An act to amend Section 10723 of the Water Code, and to create the Tulare Basin Tule East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and prescribing its boundaries, organization, operation, management, financing, and other powers and duties, relating to water districts.
AB 1044 would create the Tulare Basin Tule East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special-purpose local agency in Tulare County to manage groundwater in a defined portion of the Tule Subbasin. The bill sets the agency’s initial boundaries, allows later boundary adjustments under specified notice-and-agreement requirements, and requires the agency to elect to become a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) for the area within its boundaries. It also requires the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan, coordinate with other local agencies in the subbasin, and operate under state groundwater rules.
The bill also establishes the agency’s governance structure and operating powers. It creates a five-member board with representation from Hope Water District, Ducor Water District, Tulare County, and two members representing groundwater-dependent agricultural interests nominated through the Tulare County Farm Bureau. The agency would have authority to adopt rules, conduct studies, hire staff and consultants, impose fees related to groundwater management, and enforce groundwater sustainability measures, while preserving existing powers of member agencies and giving SGMA precedence in any conflict.
AB 1044 would amend Water Code Section 10723 to add the Tulare Basin Tule East Groundwater Sustainability Agency to the list of statutorily created agencies deemed the exclusive local agency within its boundaries for SGMA purposes, unless it opts out. It would also create a new special statute governing the agency’s formation, boundaries, board composition, fee authority, coordination duties, and enforcement powers. In practical terms, the bill would formalize a local governance structure for groundwater management in part of the Tule Subbasin and impose new duties on the agency and Tulare County, which the bill characterizes as a state-mandated local program.
The bill appears to have been received favorably in committee, advancing unanimously through three votes: 13-0, 10-0, and 15-0. That voting pattern suggests broad support and little visible opposition at the committee stage. The bill’s findings emphasize the public interest in groundwater preservation and the need for a functional local agency in the Tule Subbasin, reinforcing a generally pro-management, pro-local-governance sentiment.
The main potential points of contention are structural rather than ideological. The bill gives the new agency exclusive SGMA authority within its statutory boundaries, which can affect how existing local agencies coordinate or share authority, and it specifies a board structure that includes two agricultural representatives selected from Farm Bureau nominations, which may raise questions about representation balance. Boundary definitions and future boundary adjustments could also be sensitive, especially where the agency’s territory may overlap or interact with other groundwater sustainability agencies or proposed management areas. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate in the provided materials.