California Lawmakers Move Forward on Vital Water Bill

July 14, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Jennifer Witherspoon – 415-293-6067 or jwitherspoon@edf.org

Sharyn Stein – 202-572-3396 or sstein@edf.org

(Sacramento, CA – July 14, 2008) Senator Don Perata and Speaker Karen Bass announced today that California’s legislature has reached an agreement on SB 1xx, the appropriations bill that will distribute more than $800 million in existing bond money for emergency water needs. The bill is expected to pass in the next few weeks and then be sent to the Governor.

The following statement may be attributed to Laura Harnish, Regional Director for Land, Water and Wildlife at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

“EDF is thrilled that this bill is moving forward, and we congratulate Senator Perata, Speaker Bass, and the members of the Legislature for their work. We need to make water reliable for our ecosystems, our farms and our cities. SB 1xx will get us going in that direction by using money that we’ve already raised to immediately fund these priority projects.

Now we must take the next step and develop real solutions that simultaneously provide thriving fisheries and ecosystems while meeting our long-term water needs. We look forward to working with lawmakers on those challenges.”