Water Bond Measure Approved for Ballot

With surprisingly little opposition, lawmakers Thursday authorized a statewide vote in November on a $995-million water bond measure, and Gov. Pete Wilson quickly signed it into law, calling it “truly historic legislation.”

The bulk of the water bond money--$600 million--would be used to restore the environment in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The delta is vital to scores of species of fish, birds and other wildlife, but has been in decline because of agricultural pollution and because it is the major source of drinking water for Southern California.

“This is a balanced approach. It is a sensible approach. It is a comprehensive approach to California’s water needs,” Wilson said at a bill-signing event at the Capitol, as lobbyists for large urban water agencies, farm groups and others looked on.

Convinced that voters are feeling optimistic about the economy and will support more long-term debt, lawmakers also approved a $700-million bond issue to build new county jails and juvenile detention institutions, and a $400-million bond measure to finance home and farm loans for veterans. Wilson is expected to sign both measures today.

The Legislature and Wilson were working against today’s deadline to place bonds on the November ballot.

As part of the bond deal, Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer won approval for a measure he long has pushed to ask voters to approve a state constitutional amendment that could result in a merging of Superior and Municipal courts.

Superior Court judges have jurisdiction over felony trials and major civil cases and are paid $99,297 a year. Municipal Court judges handle misdemeanors and minor civil cases and are paid $90,680. If voters approve the measure, judges in each county would vote on whether to consolidate the courts.

Additionally, the Legislature approved a Wilson-backed bill to create five Court of Appeal positions in Southern California, and 21 new Superior Court judgeships statewide. Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern counties each would get two new Superior Court judges, and Los Angeles County would get one.

The measure with the most far-reaching impact was the $995-million water bond, which is backed by Central Valley farm organizations, the Metropolitan Water District, Southern California builders and some environmental groups.

“We are making an investment that will benefit the entire state of California,” said state Sen. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), the prime architect of the measure, which won Assembly approval on a 70-3 vote and cleared the Senate by a 33-4 margin.

Several lawmakers made references to the failed efforts in the 1980s to win approval of the Peripheral Canal, which would have shifted water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and Northern California to Central Valley farms and Southern California cities.

The new bond, called the Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act, says none of the money can be used for such a canal.

The money allocated to the delta efforts provides the state’s share of the cost of complying with the 1994 Bay Delta Accord.

Part of the money will be used to reinforce fragile levees surrounding man-made islands in the delta. Those levees often fail in floods, and occasionally in wind storms. They also could fail in an earthquake, causing the islands to flood and allowing salt water to rush in from the San Francisco Bay, threatening the water supply for 20 million Californians, as well as San Joaquin Valley farms.