with the timely completion and implementation of a groundwater sustainability plan.

The bill would prohibit a court, in an adjudication action filed after January 1, 2025, for a basin required to have a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to the act, from establishing a safe yield or sustainable yield for the basin that exceeds the sustainable yield of the basin as established in a valid groundwater sustainability plan for the basin, except as provided. This prohibition would not apply to a comprehensive adjudication in which a court has issued a final determination on the basin’s safe or sustainable yield prior to January 1, 2026.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 3

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. September 9, 2025Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Wahab.
2. September 3, 2025Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
3. September 2, 2025Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
4. September 2, 2025From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 29).
5. August 25, 2025In committee: Referred to suspense file.
6. August 13, 2025In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
7. July 17, 2025Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
8. July 17, 2025From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 3.) (July 15).
9. July 9, 2025From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 3.) (July 8). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
10. June 30, 2025From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
11. June 18, 2025Referred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and JUD.
12. June 4, 2025In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.