Dear friends,
With the conclusion of the 2026 legislative session on August 31, 2026, we are excited to share the many wins you all made possible through your constant engagement over the past several months, including two bills passing to the Governor’s desk and two bad bills defeated.
This year, AB 2026 and AB 2215 were successfully killed, and SB 872 and AB 2218 successfully passed out of the legislature to the Governor’s desk.
Read more about each bill and how you can help ensure the Governor signs SB 872 and AB 2218 into law!
Help Support SB 872: The Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund
SB 872, a bill designed to safeguard California’s water supply for decades to come, has been unanimously approved by the Legislature.
The bill brings together Northern and Southern California legislators, environmental groups including Restore the Delta, and water interests to protect the state’s primary water source.
If signed into law by Governor Newsom, SB 872 would address two major threats to California’s water supply: aging levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and sinking canals in the State Water Project (SWP). Many Delta levees are at risk of failure, raising the threat of catastrophic flooding and ecosystem damage, while sinking land is jeopardizing SWP canals and reliable water deliveries.
Now that SB 872 has moved to the Governor’s desk for signature, we need your help to sign this bill into law!
Two Easy Ways You Can Take Action:
1. Call the Governor at (916) 445-2841, urging his signature on SB 872.
When calling the Governor’s Office, please tell them:
- As a constituent, I urge you to sign SB 872 into law.
- You support advancing legislation that prioritizes safeguarding California’s water supplies, protecting critical infrastructure, and preparing the state’s water system for future challenges.
2. Alternatively, you can also write to the Governor’s Office, asking for their support on SB 872.
- Click this link to send a comment urging the Governor’s Signature on SB 872.
Support AB 2218
Help Support AB 2218: Water policy: California Native American tribes
On February 19, 2026, Assemblymember Kalra introduced AB 2218, the Indigenous Water Rights Bill sponsored by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the Karuk Tribe.
AB 2218 would establish a clear statewide policy directive acknowledging and seeking to remedy the inequities inflicted upon Tribes in California through historical state-sanctioned acts of termination, removal, and forced assimilation.
The bill directs relevant state agencies, including the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Board, to incorporate this policy into water rights decisions, regulatory actions, permitting, and grantmaking to address identified inequities. Recognizing historic harms and directing state agencies to center Tribal equity in water policy is not simply a symbolic act; it is a pathway toward stronger relationships, more inclusive decision-making, and better outcomes for the ecosystems we all depend on.
Now that AB 2218 has moved to the Governor’s desk for signature, we need your help to sign this bill into law!
Two Easy Ways You Can Take Action:
1. Call the Governor at (916) 445-2841 urging his signature on AB 2218.
When calling the Governor’s Office, please tell them:
- As a constituent, I urge you to sign AB 2218 into law.
- AB 2218 supports the State’s progress towards equitable water management.
- AB 2218 is an important step toward addressing inequities affecting California Native American Tribes in state water policy and ensuring Tribal interests are meaningfully considered in decisions affecting water.
2. Alternatively, you can also write to the Governor’s Office, asking for their support on AB 2218.
- Click this link to send a comment urging the Governor’s Signature on AB 2218.
Update on AB 2026: Water diversion: groundwater recharge: permit
AB 2026, a bill that would have created broad new pathways to divert already over-allocated surface water and weakened public and environmental review, was held in Senate Appropriations, effectively killing the bill.
Restore the Delta supports responsible groundwater recharge, but AB 2026 is the wrong approach. We will continue to advocate for groundwater recharge policies guided by science and administered through the State Water Board’s established regulatory framework, not broad statutory shortcuts that bypass water-rights, fish and wildlife protections, and the public interest.
Update on AB 2215: Water rights: permits: State Water Project
AB 2215, a bill that would have circumvented existing State Water Board Processes for the benefit of the Delta Conveyance Project, was pulled before being heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
AB 2215 was an attempt by the State Water Contractors as a legislative solution to DWR’s expired water rights for the State Water Project and the DCP, rather than through proper procedure at the State Water Board. The Delta is a severely over-allocated system. Any new water infrastructure proposing to increase diversions must go through the regulatory process to protect Delta communities, ecosystem, and local fishing and recreation economies.