Analysis on the just completed legislative session.
An excerpt.
Key to flood work: Voters
Legislators fall short; hope rides on billions from bond measures.
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, September 3, 2006
On the heels of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans, California lawmakers have gone home with a mixed record on lessening the state's own flood risk.
While the Legislature adjourned Thursday without reaching consensus on policies that would guide development in flood zones, lawmakers bolstered funding.
They authorized $500 million in May to repair levee erosion sites and start making headway on levee studies to better assess the 1,600 miles of earthen walls that protect the Central Valley.
They've also put a $4.1 billion bond on November's ballot that, if it passes, would make significant strides toward catching up with long-neglected levee work.
"We've made incredible progress," moving "light-years" ahead on public safety, said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources.
Many involved in flood control policy had hoped for more. They argued that California should insist on better laws to protect residents from flooding, such as setting tougher standards for where new homes could be built; requiring homeowners to be warned of flood risks; making more of them buy flood insurance; and making cities or counties that allow new residents to move into flood-prone areas bear some financial risk when those areas flood.
"We've made a little progress, probably more than we could have expected, on maintaining and fixing the system, but I was hoping we'd do a lot better on the planning area," said Bill Edgar, a former Sacramento city manager who has held state and local flood posts.
