SECTIONS 150-166 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 150-166

150. There is in the Department of Water Resources the California
Water Commission.

151. The California Water Commission consists of nine members who
are appointed by the Governor subject to the confirmation of the
Senate, as provided in this article.

152. Seven members of the California Water Commission appointed by
the Governor shall be selected and approved for appointment on the
basis of their general educational and business qualifications, and
their knowledge of, interest in, and experience with problems
relating to the control, storage, and beneficial use of water. They
shall be appointed in such a manner as to afford representation on
the commission of all parts of the state so far as it is practicable.
In considering qualifications of such members of the commission,
engineering ability and experience shall be deemed advisable. Two
members of the commission appointed by the Governor shall be members
of the public having an interest in and knowledge of the environment
and need have none of the other qualifications specified in this
section. The next two members appointed to the commission by the
Governor after the effective date of the amendment of this section at
the 1970 Regular Session of the Legislature shall be members of the
public having such interest in and knowledge of the environment.

153. (a) The terms of the members of the California Water
Commission in office as of January 1, 1958, shall expire as follows:
(1) One member on January 15, 1958.
(2) Two members on January 15, 1959.
(3) Two members on January 15, 1960.
(4) Two members on January 15, 1961.
(b) The terms of the two additional members of the commission
provided for by Chapter 2112 of the Statutes of 1959 shall expire as
follows:
(1) One member on January 15, 1962.
(2) One member on January 15, 1963.
(c) The terms of the successors to the members shall be for four
years.

153.5. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 153 and 154, the term of any
member of the California Water Commission, whose appointment has been
confirmed by the Senate and who is serving a term that is unexpired
as of January 1, 2011, shall expire on May 14, 2014.
(b) Commencing May 14, 2014, members shall be appointed to the
unexpired terms succeeding to the terms specified in Section 153.

154. Appointments shall be for terms of four years. Vacancies shall
be immediately filled by the Governor for the unexpired portion of
the terms in which they occur.

155. The appointments made by the Governor to membership on the
California Water Commission shall be subject to confirmation by the
Senate at the next regular or special session of the Legislature and
the refusal or failure of the Senate to confirm an appointment shall
create a vacancy in the office to which the appointment was made.

156. The members of the California Water Commission may be removed
from office by the Legislature, by concurrent resolution adopted by a
majority vote of all members elected to each house, for dereliction
of duty or corruption or incompetency.

157. Each member of the California Water Commission shall receive
one hundred dollars ($100) for each day during which the member is
engaged in the performance of official duties, but shall not be
compensated for more than 40 days in any one fiscal year, except that
the chairperson of the commission may be compensated for up to 60
days for performance of those duties. In addition to that
compensation, each member shall be reimbursed for necessary traveling
and other expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.

158. The California Water Commission shall maintain its
headquarters at Sacramento and shall hold meetings at such times and
at such places as shall be determined by it. All meetings of the
commission shall be open and public.

159. Special meetings may be called at any time by the chairman or
by the executive officer at the request of any four members, upon
notice specifying the matters to be acted upon at such meeting, but
no other matters shall be acted upon at special meetings which were
not so noticed, unless all members are present and consent thereto.

160. The members of the California Water Commission shall select
one of the members to serve as chairman, who shall hold office as
chairman at the pleasure of the commission.

161. The California Water Commission shall confer with, advise, and
make recommendations to the director with respect to any matters and
subjects under his jurisdiction. The rulemaking power of the
department shall be exercised in the following manner. All rules and
regulations of the department, other than those relating exclusively
to the internal administration and management of the department,
shall be first presented by the director to the commission and shall
become effective only upon approval thereof by the commission.

161.5. The California Water Commission shall have the power to name
all facilities of the State Water Resources Development System owned
by the state. The commission may receive testimony from the public
on matters involving its responsibilities under this section, and,
after public hearing for the purpose of considering all proposed
names for such facilities, may, by resolution, express its decision
regarding the naming of specific facilities of the State Water
Resources Development System.

162. It is the intention of the Legislature that in the making of
all major departmental determinations, policies and procedures, such
as departmental recommendations to the Legislature, the director and
the California Water Commission shall be in agreement whenever
possible; but for the purpose of fixing responsibility to the
Governor and to the Legislature, in the event of disagreement between
the director and the commission upon such matters, the views of the
director shall prevail. In the event of disagreement pursuant to this
section, a written report upon such disagreement shall be made
immediately to the Governor and to the President pro Tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly by the commission and by the
director.

163. The commission may employ an executive officer, exempt from
civil service, under subdivision (e) of Section 4 of Article XXIV of
the Constitution, and a staff engineer from the staff of the
department who shall be responsible to the commission. The commission
may also employ such clerical assistants as may be necessary for the
proper discharge of its duties and may purchase or rent necessary
supplies, instruments, tools, equipment and conveniences.

163.5. The department shall furnish to the California Water
Commission, at its request, such assistance, including technical,
legal, and clerical services, as is required to the extent funds are
made available therefor.

164. The commission may hold any hearings and conduct any
investigations in any part of the state necessary to carry out the
powers vested in it, and for such purposes has the powers conferred
upon heads of departments of the state by Article 2 (commencing with
Section 11180), Chapter 2, Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the
Government Code.
Any hearing or investigation by the commission may be conducted by
any member or nominee upon authorization of the commission, and he
shall have the powers granted to the commission by this section, but
any final action of the commission shall be taken by a majority of
the members of the commission at a meeting duly called and held.

165. The California Water Commission shall conduct an annual review
of the progress of construction and operation of the State Water
Resources Development System, and shall make a report on its findings
to the department and to the Legislature, together with whatever
recommendations it deems appropriate.

166. The California Water Commission shall hold public hearings on
all additional facilities proposed to be added to the State Water
Resources Development System by the department pursuant to the
authority granted by Sections 12931 and 12938.