Attorney Alan Lilly Selected as State Water Board’s First Administrative Hearings Officer

Assembly Bill 747, by Assemblymember Anna Caballero (D-District 12-Salinas) and approved last September by then Governor Jerry Brown, is the legislation that created a new Administrative Hearings Office within the State Water Resources Control Board. On Thursday, the State Water Resources Control Board announced the appointment of veteran water rights attorney Alan Lilly as the new office’s first Presiding Hearing Officer.

AB 74 (Chapter 668, Statues of 2018) requires the Administrative Hearings Office to hear and decide specified water right enforcement matters, subject to review by the State Water Board. In addition, Lilly and other hearing officers in the office may assist the State Water Board in other hearings.

“Alan brings a wealth of experience, keen intellect, and proven leadership abilities for the Administrative Hearings Office,” said Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. “My colleagues and I look forward to Alan setting up this office, improving the water right enforcement hearing process, and carrying out the broader responsibilities of Assembly Bill 747.”

As the first Presiding Hearing Officer Lilly will initially work to establish the new office and will be hiring haring officers and technical staff so the office can function effectively and efficiently. Lilly will have the responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the new department. The State Water Resources Control Board anticipates sharing more information about the new Administrative Hearings Office as it is more fully developed.

Lilly received his B.A. degree in physics and biology (with highest honors) from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1975, and his M.A. degree in physics (1977) and his J.D. degree (1981) from the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked with Bartkiewicz, Kronick & Shanahan, a professional corporation and prominent Sacramento law firm since 1990. During that time, he litigated extensively in water rights matters before both the courts and the State Water Board. Lilly’s clients have included public agencies, private clients, and conservation groups. He has held the positions of principal attorney, director and treasurer of the firm. Before working with the firm, Lilly worked as a law clerk to a United States District Court judge and as a Deputy Attorney General with the California Attorney General’s office.

Regarding his recent appointment Lilly said, “I am honored that the State Water Board has selected me to be the first Presiding Hearing Officer in the new Administrative Hearings Office. I look forward to establishing this office as an independent unit of the State Water Board that will fairly and impartially adjudicate the water-right disputes that are assigned to it.”

Lilly is slated to begin his new position in the new Administrative Hearings Office on Nov. 1.