Steinberg, Bass Announce Path to Water Solutions
Press Release
Democratic Assembly
08/04/2009
(SACRAMENTO) – Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) today announced a series of public hearings to review and adopt legislation to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and create a more reliable water supply for California.
“Twenty five million Californians—two thirds of our state –rely on the Delta for their water supply, so it is vital we ensure the Delta’s reliability and quality,” Bass said. “The legislature will be conducting a thorough and open process to review all the issues involved in protecting the Delta and the water it provides, in restoring this priceless estuary and in following up on the recommendations of the Governor’s non-partisan Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. It is our hope that this process will provide crucial progress on this issue that is so important to millions of Californians and to the state’s economic health.”
“Our first priority when we return in August is to restore the draconian cuts to Health and Human Services. Our second priority will be to take the next major steps on fashioning a set of solutions to our state’s water challenges: fixing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; establishing enforceable water conservation standards; better managing our groundwater and surface water supplies; providing funding for those new investments needed to bring the state’s water system into the 21st century,” Steinberg said.
Early this year, the leadership of both houses directed the policy committees (Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee) to hold a series of hearings on the Delta “Blue Ribbon Commission” Recommendations to fix the Delta. Both houses also convened bicameral, bipartisan working groups consisting of the key members on water policy in an effort to better coordinate actions within the Legislature.
Most recently, as part of this process, the Senate and Assembly voted to put five bills into the water conference committee. The bills were amended to strike contents, insert one line descriptions and retain authors. The bills, which will be the vehicles for the conference committee’s actions, are as follows:
AB 39 (Huffman)—Delta Plan
AB 49 (Feuer-Huffman)—Water Efficiency
SB 12 (Simitian)—Delta Stewardship Council
SB 229 (Pavley)—Delta Interim Actions, Water Rights, Groundwater
SB 458 (Wolk)—Delta Conservancy, Delta Protection Commission Revisions
In addition, both the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee (Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, chair) and the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee (Assembly member Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, chair) will hold a series of public joint informational hearings to review proposals to fix the Delta and address crucial water supply issues. The first hearing is scheduled for August 18 at 9 a.m. in Room 4202 in the State Capitol.
Preprinted amended versions of the previously mentioned bills will be discussed during these hearings and are available now for public review in both hard copy (available for pick up in the Capitol’s Legislative Bill Room) and electronically through both committee websites linked here: http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/SEN/COMMITTEE/STANDING/NRW/_home/, http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/newcomframeset.asp?committee=26.
The preprinted amended bills are numbered as follows:
Preprint Senate Bill #1 (SB 12 content) author Simitian
Preprint Senate Bill #2 (SB 229 content) author Pavley
Preprint Senate Bill #3 (SB 458 content) author Wolk
Preprint Assembly Bill #1 (AB 39 content) author Huffman
Preprint Assembly Bill #2 (AB 49 content) authors Feuer-Huffman
