Huber Bill on Proposed Canal Seeks Protections and Ensure Due Process

AB 13x7 Gives Delta Residents a Voice in the Process

Assemblymember Alyson Huber and Senator Lois walk introduced a bill yesterday that would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the state legislature.

“It is important that we maintain legislative oversight of large-scale projects and not delegate that authority to unelected bureaucrats,” Huber said. “I am very concerned that the current water policy bill provides a clear path to building a canal and this ensures we get answers to some very important questions, and give the Delta a voice in the process.”

“The people of California deserve to know that due process will take place before tax payers and rate payers are asked to spend billions of dollars on a peripheral canal, “ said Wolk, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability. “This bill ensures that the legislature is fully informed and that historic protections are maintained prior to moving forward with such a large-scale project.”

The bill would also require the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s office to conduct an economic feasibility analysis to ensure that the Southern California ratepayers who are supposedly being asked to cover the cost of this massive project actually know how much this will cost. It would also ensure that the canal will not have a negative impact on water in the Delta and upstream communities – be it for our local cities or our farmers.

Assemblymembers Bill Berryhill and Wes Chesbro have also signed on as co-authors.