SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Bennett’s AB 2125 has been signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The bill requires the plaintiff in a water rights adjudication case to provide to the court proof that the notification of the case was not only mailed to all overlying landowners, but also that the plaintiff received delivery receipts signed by each landowner or their authorized representative in order to constitute effective service of process.
“AB 2125 protects small farmers and individual water rights holders by ensuring they are properly notified of adjudications that impact their rights,” said Assemblymember Steve Bennett. “In Ventura County, the Las Posas adjudication affected thousands of residents, many of whom never received notice.”
Bennett added, “In something as fundamental as the right to water, a simple addition of providing proof to the court that the mailing had been received, and not just mailed, seems to be a minor burden on the plaintiffs. It is a question of good government: should we ensure that everyone has all the information to ensure a level playing field? I believe we should.”
The legislation addresses long-standing concerns among local landowners who faced legal proceedings without prior knowledge.
“This law will help prevent the theft of water rights from small farmers, as groundwater adjudications become more common,” said Douglas Homze, a small farmer in the Las Posas Basin in Ventura County.
“SGMA is a good law as conceived, designed to fairly share water among users, not to take it away from one user and give it to another. We farmed our land for decades and we never thought that our water rights could be stolen without legal notice,” continued Homze. “This law will ensure proper notification of everyone involved, and help prevent what happened to my family, and to many other small farmers in the Las Posas basin.”
— Steve Bennett represents the 38th Assembly District, which includes Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, and Ventura. He is chair of the Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Change, Natural Resources, Energy and Transportation.