SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:(1) Water transferred from agricultural to urban uses in exchange for payments to the agricultural holders of that water may have economic and social impacts on the agricultural areas from which the water is transferred, particularly for agricultural workers formerly employed in agriculture and for those businesses and employees that formerly were sustained and supported by the local agricultural economy.
(2) The economic and social impact of these water transfers on the local agricultural economy and on agricultural workers has not been fully examined or mitigated as these water transfers have occurred.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to develop policies that require the examination of the impact of water transfers on the agricultural economy and the social fabric of rural areas and that provide a manner of mitigating the impact of water transfers to the extent that those transfers cause dislocation to the local economy, particularly agricultural workers.