An act to amend Section 10723 of the Water Code, and to create the Tule East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and prescribing its boundaries, organization, operation, management, financing, and other powers and duties, relating to water districts.
AB 568 creates the Tule East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) 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 those boundaries to be adjusted later under specified notice and agreement requirements, and requires the agency to elect to become the GSA for the area it covers under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). 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 lays out the agency’s governance structure in detail. It establishes a five-member board consisting of representatives selected by the Hope Water District, the Ducor Water District, Tulare County, and two members representing groundwater-dependent agricultural interests, with at least one of those agricultural seats intended to represent socially disadvantaged farmers to the extent allowed by law. The bill also authorizes the agency to adopt rules, conduct studies, hire staff and consultants, impose fees, and exercise SGMA enforcement powers to regulate groundwater extraction and support sustainability planning.
AB 568 would amend Water Code Section 10723 to add the Tule East Groundwater Sustainability Agency to the list of statutorily created agencies deemed the exclusive local agency for SGMA compliance within their boundaries. It would also create a new special statute governing the agency’s formation, powers, board composition, financing, and boundary changes, while preserving SGMA as the controlling law in any conflict. In practical terms, the bill would formalize local groundwater management authority for the Tule East area and impose new duties on the agency and Tulare County, including plan development, coordination, and administration of groundwater regulation and fees.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported in committee and on the floor, with unanimous or near-unanimous votes at each recorded stage and no recorded dissenting votes. The legislative findings emphasize the public interest in preserving groundwater resources and the need for a functional local agency in the Tule Subbasin, suggesting the measure was framed as a targeted governance fix rather than a controversial policy shift. The bill was ultimately ordered to the inactive file at the request of the author, indicating it did not advance to enactment despite favorable votes.
The main policy issues embedded in the bill are local control, board composition, and the scope of regulatory authority over groundwater users. The bill gives the new agency exclusive SGMA authority within its boundaries, which can matter to overlapping districts and other local agencies that might otherwise seek to serve as the groundwater sustainability agency. It also specifies agricultural representation on the board, including a seat for socially disadvantaged farmers where authorized, which may reflect an effort to balance water district, county, and farming interests. Another potential point of concern is the agency’s authority to levy fees and regulate extraction, though the bill’s votes suggest these provisions did not generate recorded opposition in the available history.