An act to add Section 1526 to the Water Code, relating to water.
Summary
AB 1972 would add Section 1526 to the Water Code to require the State Water Resources Control Board to exempt certain water right applicants and permit or license holders from paying an annual fee tied to a specific regulation when the water body at issue is a pond containing 20 acre-feet or less of water. In practical terms, the bill creates a fee exemption for small ponds associated with water right permits or licenses.
The measure is narrow in scope and does not change the underlying permitting or licensing framework for water rights. Instead, it modifies the fee structure administered by the board by carving out a class of small-pond projects from the annual fee requirement referenced in Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations.
Impact
If enacted, AB 1972 would amend the Water Code to direct the State Water Resources Control Board to waive annual fees for qualifying small ponds of 20 acre-feet or less, reducing costs for affected water right applicants, permit holders, and license holders. The bill would not create a new water right or alter substantive water allocation rules, but it would affect board fee administration and could reduce fee revenue associated with these small-pond permits and licenses.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the bill was treated as a relatively limited, technical fee exemption rather than a major policy change. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the provided materials, and the bill’s last action was a committee postponement, so there is no documented floor-level debate or clear partisan split in the supplied history. The digest’s key vote designation of majority indicates it was considered viable, but the postponement suggests the measure had not advanced smoothly at the time of the record.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the fiscal and administrative effect of exempting a subset of water right holders from annual fees, which could reduce board revenue and create a special carve-out for small ponds. Supporters would likely view the exemption as relief for small-scale water users, while opponents could question whether the threshold of 20 acre-feet is appropriately drawn or whether fee exemptions should be granted through statute rather than board regulation. No specific stakeholder positions are included in the provided materials.