This week, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and Short Term Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act (S.2533), a revised drought relief bill to provide both long- and short-term solutions to the drought in California.
Senator Feinstein acknowledged that the bill won’t be everything for everyone, but stated her belief that the bill strikes the right balance as it invests $1.3 billion in defined long-term projects while making targeted, temporary changes to water operations that last for the length of the drought, or two years, whichever is longer, and which do not violate environmental laws. Senator Feinstein also expressed the hope that Senate Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell will hold a markup on the bill and the Senate will take it up for debate.
The text of the bill can be accessed here.