CA AB 2521

in committee

California Council on Science and Technology: water availability study: Central Valley.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources within the Natural Resources Agency and vests it with various powers and duties related to water. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer a water rights program pursuant to which the board grants and revokes permits and licenses to appropriate water. Existing law authorizes any person who has an urgent need to divert and use water to apply for, and authorizes the board to issue, a conditional, temporary permit, as prescribed. Existing law finds and declares that the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) was organized as a nonprofit corporation at the request of the Legislature for the specific purpose of offering expert advice to the state government on public policy issues significantly related to science and technology. This bill would, on or before January 1, 2028, require the Department of Water Resources, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to select 2 watersheds that are within, or drain into, the Central Valley to conduct a watershedwide water availability study. The bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, request CCST to, in consultation with the Department of Water Resources and the board, undertake and complete a comprehensive study of water availability in the selected watersheds. The bill would require the study to, among other things, determine daily flow rates in rivers, streams, and creeks in the watersheds over the past 30 years to the extent data is available. The bill would require the study to be completed within 2 years of the Legislature appropriating money for purposes of undertaking the study. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature for the water availability study to serve as the water availability analysis for future applications to the board for standard or temporary permits for diversion of water to underground storage in the selected watersheds. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Central Valley.

Introduced: 2026-03-19
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-07-02 — Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2026-02-20
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2026-02-21
From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2026-03-19
Referred to Com. on W., P., & W.
referral-committee
2026-03-19
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on W., P., & W. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-03-23
Re-referred to Com. on W., P., & W.
referral-committee
2026-04-15
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on W., P., & W. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-04-16
Re-referred to Com. on W., P., & W.
referral-committee
2026-04-23
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-05-06
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-05-14
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 1.) (May 14).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-18
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-27
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 60. Noes 9.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-28
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-06-10
Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
referral-committee
2026-07-01
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (July 1).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-07-02
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

Versions

02/20/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-20Compare
03/19/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-03-19Compare
04/15/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-04-15Compare
07/02/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-07-02Compare
AB2521Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-04-23 · pass · 8-0
Member-level votes (13)
- Papan: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Hart: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: other
- Gallagher: other
- Bains: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Alanis: other
Do pass.
2026-05-14 · pass · 11-1
Member-level votes (15)
- Krell: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Solache: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Tangipa: no
- Ta: other
- Dixon: other
- Hoover: other
AB 2521 Papan Assembly Third Reading
2026-05-27 · pass · 60-9
Member-level votes (80)
- Bennett: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Davies: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Papan: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Hart: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Addis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Ward: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Soria: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Lee: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Berman: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Haney: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Krell: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Patel: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Solache: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Macedo: no
- DeMaio: no
- Flora: no
- Jeff Gonzalez: no
- Tangipa: no
- Sanchez: no
- Gallagher: no
- Alanis: no
- Ellis: no
- Bains: other
- Johnson: other
- Hoover: other
- Dixon: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Chen: other
- Castillo: other
- Hadwick: other
- Patterson: other
- Lackey: other
- Ta: other
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-07-01 · pass · 6-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Laird: yes
- Becker: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Stern: yes
- Allen: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Grove: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2521

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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