Let's hold Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg to their pledge of fixing the state's water problems once and for all. They said a deal will be struck this year. Can we trust them to do it? These are the same people who promised an on-time and balanced budget. They gave Californians neither.
Here's their statement on getting a comprehensive water deal approved this year:
Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) made the following joint statement (Friday) regarding legislative progress on legislation to aid California's water infrastructure:
"We are working together with the Governor to make 2009 the year that we get a major series of water agreements done in California. We have already convened bipartisan and bicameral legislative meetings with the goal of having a comprehensive fix to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on the table this legislative session, along with funding for water supply reliability and infrastructure investments.The Governor has sounded the siren on this issue for a number of years and we're prepared to work together to get it done. We have legislative engagement from Democrats and Republicans, from Senators and Assembly Members alike. And we will break the logjam on water resources in this state and solve the issues once and for all."
Seeing is believing. Legislators from the coastal cities seem immune from the devastating problems affecting the Central Valley.