Assemblymember Steve Bennett, D-Ventura, proposed legislation last week to require local districts to better prepare and protect water supplies for wildfires.

The bill, introduced on Thursday, calls for Ventura County water districts in high fire risk areas to top off tanks during fire weather, provide reliable backup power for pumps and make sure areas around those tanks and pumps are hardened against flames.

AB560, a bill sponsored by state Assemblyman Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) would require the parties to any proposed settlement agreement in an adjudication to submit their proposal to the state Water Resources Control Board before the judge makes a ruling.

Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), who introduced the bill, said it was intended to address a significant loophole in California’s groundwater law. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, passed in 2014, created local agencies tasked with developing plans for curbing overpumping in many areas of the state, but left counties in charge of issuing permits for new wells.