Water supply planning: housing developments.

Header changed from amendment history and author list to final passage dates (Senate August 27, Assembly August 26, 2026) with signature blocks for the Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly, Private Secretary of the Governor, and an approval line for the Governor.

The legislative counsel's digest removed the phrase 'as amended' from the bill title reference, changing it from 'SB 1085, as amended, Durazo' to 'SB 1085, Durazo.'

Line number prefixes (e.g., 'line 1', 'line 2') were removed from the statutory text and page numbers shifted from 95 to 94, consistent with standard enrollment formatting.

Section 10914(d)(1) now adds 'project that is a project, as defined in Section 10912' after 'housing development project,' clarifying that the judicial review exception for EIR certification challenges only applies when the housing development project also meets the Section 10912 definition of 'project.' This narrows the scope of when water supply assessments can be challenged in court.

Removed a duplicated '(b)' in the cross-reference to subdivision (b) of Section 10910, correcting a drafting error that read 'subdivision (b), (b) of Section 10910.'

Section numbering was adjusted: a standalone 'SEC. 2' line was removed and subsequent sections were renumbered accordingly.

New Section 10911 requires a public water system that concludes its supplies are insufficient to provide the city or county with plans for acquiring additional water supplies, including estimated costs, financing methods, required permits, and expected timeframes.

New Section 10911(b) requires the city or county to include the water supply assessment in any CEQA environmental document prepared for the project.

New Section 10911(c) requires the city or county to determine whether projected water supplies will be sufficient and, if not, to include that determination in its findings for the project.

Section 10914(d) changed from stating the assessment is 'not a final agency action' to 'not a final agency action subject to judicial review except as part of' two types of challenges: (1) a challenge to EIR certification or negative declaration adoption for a housing development project, or (2) a challenge to approval or disapproval of a non-housing project. This opens the door for water supply findings to be challenged in court as part of broader project challenges.

New Section 10914(f) defines 'housing development project' by reference to Section 65589.5 of the Government Code.

Section 10910(a)(2) changed from 'deems a development application as complete' to 'determines a development application is complete or a development application is deemed complete,' clarifying that both affirmative determinations and deeming trigger the requirement.

Section 10910(g)(1)(A) changed 'the governing body of the city or county if either water system' to 'the governing body of the city or county water system,' clarifying that it is the city or county's water system governing body that must approve the assessment.

The trigger for identifying water systems and requesting assessments changed from 'at the time the city or county makes the CEQA threshold determination' to 'upon receipt of an application that meets the criteria of subdivision (a)' and 'within 15 days of receipt.' This removes the dependency on CEQA process timing.

New Section 10914(d) states that a water supply assessment prepared under this part is an informational document and not a final agency action, clarifying its legal status.

New Section 10914(e) provides that nothing in the part shall be construed to (1) subject a project to discretionary review if it must be permitted ministerially under state law, or (2) subject a project to CEQA if it is otherwise exempt pursuant to any other law.

Subsection (a)(2) was broadened from 'the city or county deems a development application as complete' to 'the city or county determines a development application is complete or deemed complete,' capturing both determined-complete and deemed-complete applications.

Old Section 10914(d) stated 'This part applies only to a project for which a notice of preparation is submitted on or after January 1, 1996.' This date restriction was removed entirely.

Section 10910(g)(1) was restructured from a two-part format into a three-subparagraph format (A, B, C) for the general 90-day rule and a four-subparagraph format (A, B, C, D) for the 45-day housing project rule, with minor clarifying language changes such as specifying 'the governing body of the city or county' rather than just 'the city or county.'

Senator Stern was added to the list of coauthors.

The trigger for compliance changed from any project subject to CEQA under Section 21080 to two specific events: (1) receipt of a preliminary application under Government Code Section 65941.1 for a project meeting conditions in Public Resources Code Section 21080.66, or (2) for other projects, when the city or county deems a development application complete under Government Code Section 65943.

A new amendment to Water Code Section 10914 was added, clarifying that the part does not create a right or entitlement to water service, does not impose or expand duties regarding obligations to provide service to existing or future customers, does not modify existing law for projects not subject to the part, and applies only to projects with a notice of preparation submitted on or after January 1, 1996.

The bill now amends both Water Code Sections 10910 and 10914 (previously only Section 10910), broadening the legislative footprint of the act.

A new 15-day deadline was added requiring cities and counties to request each identified public water system to determine whether projected water demand was included in the most recently adopted urban water management plan, starting from receipt of a qualifying application.

A new 45-day deadline was created for public water systems to submit water supply assessments for qualifying housing development projects (those meeting preliminary application conditions under Section 21080.66 or projects proposed to be permitted under Government Code Section 65913.4 or Chapter 4.1 of Division 1, Title 7). This is half the standard 90-day deadline.

For housing development projects subject to the 45-day timeline, water supply assessments no longer need to be approved at a public meeting, removing a procedural step that could delay the process.

Cities and counties are now explicitly authorized to seek a writ of mandamus to compel a public water system that fails to submit a water supply assessment within the 45-day housing project deadline.