AB 2728 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Groundwater: de minimis extractors: fees: exemption.

Summary

Existing law authorizes a groundwater sustainability agency to impose fees, including, but not limited to, permit fees and fees on groundwater extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the costs of a groundwater sustainability program, and investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, and program administration, as provided. Existing law prohibits a groundwater sustainability agency from imposing those fees on a de minimis extractor, as defined, unless the agency has regulated the user, as provided. This bill would authorize a local government, including, but not limited to, a groundwater sustainability agency, that imposes a fee, levy, charge, or exaction for groundwater monitoring or management, upon making specified findings, to exempt de minimis extractors, including the above-described regulated users, from the payment of the fee, levy, charge, or exaction, as provided.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2026 Last action Aug 27, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

06/11/26 - Amended Senate → AB2728 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The enrolled version of AB 2728 removed all amendments to the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (Water Code Sections 12405, 12410, and 12415) that were present in the Amended Senate version. The final bill now contains only the de minimis extractor fee exemption provisions (new Government Code Section 53759.5 and amended Water Code Section 10730). This significantly narrows the bill's scope from a dual-purpose measure to one focused solely on groundwater fee exemptions for small-scale extractors.

SCOPE

Removed amendment to Water Code Section 12405 that would have added 'including the efficacy of management actions' as a purpose for integrating water and ecological data under the Open and Transparent Water Data Act.

Removed amendment to Water Code Section 12415 (statewide integrated water data platform requirements) that was included in the Amended Senate version but dropped from the enrolled bill.

TIMELINE

Removed amendment to Water Code Section 12410 that would have required the Department of Water Resources to make hatchery production, release, and escapement information from state and federal agencies available on the statewide integrated water data platform by August 1, 2027.

TECHNICAL

Corrected several typos and formatting issues in the remaining text, including 'users user' changed to 'user', 'Prior to Before' changed to 'Before', and various capitalization and spacing corrections throughout Section 10730.

03/19/26 - Amended Assembly → 06/11/26 - Amended Senate · 5 edits · Jun 11, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment significantly expanded AB 2728 by adding a new Government Code section (53759.5) that authorizes local governments and groundwater sustainability agencies to exempt de minimis extractors from paying groundwater monitoring or management fees, subject to two findings about who benefits. It also amended Water Code Section 10730 to clarify that GSAs cannot impose fees on unregulated de minimis extractors and may exempt regulated ones under the new provision. The Assembly version's statement of legislative intent regarding water delivery infrastructure was removed.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from covering only water data transparency and a statement of intent on water delivery infrastructure to also include groundwater fee exemption authority for de minimis extractors, adding a new Government Code article and amending the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act's fee provisions.

SCOPE

Added new Government Code Section 53759.5 (Article 4.8, 'De Minimis Extractors') allowing local governments and GSAs to exempt de minimis extractors from groundwater fees upon finding that the fee-funded activities directly benefit non-de-minimis parties and that any benefits to de minimis extractors are incidental and cost-free to fee payers.

Removed the former Section 1 which stated it was the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation related to water delivery infrastructure.

ELIGIBILITY

Amended Water Code Section 10730(a) to clarify that a GSA shall not impose a fee on a de minimis extractor unless the agency has regulated the user pursuant to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and added language allowing GSAs to exempt regulated de minimis extractors from fees under the new Section 53759.5.

TECHNICAL

Various technical and cleanup edits throughout Section 10730, including changing 'users' to 'user,' 'Prior to' to 'Before,' 'publication' to 'published,' 'posting' to 'posted,' 'Internet Web site' to 'internet website,' and 'mailed' to 'mail.'

The Water Code data platform amendments (Sections 12405, 12410, 12415) were renumbered from Sections 1-3 to Sections 3-5 to accommodate the two new sections at the front of the bill.

02/20/26 - Introduced → 03/19/26 - Amended Assembly · 6 edits · Mar 19, 2026

MODERATE

AB 2728 was dramatically expanded from a simple legislative intent statement about water delivery infrastructure into substantive amendments to the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (Water Code Sections 12405, 12410, and 12415). The amended bill adds a new deadline of August 1, 2027, requiring the Department of Water Resources to make hatchery production, release, and escapement data available on the statewide integrated water data platform, and expands the list of required datasets to include fish abundance and hatchery information from both state and federal agencies. This matters because it creates a concrete obligation to integrate previously unrequired ecological data into a public platform, with a specific compliance date.

SCOPE

The bill was expanded from a one-section intent statement to three sections amending the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (Water Code Sections 12405, 12410, and 12415).

TIMELINE

A new deadline of August 1, 2027 is added requiring the Department of Water Resources to make available on the statewide water data platform any existing information listed in subdivision (b) of Section 12415.

REQUIREMENT

Section 12415(b)(3) is expanded to require integration of the Department of Fish and Wildlife's hatchery production, release, and escapement data in addition to fish abundance and distribution.

A new Section 12415(b)(6) requires integration of fish abundance and hatchery production, release, and escapement information from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and NOAA Fisheries.

DEFINITION

Section 12405 is amended to clarify that 'improving the management of the state's water resources' includes 'the efficacy of management actions,' broadening the stated purpose of data integration.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee vote requirement changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now has a fiscal impact requiring review by the Legislative Fiscal Committee.

Floor votes · Senate Aug 10, 2026 · Assembly May 27, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Aug 10, 2026

D Democratic30

30 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican10

9 Yea 1

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0.).

lower

Aug 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: That the Senate amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (August 27).

lower

Aug 13, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2.

lower

Aug 11, 2026

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Aug 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).

upper

Jul 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 1).

upper

Jun 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

upper

Jun 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on N.R. & W. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.

upper

Jun 15, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on L. GOV. and N.R. & W.

upper

Jun 12, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Jun 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

upper

Jun 11, 2026

Introduced

From 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.

upper

Jun 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.

upper

May 27, 2026

Assembly · Passed

Assembly Vote: pass (77-0-2)

assembly

May 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.)

lower

May 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 15, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on W., P., & W.

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on W., P., & W. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on W., P., & W.

lower

Feb 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors