Calif. House bill in works could portend wider Western drought legislation

Nick Juliano and Annie Snider, E&E reporters
E&E Daily: Thursday, May 21, 2015

 

House Republicans from California are readying legislation to address their home state's ongoing drought by focusing on water transfers and storage while attempting to avoid the most controversial proposals to roll back environmental regulations that sank earlier legislative efforts.

A bill is expected to be introduced as soon as next month, after lawmakers return from their upcoming weeklong Memorial Day recess. Details are being closely guarded, but sources familiar with the effort say the California-specific legislation would likely become part of a broader bill addressing drought conditions across the West.

A draft bill circulating among stakeholders would tweak Endangered Species Act protections for fish that inhabit the state's main water delivery system in order to send more water south, similar to bills that passed the House last year. But a GOP aide said the proposal was not a reflection of the "current state of play" on a California water bill, which would focus primarily on delivering water south and increasing storage capacity.

Rep. Jim Costa, a moderate Democrat who represents parts of California's agriculture-heavy Central Valley, said he has offered Republicans some suggestions for their bill but that the authors have been "understandably" tight-lipped about its contents. He said he expects a bill to be introduced the week of June 1, following the congressional recess, and added that action is even more necessary this year as conditions continue to deteriorate because of the drought.

"Just as last year we were attempting to deal with both short-term and long-term solutions, we were not successful, and things have not gotten any better," Costa said.

The goal of the California Republicans writing the bill is to arrive at a proposal that could win support from at least six Senate Democrats whose votes would be needed to avoid a filibuster in that chamber and to win President Obama's signature, these sources say. But it remains to be seen whether such consensus would be possible.

Key targets include Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico, an aide involved in the process said. But House Republicans are largely writing off the chance of securing support from more liberal Westerners such as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada or California Sen. Barbara Boxer, who objected to earlier drought bills over proposed changes to environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act.

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