AB 2218: Water policy: California Native American tribes.

Existing law establishes the sovereignty of the state.

This bill would require the state government to support California Native Americans to maintain cultural and linguistic traditions, practice ecosystem stewardship, and engage in good faith government-to-government consultations with all California Native American tribes regarding policies that may affect tribal communities.

Existing law establishes various state water policies, including the policy that the use of water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water and the human right to water. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to act upon all applications for a permit to appropriate water.

This bill would declare that it is the established policy of the state to recognize and address the inequities, as described, inflicted upon all California Native American tribes through financial assistance, protection of tribal water beneficial uses, consultation on water projects, plans, and policies, and incorporation of indigenous knowledge to restore and protect ecosystems. The bill would require specified state agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board, regional water quality control boards, and the Natural Resources Agency, to incorporate this policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, permits, or grant criteria to address identified inequities. The bill would require those state entities to identify and offer financial assistance to the tribes consistent with existing legal and policy requirements for financial assistance programs. If there is a dispute between a California Native American tribe and one of those state agencies over the implementation of that policy, the bill would require that matter to be brought before the Governors Office of Tribal Affairs for mediation before the state agency action is challenged in court and would specify procedures and timelines for mediation, as provided.

Existing law authorizes the board to conduct investigations and to issue information orders in administering water rights, as provided.

The bill would require the state board, in furtherance of an investigation and upon request, to consult with a tribe whose ancestral territory includes the water body or water bodies at issue for the claimed riparian or appropriative right.