SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Thursday proposed legislation to accelerate more than $1 billion of drought-relief spending for California as it copes with a fourth dry year and Brown urges residents to reduce water use.
The package of two bills includes $128 million to ease immediate impacts of the drought such as dry wells, wildfires and job losses at farms. It also accelerates nearly $1 billion of bond funding for water projects, including money from a $7.5 billion bond measure approved by voters last year.
Funding includes $20 million for emergency drinking water for communities with dry wells; $24 million for food banks in drought-stricken counties; and $16 million to help fish and animals threatened by vanishing streams and rivers. The Associated Press
