Assembly Bill Would Require Voters to Decide on California WaterFix

Assembly Bill 1713, asking voters to decide the fate of the construction of the state’s controversial twin tunnels, advanced in the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife on Tuesday by an 8 to 4 vote with bipartisan support. The current plan calls for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build two mammoth, 30-mile long parallel tunnels underneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Susan Tamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), would block the start of the tunnels’ construction unless approved by voters in a statewide election to be held after January 2017. The bill also calls for the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office to determine the total cost of the project as well as the financial impact on ratepayers, taxpayers and the state’s general fund. The current estimation for the cost of the twin tunnels ranges from $15 to $20 billion.

The project, known as the California WaterFix, has the support of Gov. Jerry Brown

Assemblywoman Eggman addressed the committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife on Tuesday calling the governor’s plan “archaic” and “harebrained.” She recalled to committee members that voters rejected a similar plan in 1982 by an overwhelming margin.

“I don’t know that we still need to stick to a plan made in the 1960s to build tunnels to transport the water from one part of the state to another,” she said. She challenged the committee to look for less expensive alternatives such as stormwater collection programs and new reservoirs.

Modesto Republican Assembly Member Kristin Olsen echoed Eggman’s statement saying the California WaterFix was not the best solution the state’s water crisis. Olsen said, “We have to get much more inventive about our water.  We need to give the voters a chance to decide on a major infrastructure project.”

Eggman continued her comments to the Assembly committee saying, “This bill rests on the simple premise that some projects warrant a statewide vote. Other projects have gone to a vote.  The (California) WaterFix should be no different.  The voters should have a voice in it.”

Opposition to Eggman’s bill is largely geographical, north versus south. Southern Californians argued in support of the twin tunnels saying the project has been publicly scrutinized throughout the state.  Opposition also includes dozens of water agencies and labor unions.

Cesar Diaz, legislative director of the State Building and Construction Trades Council has cautioned that if the project goes to the voters outside lobbyist and advocacy groups would inundate voters promoting their cause. He forewarned that allowing the voters to decide the matter would set a “bad precedent” for future infrastructure plans.

Though Assembly Bill 1713 has passed the Water, Parks and Wildlife committee it now goes to the Appropriations Committee.  If the bill clears the Legislature it would then be sent to Gov. Brown for signature where it would likely be vetoed.