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<ns0:Description>
<ns0:Id>20250AB__226098AMD</ns0:Id>
<ns0:VersionNum>98</ns0:VersionNum>
<ns0:History>
<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-19</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_ASSEMBLY</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-03-17</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
<ns0:SessionNum>0</ns0:SessionNum>
<ns0:MeasureType>AB</ns0:MeasureType>
<ns0:MeasureNum>2260</ns0:MeasureNum>
<ns0:MeasureState>AMD</ns0:MeasureState>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Connolly</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:Authors>
<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Connolly</ns0:Name>
</ns0:Legislator>
</ns0:Authors>
<ns0:Title> An act to amend Sections 1228.1, 1228.2, 1228.5, and 1229 of, and to amend the heading of Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 1228) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of, the Water Code, relating to water. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>water</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>Water: restoration management: small restoration use.</ns0:Subject>
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(1)
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Existing law, the Water Rights Permitting Reform Act of 1988, authorizes any person to obtain a right to appropriate water for a small domestic, small irrigation, or livestock stockpond use, as defined, upon registering the use with the State Water Resources Control Board, as prescribed, payment of a registration fee, and application of the water to reasonable and beneficial use with due diligence.
</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would extend the above-described ability to obtain a right to appropriate water to a small restoration use, as provided. The bill would define several terms for these purposes, including defining a small restoration use as a specified use of water for fish and wildlife preservation and enhancement in connection with a project to restore, enhance, or provide habitat for native fish and wildlife, as provided. The
bill would require the board to give priority to processing small restoration use registrations that are coupled with a petition for mandatory dedication to instream beneficial uses or wetlands habitat, as specified.</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Existing law requires renewal of registration of a small domestic, small irrigation, or livestock stockpond use pursuant to a specified process prior to the expiration of each 5-year period following
completed registration. Existing law authorizes the board to establish general conditions for some methods of diversion or categories of small irrigation use before establishing general conditions for other methods or categories, as specified.
</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would also apply the above-described provisions to a small restoration use.</html:p>
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<ns0:DigestKey>
<ns0:VoteRequired>MAJORITY</ns0:VoteRequired>
<ns0:Appropriation>NO</ns0:Appropriation>
<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
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<ns0:BudgetBill>NO</ns0:BudgetBill>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
<ns0:BillSection id="id_A857CA7E-4D91-4824-845F-8D9AE7FB5B71">
<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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The heading of Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 1228) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the
<ns0:DocName>Water Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>2.7.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:LawHeadingVersion id="id_CA47528C-0EC9-4B9D-8916-EAE033665552">
<ns0:LawHeadingText>Registration of Appropriations for Small Domestic, Small Irrigation, Small Restoration, and Livestock Stockpond Uses</ns0:LawHeadingText>
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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Section 1228.1 of the
<ns0:DocName>Water Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:LawSection id="id_E41EB3A6-D31D-4AAF-BE1D-B85CFBA63E13">
<ns0:Num>1228.1.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
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The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest to provide a timely, efficient, and economic procedure for the acquisition of rights to appropriate water for a small domestic use, including incidental stock watering and irrigation uses, a small irrigation use, a small restoration use, and for a livestock stockpond subject to prior rights.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
As used in this article:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Small domestic use” means a domestic use, as that use is defined by board rule, or a use for aesthetic, fire protection, recreational, or fish and wildlife purposes that is associated with a dwelling or other facility for human
occupation, that does not exceed direct diversion of 4,500 gallons per day or diversion to storage of 10 acre-feet per year.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Small irrigation use” means either of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
An irrigation use, heat control use, or frost protection use, not to exceed diversion to storage of 20 acre-feet per year, including impoundment for incidental aesthetic, fire protection, recreational, or fish and wildlife purposes.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
An irrigation use not to exceed direct diversion of 42,000 gallons per day, up to a maximum of 20 acre-feet per year.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Livestock stockpond” means a water impoundment structure constructed for livestock watering use not to exceed direct diversion
of 4,500 gallons per day, or diversion to storage of 10
acre-feet per year, as that use is defined by the board, and including impoundment for incidental aesthetic, fire protection, recreational, or fish and wildlife purposes.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Small restoration use” means either of the following in connection with a project to restore, enhance, or provide habitat for native fish and wildlife:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A use for fish and wildlife preservation and enhancement not to exceed diversion to storage of 20 acre-feet per year, including, but not limited to, impoundment for incidental fire protection, recreational, or fish and wildlife purposes.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A use for fish and wildlife preservation and enhancement not to exceed direct diversion of 42,000 gallons per day, up to a maximum
of 20 acre-feet per year.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For purposes of subparagraph (A), “use for fish and wildlife preservation and enhancement” includes, but is not limited to, the use of water for a storage and forbearance project or the release of stored water to enhance streamflow for the benefit of fish and wildlife.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For purposes of clause (i), “storage and forbearance project” is a project in which a legal user of water makes a binding commitment to reduce existing diversions for beneficial use at times of deficient streamflow in exchange for a new right to divert water during times of higher streamflow to support the same level of existing beneficial use.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(iii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For purposes of clause (ii), a “binding
commitment to reduce existing diversions” may be accomplished by an instream flow dedication pursuant to Section 1707, a forbearance agreement, or a condition or term of a permit or license. Compliance with the binding commitment to reduce existing diversions shall be made a condition of any small restoration registration issued in connection with a storage and forbearance project.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 3.</ns0:Num>
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Section 1228.2 of the
<ns0:DocName>Water Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>1228.2.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(1)
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Subject to subdivision (b), a person may obtain a right to appropriate water for a small domestic, small irrigation, small restoration, or livestock stockpond use upon first registering the use with the board and thereafter applying the water to reasonable and beneficial use with due diligence.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
With regard to an appropriation for small domestic use, a registration shall not be filed for a facility served by or used pursuant to a permit or license for domestic or municipal use, and not more than one small domestic use registration shall be in effect at any time for any facility. A small domestic use registration and a livestock stockpond use
registration may be in effect for the same facility if the total combined water use covered by the registrations does not exceed 10 acre-feet per year.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
With regard to an appropriation for small irrigation or small restoration use, more than one registration may be in effect at any time for a registrant if the diversion or storage facilities subject to registration for a registrant do not exceed the ratio of one per 20 irrigated acres, and if the total water use on all acreage covered by the registrations, including any water use based on other rights, does not exceed 100 acre-feet per year.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A small domestic use registration and a small irrigation use registration, or a livestock stockpond use registration and a small irrigation use registration, may be in effect for the same facility only
if the total combined water use covered by the registrations does not exceed 20 acre-feet per year.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(5)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
With regard to an appropriation for livestock stockpond use, more than one registration may be in effect at any time for a registrant if stockponds subject to registration for that registrant do not exceed the ratio of one per 50 acres.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Initiation of rights to appropriate water pursuant to this article shall be subject to Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 1205), relating to fully appropriated stream systems. The board shall not accept a registration of water use that proposes as a source of water supply a stream system that has been unconditionally declared by the board to be fully appropriated pursuant to Section 1205, except that subdivision (b) of Section 1206,
relating to conditional declarations of fully appropriated stream systems, shall apply to registration of water use pursuant to this article, and the board shall accept those registrations when consistent with the conditions specified in the declaration.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The board shall annually prepare and post on its internet website information summarizing the location,
nature, and amount of water appropriated pursuant to this article. The information shall include a description of the availability of unappropriated water in those stream systems that may become fully appropriated within the next reporting period.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The board shall give priority to processing small restoration use registrations that are coupled with a petition for mandatory dedication to instream beneficial uses or wetlands habitat pursuant to Section 1707.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(e)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
If a registration is filed with a source of supply on a stream system that the most recent report submitted under subdivision (c) identifies as a stream system that may become fully appropriated within the next reporting period, the registration shall not take effect unless the board finds that unappropriated
water is available for the appropriation proposed by the registration. If the board finds that unappropriated water is not available to supply the proposed appropriation, the board shall, following notice and hearing, determine whether that stream system should be declared fully appropriated pursuant to Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 1205).
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 4.</ns0:Num>
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Section 1228.5 of the
<ns0:DocName>Water Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:LawSection id="id_A98AE957-5549-471C-B066-5F710FB62F84">
<ns0:Num>1228.5.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Registration of a small domestic, small irrigation, small restoration, or livestock stockpond use pursuant to this article shall be renewed prior to the expiration of each five-year period following completed registration.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Registrations for which all annual fees have been timely paid and all annual reports have been timely submitted at the expiration of the five-year registration shall be renewed by operation of law.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The conditions established by the board pursuant to Section 1228.6 that are in effect at the time of renewal of registration shall supersede the conditions that were applicable to the original completed
registration.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
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A registration for which fees or water use reports remain outstanding at the expiration of the five-year registration period shall be revoked by operation of law.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 5.</ns0:Num>
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Section 1229 of the
<ns0:DocName>Water Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:LawSection id="id_83367AFB-FA67-4564-8A08-DAD7FE0F3AB8">
<ns0:Num>1229.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The board is not required to adopt general conditions for small irrigation use pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1228.6 until the board determines that funds are available for that purpose.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A registration for small irrigation use pursuant to this article is not authorized until the board establishes general conditions for small irrigation use pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1228.6 to protect instream beneficial uses.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The board may establish general conditions for some methods of diversion or categories of small irrigation use and small restoration use before establishing general conditions for other
methods or categories, in which case a registration for small irrigation use or small restoration use is authorized only for those methods or categories for which the board has established the general conditions for the protection of instream beneficial uses.
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