Tag: legislative hearings

Prop 1 oversight hearing, part 2: First out of the gate: State entities with proposed water bond funding

Legislative Hearings

Department heads tell legislators how they plan to disburse the first round of funds from Proposition 1 Last November, voters approved the $7.5 billion Proposition 1, the water bond.  The Governor’s proposed budget includes the first round of the disbursements of funds from the measure, and with such significant funds on the line, the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and […]

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Proposition 1 Oversight Hearing, part 1: Background on the water bond and principles for moving forward

Legislative Hearings

Anton Favorini-Csorba gives an overview of Prop 1 and makes recommendations for ensuring legislative oversight on the expenditure of water bond funds Last November, voters approved Proposition 1, the water bond, which provides $7.545 billion in general obligation bond funding for various water-related projects and programs. Voter approval of Prop. 1 means the state now has permission to sell general […]

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Groundwater adjudication hearing, part 3: Panel discussion on options for moving forward

Best of the Notebook, Legislative Hearings

Groundwater adjudications, notoriously expensive and time consuming, emerged as an issue during the development and ultimate passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, and the Brown Administration has made it a priority to consider possible reforms.  To that end, on November 20, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water held an informational hearing on groundwater adjudications titled, […]

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Groundwater adjudication hearing, part 2: Case Study on the Antelope Valley Adjudication

Best of the Notebook, Legislative Hearings

The Antelope Valley groundwater adjudication case is the current poster child for how painfully long and expensive groundwater adjudications can be.  The enormous case involves a multitude of public agencies, farmers, cities, the federal government, and landowners, both large and small, some of whom pump water, but most who don’t but still hold groundwater rights that cannot be dismissed or […]

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Groundwater adjudication hearing, part 1: Justice Robie with an overview on how groundwater disputes are resolved in California

Best of the Notebook, Legislative Hearings

In August of this year, Governor Brown signed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requiring local officials for the first time to create sustainable groundwater management plans.  These management plans potentially could involve pumping restrictions or new pumping fees and as a result, more legal disputes and groundwater adjudications may likely result. Groundwater adjudications have been the solution for groundwater disputes […]

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The House Rules Committee debates HR 5781, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014

Legislative Hearings

The only debate on HR 5781 California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014 apparently was in the House Rules Committee hearing on December 3. The Rules Committee, chaired by Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), acts as the legislative gatekeeper, deciding for how long and under what rules the full body will debate the proposition. Congressman Valadao (R-CA) began with his opening […]

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Sustainable Groundwater Management Workshop, Part 3 of 3: The Valley Ag Water Coalition and the Planning and Conservation League weigh in

Legislative Hearings

Last month, the Brown Administration held the second of two workshops to gather input on possible groundwater legislation to heard proposals from organizations for the key elements and statutory changes needed for sustainable groundwater management. In this last installment of coverage from the workshop, Robert Reeb gives the recommendations as developed by the Valley Ag Water Coalition.  Jonas Minton with […]

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Sustainable Groundwater Management Workshop, Part 2 of 3: ACWA presents their proposal

Legislative Hearings

Last month, the Brown Administration held the second of two workshops to gather input on possible groundwater legislation to heard proposals from organizations for the key elements and statutory changes needed for sustainable groundwater management. In this second installment of coverage from the workshop, Tim Quinn, Executive Director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), and Dave Orth, General […]

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Sustainable Groundwater Management Workshop, Part 1 of 3: The California Water Foundation presents their proposal

Legislative Hearings

Last month, the Brown Administration held the second of two workshops to gather input on possible groundwater legislation to heard proposals from organizations for the key elements and statutory changes needed for sustainable groundwater management. Karen Ross, Secretary of the Department of Food and Agriculture opened the workshop with some introductory remarks.  “In some regions, groundwater is sustainably managed and […]

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Secretary Karen Ross gives an update on the drought and the impacts to California agriculture

Legislative Hearings

Karen Ross, Secretary of the Department of Food and Agriculture, gave an update on the drought during her testimony at an Assembly budget subcommittee last week where she detailed the impacts the drought is having on agriculture. Ms. Ross began by emphasizing the collaboration between the state and federal agencies with regards to how the water projects are operated.  “There […]

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