California lawmakers are expected to vote Wednesday on a plan to speed up more than $1 billion in water spending as the state faces a fourth consecutive dry year.
Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders from both parties announced last week they would fast-track legislation to provide immediate relief from dry conditions and expedite funding for local water projects. The state Senate plans to vote on the two bills Wednesday afternoon after budget committees in both chambers take it up.
The Assembly is expected to vote on the proposal Thursday. The legislation will need majority approval from the state Legislature which is controlled by Democrats.
California is in its fourth year of drought and has had no significant rain and snow to replenish reservoirs this year. Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where springtime runoff provide a vital source of water for an estimated $25 million Californians, has been well below normal.
Drought Timeline
The legislation would make available more than $100 million to help residents and wildlife affected by dry conditions, including for food banks and emergency drinking water.
The $1 billion plan is labeled as emergency legislation, but much of the funding has been available to the state for years and it could take years to make a difference in water supply. Such spending is normally approved as part of budget negotiations that last through June.
Nearly two-thirds of the funds in the package would go to improve flood control structures by using leftover money from a 2006 voter-approved bond measure. Another $272 million from a water measure approved last year would fund grants for water recycling and expanding drinking water in small and poor cities.
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Last week's announcement came a year after Brown signed a $687 million drought-relief package and the state's call to reduce monthly water use by 20 percent. But the drought's effects have continued to ripple across California, fueling more wildfires, forcing farmers to leave fields unplanted and leaving thousands in the Central Valley without work.
