This week, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed Senate Bill 848 by Senator Wolk on a 7-2 vote. The primary focus of the hearing was the provisions of the bond dealing with water quality. The two Republicans who cast “no” votes expressed concerns with the dollar amount allocated for the public benefits associated with storage and the lack of a “continuous appropriation” for those funds. All members of the committee expressed an interest in working with Senator Wolk on the bond. It was suggested that perhaps language could be developed to provide assurances to those concerned with the lack of continuous appropriation language that the funds would be made available for approved water storage projects.
Both SB 848 and newly proposed drought legislation would allocate unappropriated funds from previously passed bonds. Senator Wolk indicated that she anticipated SB 848 would complement the new effort.
In her closing comments, Senator Wolk indicated that she was considering adding a specific allocation for the Mountain Counties Overlay, as delineated in the California Water Plan, which is one of the amendments suggested by RCRC. A number of amendments suggested by the committee consultant were made to the bill which will be heard next week in the Senate Finance and Governance Committee.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at 916.447.4806 or kmannion@rcrcnet.org.