Groundwater adjudication.

Assembly Member Hart's groundwater adjudication reform measure modifies how California courts process claims involving minor water extractions and handle technical evidence in comprehensive groundwater rights cases. The legislation allows courts to either exempt or separately process claims involving less than five acre-feet of annual groundwater extraction, establishing dedicated procedures for registering these smaller claims.

The bill creates a presumption of accuracy for initial disclosures from parties claiming either less than 100 acre-feet of average annual extraction or amounts of historical extraction deemed reasonable by the court. Parties challenging these disclosures must prove their inaccuracy. In basins with approved sustainability plans, courts must request technical reports from groundwater sustainability agencies detailing water usage by non-appearing parties. These reports serve as prima facie evidence of physical facts, though parties retain the right to present rebuttal evidence.

The measure also refines requirements for electronic submission of disclosures and updates provisions for special master compensation in adjudication proceedings. Courts may waive a party's payment obligations upon showing good cause, and expenses incurred by sustainability agencies in preparing technical reports must be equitably allocated among parties by the court.