Bill > SB1085

This bill streamlines the water supply planning process for certain housing developments by modifying how and when cities and counties must request a water supply assessment—an evaluation by a public water system determining whether existing and future water supplies are sufficient to support a proposed project. Under the legislation, for qualifying housing projects using either preliminary applications or standard applications deemed complete, local governments must request a water supply assessment within 15 days. For these specific housing developments, the bill accelerates the timeline for public water systems to complete and submit the assessment from the standard 90 days down to 45 days, removes the requirement for the water supply assessment to be approved at a formal public meeting, and allows cities or counties to use a legal mechanism known as a writ of mandamus, which is a court order compelling a government agency to perform a required duty, to enforce compliance if a water system fails to submit the assessment on time.