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Bass, Perata Back Measures to Improve State’s Water System

Monday, July 14, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Steven Maviglio (Bass) (916) 319-2408 Lynda Gledhill (Perata) (916) 651-4188

(SACRAMENTO) – Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) announced Monday they will push legislation to fund water storage, reliability and conservation efforts with already approved bond money.

"It's imperative that we get to work immediately improving water conservation, water storage and water management -- and that's exactly what these two bills do," Bass said. "This package sets a realistic target for boosting water conservation and uses already approved bond money to make big improvements in California's water system."

“Just like California’s transportation infrastructure, our water system must be overhauled and upgraded to meet the growing demands of the 21st century,” Perata said. “These bills take an important first step by quickly getting more than $800 million out the door and making conservation a top priority.”

The two bills that comprise the package are:

SB 1XX (Second Extraordinary Session), by Perata, appropriates $812.5 million in Proposition 84 and Proposition 1-E dollars already approved by the voters in 2006. These funds are desperately needed by water agencies to address the current water drought and fire crisis and to provide immediate investments in water supply reliability.

AB 2175, by Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), establishes a 20 percent water conservation target for most urban water agencies by the year 2020. This mandate is similar to the renewable energy target the state has used for years. It essentially says that within 12 years, the state will meet one-fifth of its water needs through more efficient use of the water we have.

For more information on the legislation, visit Senator Perata’s website at http://www.senate.ca.gov/perata

or Assembly Speaker Bass’ website at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a47/