California · 2025–26 Regular Session · Assembly Bill
AB 709: Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater sustainability plans.
Enacted Official data
- Introduced
- In committee
- Passed one chamber
- Passed both chambers
- Enacted
Last official action: ·Record last updated:
Plain-language summary
AB 709 is a assembly bill introduced in the California Assembly on February 14, 2025. According to its official title, it concerns: Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater sustainability plans. Primary sponsor: Jeff Gonzalez (R). Most recent recorded action (October 7, 2025): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 439, Statutes of 2025.
Generated automatically from the official title, sponsor list, and status record only. It does not characterize the bill’s purpose or effects. How summaries are written
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.
The act requires a groundwater sustainability agency, upon adoption of a groundwater sustainability plan, to submit the groundwater sustainability plan to the department for review. If groundwater sustainability agencies develop multiple groundwater sustainability plans for a basin, the act requires, when the entire basin is covered by groundwater sustainability plans, the groundwater sustainability agencies to jointly submit to the department the groundwater sustainability plans, an explanation of how the plans satisfy specified provisions of the act, and a copy of the coordination agreement between the groundwater sustainability agencies. The act requires the department to evaluate a groundwater sustainability plan within 2 years of its submission and issue an assessment of the plan.
This bill would provide that nothing in those provisions relating to making submissions to the department shall be construed to prohibit groundwater sustainability agencies that have developed multiple groundwater sustainability plans for a basin from amending the coordination agreement following department issuance of an assessment of the plans.
Sponsors
Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Republican 1
| Name | Role | Party | Chamber | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Gonzalez | Primary sponsor | Republican | Assembly | 36 |
“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.
Recent official actions
- Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 439, Statutes of 2025.
- Approved by the Governor.
- Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
- In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
- Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2895.).
- Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
- From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 10).
- Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
- In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
- Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 0. Page 1485.)
- Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
- From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (April 29).