Abandoned endowment care cemeteries: County of Marin.

Added new Section 8834 to the Health and Safety Code authorizing the County of Marin to transfer ownership, care, and management of the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery to a California nonprofit organization in good standing or a licensed cemetery authority.

Added a legislative finding that a special statute is necessary for the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery due to unique circumstances involving prolonged regulatory, financial, maintenance, and public health and safety concerns.

Added liability protection for successors who acquire the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery: they are not liable for debts, obligations, taxes, fines, judgments, or recordkeeping failures of prior owners arising before the transfer date. However, successors must still honor valid burial rights and prepaid burial contracts.

The entire act now takes effect only if SB 1312 of the 2025-26 Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative, making the bill contingent on a separate piece of legislation.

The new cemetery provisions (Section 8834) sunset on January 1, 2029.

The original groundwater sustainability management sections (definitions in Water Code Section 10721, agency authority in Section 10726.4, plan requirements in Section 10727.4, and fee provisions) were renumbered from Sections 1-5 to later section numbers to accommodate the new cemetery provisions at the front of the bill. The substantive content of these groundwater provisions appears unchanged.

Added explicit authorization for GSAs to impose fees on small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities and managed wetland extractors for groundwater extraction above historically required levels. The Assembly version only stated the prohibition (no fees at or below historical usage) without explicitly authorizing fees for excess usage.

The fee exemption for small community water systems and managed wetland extractors is now clearly limited to usage at or below historical baselines, with a carve-out allowing GSA fees for any extraction above that threshold. This makes the protection conditional rather than absolute.

The amendment to Section 56030 of the Water Code regarding county drainage district boards of directors was removed entirely from the bill.

A new Section 10726.4 was added that becomes operative on January 1, 2029. This version removes the exemption from extraction allocation limits for small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities and managed wetland extractors, restoring full regulatory authority to groundwater sustainability agencies over those users.

A new Section 10727.4 was added that becomes operative on January 1, 2029. This version removes the requirement for groundwater sustainability plans to include water supply and economic impacts on managed wetlands, managed wetland extractors, and small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities, as well as the list requirements for those entities.

A sunset provision was added stating that the amended versions of Sections 10726.4, 10727.4, and 10730.2 (which include protections for managed wetlands and small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities) shall be repealed on January 1, 2029.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires review by the Legislative Fiscal Committee, likely due to the new sunset and replacement provisions having budgetary implications.

The bill now amends Sections 10721, 10726.4, 10727.4, and 10730.2 of the Water Code (SGMA), in addition to the original Section 56030 drainage district provision. This transforms the bill from a technical cleanup into a substantive groundwater policy change.

Legislative findings establish that protecting managed wetlands under SGMA will avoid net loss of wetlands and allow agencies to prioritize sustainability for agricultural, municipal, and industrial users. Findings also note only about 5 percent of historic California wetlands remain.

New definitions added for 'managed wetland' (seasonally or permanently flooded land designated as wildlife areas, refuges, conservation easements, or habitat contracts of 10+ years), 'managed wetland extractor,' and 'small community water system' (serving no more than 3,300 connections or 10,000 persons).

Groundwater sustainability agencies are prohibited from establishing extraction allocations for small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities from permitted public water supply wells, and for managed wetland extractors. Agencies may still regulate usage that exceeds historically required levels.

Groundwater sustainability plans must now include the plan's water supply and economic impacts on managed wetlands, managed wetland extractors, and small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities, plus a list of affected systems with population and consumption data.

Groundwater sustainability agencies are prohibited from imposing fees on small community water systems serving disadvantaged communities or for managed wetland purposes, as long as each user's water use does not increase above what was historically required.