Jerry Brown signs bill prohibiting fines for brown lawns

With California suffering through a fourth year of drought, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation prohibiting local agencies from fining homeowners who let their lawns go brown, his office announced Monday.

The bill prohibits cities or counties from fining residents for failing to water their lawns during the drought. Proponents of the legislation argued homeowners faced competing demands of conservation and local “maintenance” ordinances requiring them to keep up their lawns.

Residents of several cities reported being fined or receiving warnings, according to a legislative analysis.

Assembly Bill 1, by Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino, passed both houses of the Legislature without dissent.

Brown, a Democrat, signed the measure without comment.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 6:27 PM.