California Cattlemen’s Association on Senate Bill 389

As agriculture groups celebrate the passage of legislative bills during this California legislative session, some organizations remained active until the session's conclusion to prevent specific bills from becoming law. Let's delve into Senate Bill 389, a measure initially opposed by the California Cattlemen’s Association. Despite CCA's initial opposition, the group later shifted its stance to neutral by the session's end, and the bill was ultimately signed into law by Governor Newsom.

CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur breaks that down for us. Here's a clip from CCA’s Podcast; The Sorting Pen.

“389 was a bill that would've allowed the State Water Resources Control Board to investigate and if they found that a water right didn't have a valid claim of right, they could have revoked that water right outright. We had two major problems with the bill. One was that it put the burden of proof on a water rights holder, even though it is the State Water Resources Control Board in these investigations that is alleging that there isn't a valid water. That was particularly concerning for folks who have pre 1914 water rights because really the state has never required any particular form of recordation or reporting of those water rights up until 2009.”