California Attorney General Opinion 24-701

BACKGROUND

This opinion concerns two public entities that manage water resources in the Central Valley. First, the Tulare Lake Reclamation District No. 761 was organized under Water Code section 50000 et seq. Like other reclamation districts, it has statutory

1 24-701 authority to construct and operate public works relating to reclamation and irrigation. 1 The Reclamation District is governed by a five-member Board of Trustees.

Second, the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District was established under Water Code section 39000 et seq. 3 The Water District consists of thousands of acres of “highly fertile farm land located in the Tulare Lake Basin.” 4 Its boundaries overlap with the Reclamation District’s. Like other water storage districts, the Water District can “execute approved projects ‘for the acquisition, appropriation, diversion, storage, conservation, and distribution of water.’” 5 It is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors.

Michael Sullivan has served simultaneously as a Reclamation District Trustee and a Water District Director. We are told that he joined the Reclamation District Board in 2019. He then assumed office on the Water District Board in…