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http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article134386029.html

Amid Oroville emergency, California Legislature moves to make flood-control fixes

As heavy winter storms continue to hammer California, the Legislature is launching a review of dam and levee safety and bracing for major investments necessary to shore up flood control throughout the state.

Amid the ongoing crisis at Oroville Dam, lawmakers have taken only tentative steps so far. The first oversight hearing to review what happened in Oroville is scheduled for next week, and the Senate leader is proposing a one-time funding source for flood protection efforts.

Broader solutions for California’s aging flood-control facilities will likely not emerge for months, until at least the current emergency passes. But long-standing disagreements over how best to resolve the compounding water problems facing the state are already resurfacing, pointing to the challenges ahead for a deal when tax revenue is tight and budget commitments vast.

“The state of California is excellent at reacting. We’re just not very good at being proactive,” said Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres. “At some point, we’ve got to start spending some money on these things.”

An initial plan to provide $500 million in competitive grants to local and regional agencies for flood protection is forthcoming from Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León. The money would be added to the plan for a $3 billion parks and drought recovery bond that de León, D-Los Angeles, is seeking to place on the June 2018 ballot.

The total includes $300 million for water and flood districts in the Central Valley to repair flood-control systems or build new ones. Another $100 million would go primarily to bolster Delta levees, with the remaining $100 million aimed at projects to prevent damage from stormwater and mudslides.

“There is a larger issue we can no longer ignore,” de León said in a statement. “Climate change is here, and it’s real. It is impacting our communities. It is costing our state billions in damage and severely affecting peoples’ lives. California needs to build greater resiliency into its water and flood systems.”