Posted on 11/17/2004 9:50:36 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate's incoming leader has placed water issues under one of California's most outspoken environmentalists.
Don Perata, the Democratic president-elect of the Senate, announced that water legislation will now be handled by a committee chaired by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica.
"That's a big change," said Kern County Water Agency manager Tom Clark.
The move delighted environmentalists and dismayed many farmers and water officials. The two groups have battled each other over water supplies for decades.
However, Clark said it doesn't worry him.
"We've worked well with Senator Kuehl in the past," Clark said. He noted that she is from Southern California, "which is with us on most of the water issues."
Perata's move is widely regarded as a slap at the California Farm Bureau Federation, which endorsed a Republican in a key Senate race in this month's elections.
The Farm Bureau supported the GOP's Gary Podesto over Democrat Mike Machado in a Stockton-area Senate race. Despite the endorsement, the Democrat eventually won a narrow victory.
Machado, himself a farmer, has chaired the Senate Agriculture and Water Committee for the past two years. The committee has been the key voice for agribusiness in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Perata announced late Monday that he is removing water issues from the jurisdiction of Machado's committee and placing it under the Natural Resources and Wildlife committee headed by Kuehl.
State Farm Bureau President Bill Pauli did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman said the only comment would come from another official, who is not available until next week.
Kuehl is a former law professor who in her youth played Zelda Gilroy in the television show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis."
Zelda's a freak.
anything she's involved in has got to be wrong..
Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
BANG!
Snickering.
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