Two years ago I left California after spending the previous 40 years there. One of my specific reasons (apart from general disgust with the politics and the cost of living) was that if the drought continued, I'd be looking at water rationing, or water bills as high as my mortgage payment, or both. Looks like I nailed that call.

Yeah, a boatload will come to Arizona and screw things up here. Its already happening. This used to be a reliably solid red state.

I left around the same time, Feb. 1990, after living in California for 24 years. Sold my overpriced house and bought a condo in Nevada at 1/4 the price. Never regretted the move. The smog, traffic and state income tax were the deciding factors.

What are California's laws regarding the collection of rain/snow water? This is a contentious issue in many states and I'll bet California is in the lead of being onerous here to.

I live in rural Nevada. We need a border wall on our western state line.

..but clearly doesn't regulate bullshit.

/rimshot

They don't realize they are the disease. Last year or so I watched an interview with an Austinite (TX) woman complaining about high property taxes, saying "I just don't understand why it got so expensive - I voted for all these things to make it better to live here." without a shred of realization or self-awareness.

Our only real savior as consumers is competition. Government investigations and controls aren’t very effective and there is no alternative

Just gloating, but I spent the first 35 years of my life in Redondo Beach, California, house on a 50x110 foot lot, tiny little lawn. Have been in Wyoming for the last 40 years of my life, live on 5 acres, have a well at 35 feet down and soak the hell out of my 13,000 sq foot lawn anytime I want, 1/2 HP pump gives me 12 gallons a minute and a normal, all day sprinkling, gives me a bit over TWO TONS of water on the lawn per hour....Ahhhhhh.

I've lived in California a number of times, starting in the late 1940s, and noticed how much less sane the state had become with each return. They killed much of their agricultural production, and resisted building a system to retain much of the rainfall and snow pack they get each year. As a result, instead of sensible use of their water resources, they get alternating destructive floods and wildfires brought on by drought.

Now that I've retired to Oklahoma, I marvel at the difference. The Okies learned from the dust bowl days, and have built a very efficient water management system of numerous reservoirs and canals to balance the levels between them. Even after five years of extreme drought the state remained productive, with few water use restrictions. In ten years, the only thing I've had to do is to restrict watering my lawn to every other day.

Anybody ever tries to "push me out" and they'll get their ass handed to them. I'll be fleeing this place so that my family and I can be left alone. I agree...California is a place of amazing natural beauty. This is very sad to watch the politics here...

Just got off the phone with a rep at ATT. That private business apparently feels there are no alternatives and they can treat customers like chattel. They just lost my business forever. At least there are some alternative, competitive choices in internet services unlike water service in CA.

Don't blame you. Me dino couldn't take such Big Brother crap.

What do you expect from a state that regulates cow farts?

I left Jan 1, 1990, but had only been there a few years. My immune system prevailed ;^)

Maybe that is their intention. Have you looked at the plans for Agenda 21 and the consolidation of cities? California had a lovely map of their break down. I wish I could find the article I saw about that in like the LA times or some newspaper around LA/Orange County a few years ago about that. They spoke about blocking cars between certain areas of LA and that whole valley. If I find it, I shall post it!

Some will be taking the disease with them... California Transplants tend to bring their rather crazy laws and ideologies with them. I lived in Las Vegas for quite awhile, but it has gradually gotten crazier and more "liberal" (not actual liberal) by the people coming in from California and New York. Same with other areas. I have known people in Rural areas of Nevada, Utah and even Idaho that have tried to chase the transplants out because they wanted to push their California laws onto the people of these areas. I keep wondering why they want to escape the craziness in california, but bring it with them when theymove to other states. Colorado is also a good example.

Sorry, partial rant! California, as a state, landscape. I LOVE. But the poltics and the people have become absolutely insane since I left CA in the 1990s!

on Maui, you can buy a home, but you cannot live in it without a water permit...no permit...no water....

One unintended consequence of the insane water policies here in CA : when most plants die due to lack of water, air quality will deteriorate. Of course, that just means that the people who remain must all ride bicycles and have a rectal bypass to recover and recycle any pollutants released.

It's only a matter of time before the splitting of California into smaller states takes place. I imagine the folks of northern California are really animated to create the State of Jefferson with this law.

When my local water server here in CA doubled their service fee while increasing charges for water use, I called and pointed out that if they kept doing this, I would eventually be using no water and giving them every asset that I had for the privilege. I was assured that these increases were “temporary”. Since then, my service charge has doubled again, as have penalty levels for water use above certain thresholds. Service charges, which basically are efforts to fund massive pension obligations, will soon be greater than the water use charge. Venezuela is on its way. I must be on my way out.

Government should NEVER EVER get involved in commercial activities, like supplying a commodity. They just dont know how to do this. Imagine if government ran burger production in a McD format. It would be a disaster.

Biut socialists must believe their government is the savior, even when the evidence is overwhlming that it fails 100% of the time.

This leaves a good market for someone to figure out how to monitor "leaks". Currently you only find out how much water you use once a month AFTER the leak might have occurred.

Underground pipe leaks and running toilets are quiet water wasters, not to mention underground and above ground sprinkler faults.

WE should take a clue from Venezuela to see where California is heading. Instead of an Atlas Shrugged movie, the producers should consider a weekly series on life in Venezuela to see the great things Socialism can bring you.

Let's not forget those communities where you must also maintain a green healthy lawn. These people may get "fined" either way.

My coworker read the language of the bill this morning and just told me that the law says they can put you in jail.