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Ag fends off infrastructure financing fees; Aanestad: ‘Every resident of the state’ should pay for new storage

Posted by: Maven on September 11, 2009 at 8:33 am

From the Capital Press:

“As the debate over water-infrastructure financing has played out in Sacramento in recent days, agricultural water interests have resisted a fee structure that could target them as a major funding source.

A traditional financing mechanism for water infrastructure has long been the “beneficiary pays” principal, whereby water users are assessed fees to pay back significant portions of the bonds that fund projects.

A 14-member legislative conference committee worked last week and through the Labor Day weekend to shape a package of water bills aimed at fixing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, spending a chunk of that time mulling the question of who would pay for new water storage.

Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, has introduced a water bond of $12.3 billion, of which $3.5 billion would fund new infrastructure. At least half of the total bond would need to be serviced by beneficiary fees, said Caballero, whose measure would come before voters in November 2010, with the state likely lingering in tough fiscal straits.

“We can’t put a bond of this size on a ballot,” Caballero told the conference committee. …”

Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here.

September 11, 2009 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

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