Water Fees Challenged
Sponsored by:
A challenge to new state water-rights fees has moved into the courtroom. The California Farm Bureau, county Farm Bureaus and individuals filed suit, challenging the constitutionality of assessments imposed on holders of water-rights permits. The Farm Bureau says the fees are actually taxes, and were enacted without the necessary two-thirds vote of the Legislature. The suit was filed after a state water board rejected a petition to end the assessments.