In Department of Finance v. Commission on State Mandates, the Supreme Court today holds conditions imposed by the state on local agencies that operate storm drain systems are state mandates for which — under the California Constitution — the state must reimburse the agencies, even though the conditions were imposed to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. The majority opinion by Justice Carol Corrigan (joined by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Justices Kathryn Werdegar and Ming Chin) concludes the conditions resulted from state discretionary action because “no federal law or regulation imposed the conditions nor did the federal regulatory system require the state to impose them.”
Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (with Justices Goodwin Liu and Leondra Kruger) writes a concurring and dissenting opinion. The separate opinion faults the majority for upholding the decision of the Commission on State Mandates, which, the dissenters say, “is flawed in its approach and far too parsimonious in its analysis.”
The court reverses the Second District, Division One, Court of Appeal.