Shaking up a water board

Bill would expand the Central Basin Municipal Water District and change how its seats are filled.

SACRAMENTO — Moving to shake up a troubled agency, state lawmakers on Wednesday sent the governor a bill that would expand the board of the Central Basin Municipal Water District and change how its seats are filled.

The Assembly unanimously approved a bill introduced by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (DBell Gardens) after news reports and lawsuits indicated there had been misuse of district funds and inappropriate contracting and employment practices.

District lawyers found the agency violated state law by secretly creating a $2.7million fund for a groundwater storage project. The district has been also been accused of doing favors for the family members of politicians.

“It’s a district that has had a tremendous amount of public distrust,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) told his colleagues Wednesday. “This will get them back on the road they need to be on.”

Garcia cited a state audit from last year that she said raised “serious ethical concerns” about district operations. The audit also found the district’s five-person board had failed to provide the leadership necessary for the district to fulfill its responsibilities to provide water to 2 million people in 24 cities and six unincorporated areas throughout southeast Los Angeles County.

“While the district has made strides to address the questions raised by the audi- tor report, it is important to have a governance structure that will protect consumers moving forward,” Garcia told fellow lawmakers in arguing for AB 1794.

The measure would change the board’s makeup from five elected members to four members elected by residents and three with technical expertise who would be appointed by water purveyors in the district beginning in 2022.

The board would also be subject to state campaign finance limits and ethics rules, and appointed directors would not be eligible to receive communication or car allowances.

The bill, Garcia said, increases accountability by balancing the input of water purveyors who are district customers with input from voters.