Cal. Farm Bureau Fed. v. State Water etc. Bd. 1/17/07 CA3

State: California

Court: 1st District Court of Appeal 1st District Court of Appeal

Docket No: C050289

Case Date: 04/11/2007

Preview:Filed 1/17/07

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ---CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. CALIFORNIA STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD, Defendant and Respondent. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Sacramento County, Cadei, J. Reversed with directions. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, David A. Battaglia and Eileen M. Ahern; Nancy N. McDonough, Carl G. Borden, for Plaintiff and Appellant California Farm Bureau Federation. Somach, Simmons & Dunn, Stuart L. Somach, Kristen T. Castanos, Robert B. Hoffman and Daniel Kelly, for Plaintiffs and Appellants Northern California Water Association and Central Valley Project Water Association. Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, David S. Chaney, Senior Assistant Attorney General, William L. Carter, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Matthew J. Goldman and Molly K. Mosley, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendants and Respondents. O'Laughlin & Paris, Tim O'Laughlin and William C. Paris for San Joaquin River Group Authority as Amicus Curiae. C050289 (Super. Ct. Nos. 03CS01776, 04CS00473)

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Downey Brand, Kevin M. O'Brien, Jennifer L. Harder and Joseph S. Schofield for Amicus Association of California Water Agencies as Amicus Curiae. Jason E. Resnick for Western Growers Association, California Cattlemen's Association, and California Grape and Tree Fruit League as Amici Curiae. In this appeal we consider whether the State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) imposition of new annual fees on holders of water right permits and licenses under Water Code section 1525 and implementing emergency regulations constituted lawful regulatory fees or unlawful taxes adopted in violation of article XIIIA of the California Constitution (Proposition 13).1 Also challenged as unconstitutional are new annual fees imposed on persons and entities that contract for water from the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) pursuant to Water Code sections 1540 and 1560,2 and the emergency regulations.

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Proposition 13 was adopted by the voters in the June 6, 1978 primary election. (2A West's Ann. Cal. Const. (1996 ed.) foll. art. 13A,

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