All Roll Calls
Yes: 199 • No: 41
CaliforniaAB 14662025-2026 Regular SessionHouse
Groundwater adjudication: burden of proof.
Sponsored By: Gregg Hart (Democratic)
Signed by Governor
Your PRIA Score
Score Hidden
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Courts align groundwater cases with sustainability plans
For basins that must have sustainability plans, the court manages adjudications to match those planning rules and holds a case management conference. At the start, the court can consider boundary changes, stays, appointing a special master, phasing the case, limiting discovery, early rulings on prescriptive rights, and forming classes of similar landowners. The court may join surface‑water or subterranean stream users when needed to fairly decide basin rights. Some narrow disputes are excluded from the comprehensive process, though a court can still order a case to follow it.
Experts and groundwater agency reports in court
Courts can appoint special masters to handle technical and legal work. The court sets their pay, splits costs among parties, and may waive a party’s share for good cause. In basins with an approved sustainability plan, the court asks the local groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) for a technical report if it can do so with reasonable effort and cost. The GSA’s expenses are reimbursed by the parties as the court decides, and the court can order interim payments after at least 10 days’ notice and a hearing. The GSA report counts as evidence of its facts, but any party can offer proof to rebut it. The court may ask state water agencies to recommend or review special master candidates.
Easier process for small groundwater users
The law lets the court exempt or separately handle very small claims, at five acre-feet per year or less, when they do not affect others’ rights. After the required mailing is complete, the court holds a hearing to decide this and sets simple registration and administration rules for those claims. Small users can still choose to stay in the case. If a party’s disclosure says it uses 100 acre-feet per year or less, the court presumes those facts are correct unless someone proves otherwise.
New disclosure rules in groundwater lawsuits
Parties must serve detailed initial disclosures within six months, including 10 years of pumping data, well locations, water rights claimed, and areas of use. Farm users must list crops and irrigated acres for each of the past 10 years. Parties must fix any material errors and report any groundwater pumped after the case starts within 90 days after each calendar year ends. Disclosures are served electronically when possible, verified under penalty of perjury, and the court can compel compliance. A standard court form may be used to make filings more consistent.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Gregg Hart
Democratic • House
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 9/11/2025
Item 55 — Assembly AFLOOR
Yes: 69 • No: 1
Senate vote • 9/10/2025
Item 174 — Senate SFLOOR
Yes: 35 • No: 5
legislature vote • 7/15/2025
Vote in CS53
Yes: 11 • No: 2
legislature vote • 7/8/2025
Vote in CS55
Yes: 5 • No: 2
House vote • 6/4/2025
Item 15 — Assembly AFLOOR
Yes: 50 • No: 20
legislature vote • 5/7/2025
Vote in CX25
Yes: 11 • No: 4
legislature vote • 4/22/2025
Vote in CX13
Yes: 9 • No: 3
legislature vote • 4/8/2025
Vote in CX24
Yes: 9 • No: 4
Actions Timeline
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 643, Statutes of 2025.
10/11/2025SenateApproved by the Governor.
10/11/2025legislatureEnrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
9/23/2025legislatureSenate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 69. Noes 1. Page 3331.).
9/11/2025HouseIn Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
9/10/2025HouseRead third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 35. Noes 5. Page 2823.).
9/10/2025SenateRead second time. Ordered to third reading.
9/8/2025SenateRead third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
9/4/2025SenateRead second time. Ordered to third reading.
8/26/2025SenateFrom committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
8/25/2025SenateIn committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
8/13/2025SenateRead second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
7/17/2025SenateFrom committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (July 15).
7/16/2025SenateFrom committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 8). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
7/9/2025SenateFrom committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
6/26/2025SenateReferred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and JUD.
6/18/2025SenateIn Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
6/5/2025SenateRead third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 50. Noes 20. Page 2074.)
6/4/2025HouseRead second time. Ordered to third reading.
5/8/2025HouseFrom committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (May 7).
5/7/2025HouseFrom committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 3.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
4/22/2025HouseFrom committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 9. Noes 4.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
4/9/2025HouseRe-referred to Com. on W. P., & W.
4/2/2025HouseFrom committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on W. P., & W. Read second time and amended.
4/1/2025HouseReferred to Coms. on W. P., & W. and JUD.
3/17/2025House
Bill Text
Chaptered
10/11/2025
Enrolled
9/15/2025
Amended Senate
9/4/2025
Amended Senate
7/17/2025
Amended Senate
6/26/2025
Amended Assembly
4/1/2025
Introduced
2/21/2025