CA AB938

Allows watermasters or local agencies administering adjudicated groundwater basins to elect that their basin be subject to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act provisions.

Requires courts with jurisdiction over adjudicated basins to hold hearings within 60 days if they determine a hearing is appropriate, or within 60 days of a party's motion request, to determine whether the basin should be subject to the act.

Mandates watermasters or local agencies notify the Department of Water Resources if an adjudicated basin becomes subject to the act, and requires the department to post such notices on its website within 15 days.

Specifies that applying the act to adjudicated basins cannot require violation of existing adjudication decrees or deprive courts of authority to enforce compliance with those decrees.

Declares the act an urgency statute to take effect immediately to enable groundwater sustainability agencies to meet organizational deadlines and respond to drought-related declining groundwater conditions.