SACRAMENTO UPDATE
Legislation We Oppose
Although CalTrout does its best to be a productive partner in the policy world, sometimes we use our influence to oppose bills that we view as potentially harmful to our interests.
AB 3102: CalTrout is opposing AB 3102 SB, which is a repeat bad bill intended to limit environmental review for projects that require California Environmental Quality Act and fall under the Fish and Game Code authorization for lake and streambed alterations. Simply put, this bill would make it easier for water districts to move dirt in potentially sensitive ecological areas.
AB 2649: CalTrout is also opposing AB 2649, which makes groundwater
recharge a per se beneficial use of water in California. This is a major change
in water right’s law, but beyond that, it categorically allows for potentially
contaminated water systems to recharge potentially pristine groundwater
systems. This is a dangerous precedent to set and one CalTrout opposes.
Legislation We Support
When CalTrout does not directly author bills, we oftentimes will pledge our
support of legislation that reflects our core mission and values.
AB 2975: CalTrout is thrilled to hear that Assemblymember Friedman is
authoring AB 2975, which would counteract any federal move to delist or
remove protections for Wild and Scenic River systems in California.
Prop 3: Proposition 3 is a $8.9 billion dollar bond that augments the $1.6 billion in water-related bond money found in Prop 68. Prop 3 will be on the November 6th ballot and CalTrout has endorsed this measure as it provides a much-needed boost to watershed restoration and fish and wildlife protection to our efforts statewide.
AB 2640: CalTrout also supports Assemblymember Wood’s AB 2640, which
would authorize a temporary take permit for the short-nosed sucker. While this has the sound of a potentially bad bill, this is part of a planned strategy for the removal of all four Klamath Dams. Once these structures are removed, CalTrout believes that the health of the Klamath River will support both suckers and salmon at numbers not possible before removal.