Swrcb

CANTIL-SAKAUYE, J.

In this appeal we consider whether the State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) imposition of new annual fees on holders of water right permits and licenses under Water Code section 1525 and implementing emergency regulations constituted lawful regulatory fees or unlawful taxes adopted in violation of article XIIIA of the California Constitution (Proposition 13). [1] Also challenged as unconstitutional are new annual fees imposed on persons and entities that contract for water from the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) pursuant to Water Code sections 1540 and 1560, [2] and the emergency regulations.

The California Farm Bureau Federation (Farm Bureau), Northern California Water Association (NCWA), Central Valley Project Water Association (CVPWA) and individual fee payers filed this action against the SWRCB for declaratory and injunctive relief, and writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc, §§ 526, 863, 1060, 1085) after the SWRCB denied their requests for reconsideration and refund of annual fees billed in January 2004. Among other things, plaintiffs seek invalidation of the allegedly unconstitutional statutes, rescission of the emergency regulations,…