California Government Code

§ 53069.45

GOV § 53069.45 Effective Jan 1, 2026Div. 2 · Title 5 · Part 1 · Ch. 1 · Art. 4

Statute text

(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other law, the legislative body of a local agency, as defined in Section 54951, that provides water services, may adopt an ordinance that prohibits water theft and makes a violation of an ordinance enacted by the local agency regarding water theft subject to an administrative fine or penalty, as provided in this section.

(2)The local agency shall adopt an ordinance that sets forth the administrative procedure that shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative review by the local agency of the administrative fines or penalties for water theft.

(3)The local agency shall establish a process for granting a hardship waiver to reduce the amount of the fine imposed for water theft upon a showing by the responsible party that payment of the full amount of the fine would impose an undue financial burden on the responsible party.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 540, Sec. 4. (SB 394) Effective January 1, 2026.