Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife

Too hot for tea. We'll do ice cream.

I know exactly. Okay. We will call this meeting to order of Water Parks and Wildlife Committee. Good morning or good afternoon, 12:01.

To ensure members of the media and public have access to our proceedings today, this hearing will be streamlined on the Assembly's website and members of the can provide testimony in person here in room 444 witnesses in. There'll be two witnesses in support, two witnesses in opposition. Given the short agenda, we'll have no time limits.

Following primary witnesses will do me-too's from the audience, whether yay or nay. I would like to announce that Assemblymember Lackey will be sitting on the committee, replacing Assemblymember Tangipa for today's hearing due to an approved absence. We don't have a quorum yet, so we will not be taking role or approving the consent quorum - the consent calendar.

But I would like to begin with bill presentations. Assemblymember Macedo, thank you very much for being here. And would you like to begin?

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. I will keep this brief, but good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to present AB 568 on behalf of my home county that I was just speaking so highly of - Tulare County. In 2014, the legislature passed SGMA to manage groundwater by requiring local agencies to form groundwater sustainability agencies.

Since SGMA's implementation, GSAs throughout the state have been making every effort to comply. In the Central Valley, we do not have access to adequate surface water to recharge our groundwater. Many communities are without clean and reliable drinking water. This bill will help the region comply with SGMA by providing a functional GSA.

I am pleased to be joined by Denise England, the Grants Resource Manager for Tulare County, who can speak more to the need for this measure and answer technical questions.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members. Ish Denise England, Tulare County Grants and Resources Manager and so I've been working on SGMA since its inception. Tulare county is a member of five GSAs in three critically overdrafted basins, including the Tulisa Basin. I worked with eligible agencies to work together to become a single GSA in the Tulisa Basin.

That didn't happen. And since September of last year, the Tulisa Basin has become quite fractured. There was a Joint Powers Authority that was functioning as the GSA in the Tulisa Basin.

But in September, the State Board chose to enact the good actor provision for two GSAs in the Tule Sub Basin, which this decision led other GSA eligible public agencies to leave the Eastern Thule JPA, and become their own GSA in hopes of also benefiting from the good actor provision.

This move resulted in Tulare County as the last standing member in the JPA and we cannot be a lone party in a JPA. And the county does not have the resources or capacity to function as a standalone GSA.

The county is a member of the Kings River East GSA which was formed by SB 37 in 2016, and the SB 37 model has worked very well. Administratively, the county can and is working on a JPA with Hope and Ducor Water Districts. We've actually entered into a JPA with them and we're working on establishing a first meeting.

However, should that relationship sour at some point in the future, we would be left in the same position. So, the legislative fix would provide a long-term stable entity to implement SGMA for the region and it is paramount to groundwater sustainability and in order to form a functioning GSA.

And in order to guard against future withdraws in the Tulisa Basin, the county is very supportive of AB 568 and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Excellent. Thank you so much. Do we have any members of the audience that want to be a me-too in support? Seeing none. Do we have any witnesses in opposition? Seeing none. Any me-toos in opposition? Seeing none. We'll bring it back to the committee. Any questions? We don't have a quorum yet, so we can't have a motion.

But if there are any questions, let me know. Don't all jump at once. Okay, so we will - would you like to close?

Just want to say thank you very much for this much needed bill for my county that I'm very proud to come from and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Excellent. Thank you, Assemblymember Macedo. This does enjoy an aye recommendation and anything we can do to keep SGMA moving along. We really thank you for your efforts. So, we'll wait until we get a quorum, and we'll get a motion and take a vote.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

In the meantime, if anybody would like to enjoy ice cream, there's ice cream from my district, since you're missing the ice cream social outside.

Excellent. Is that why you were late? Okay, we're going to take a - we're going to take roll. Looks like we have a quorum and then we'll entertain a motion, and we'll go from there. So, Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call].

Okay, having a quorum, do we have a motion? Uh, we've got a motion from Assemblymember Gonzalez. A second from Assembly Celeste Rodriguez. Let's go ahead and take a roll call vote please.

Okay. AB 568; motion is concur in Senate amendments. [Roll Call].

Okay, that'll get out, but we'll leave it open for add-ons. And then may I have a motion on the consent calendar? Motion? Rogers. Motion? Macedo. Second. Thank you.

[Roll Call]

Okay. With that, we'll leave the roll open for add ons. Members of the Committee, if you're watching, come on down.

[Roll Call]

Great. Now we'll move on to the Macedo Bill.

[Roll Call]

Okay, that's it. Thank you all so much for, for making it here. Have a good day.

No worries. Good afternoon, Senator—I mean, a Senator, Assemblymember Lackey. Nice to see you. We've got two items we're going to take your vote on, sir. Madam Secretary.

[Roll Call]

Thank you. Sorry to be...

All in day's work. Thank you so much, Assemblymember Lackey. Have a good day. With that, we will adjourn. Thank you, everyone.