AB 2218

Existing law establishes various state water policies, including the policy that the use of water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water and the human right to water. This bill would declare that it is the established policy of the state to acknowledge and correct the inequities caused by state-sanctioned acts of termination, removal, and assimilation inflicted upon all California Native American tribes through compensation, legal recognition of rights, or replacement of benefits lost. The bill would require all relevant state agencies, including the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board, to consider and incorporate this policy when revising, adopting, or establishing rights, policies, regulations, permits, or grant criteria to address identified inequities.