Posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Pressure is building in the State Capitol to postpone until 2014 a statewide vote on the $11 billion state water bond, which is currently scheduled to appear on the November 2012 ballot. However, achieving a 2/3 vote in both houses of the legislature to postpone the vote will be no easy task. There are multiple contending factions and interests. Some legislators and groups will see the legislative vote as an opportunity to re-write some of the bond language, which could cause others to drop their support. Some environmental groups, which oppose the bond because it includes $3 billion for water storage, want the vote to be held this November, because they think the voters will reject the measure. Some delta interests oppose the bond altogether, because they believe that it will facilitate the building of some type of delta bypass facility. Still, others are concerned about the state’s ability to make interest payments on additional debt. At the moment the situation is a mess. So stay tuned.
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