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Update on California’s water-related legislation

Posted by: Maven on May 31, 2009 at 7:06 am

From the California Chronicle:

A bill by Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D – Woodland Hills) to provide loans to homeowners and businesses for the installation of water conservation systems passed the state Assembly last week. The bill, AB 474, is backed by a broad-based coalition from the California Chamber of Commerce to the Sierra Club.

“My goal is to make it easier for homeowners, businesses and farmers to install innovative water conservation devices such as cisterns, semi-permeable concrete, purple pipes or drip irrigation,” Blumenfield said. “It is clear by the broad support for this bill from business organizations and property owners that the desire to conserve is there, but the financial resources to make it happen are not.”

“This bill will provide a simple, cost-effective way for people who want to reduce their water bills, and conserve to pay the upfront cost to do so,” he added.

More from the California Chronicle by clicking here.

But that wasn’t the only piece of water-related legislation to move forward last week. Traci Sheehan of the Planning and Conservation League gives a rundown of all environmental legislation and where that legislation is in the process:

This past week was another marathon-length sprint for environmental advocates in Sacramento. Many environmental bills faced their first full house vote in either the Assembly or Senate. In addition, the Appropriations committees in both houses revealed which bills that would impose any costs on the state coffers would be allowed to move to the floor. That meant we were out in force – walking the halls of the Capitol, working the phones, and blazing on our keyboards to make sure that environmental and public health protections didn’t get axed. Here’s a run down of many of this year’s top environmental bills.

The following bills passed off the floor in their house of origin and will now move to the second house:

AB 499 (Hill) – Makes clarifying amendments to CEQA to ensure that all parties with a direct interest in a case brought pursuant the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) are aware of the pending litigation and parties with no direct link to the case are not unnecessarily dragged into a lawsuit. (PCL SPONSORED)

AB 1364 (Evans) – Gives agencies the authority to amend contracts and grant agreements affected by the bond freeze to protect the integrity of the projects and also ensures that those agreements remain valid contracts in the eyes of the state. (PCL SPONSORED)

AB 1242 (Ruskin) – Makes it a policy of the state of California that everyone should have access to safe, affordable water for basic human needs.

SB 670 (Wiggins) – Puts a moratorium on suction dredge mining, saving the state $1.26 million annually, until the California Department of Fish and Game completes a new CEQA review and develops new rules that provide protections for threatened fish populations and water quality.

Much, much more on other pending legislation from Traci Sheehan and the California Progress Report by clicking here.

May 31, 2009 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

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