(SACRAMENTO, CA)- Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) joined fellow Democrats to announce their ongoing work on a comprehensive legislative package on flood protection addressing land use, flood insurance and liability, mapping and assessment, flood protection financing, and emergency preparedness.

Evans joined Assembly Members Lois Wolk (D-Davis), Dave Jones (D-Sacramento), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), and Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) to support their contributions to the Assembly Democrats' Flood Protection Legislative Package.

"Recent flooding rocked our community in the Napa Valley," said Evans. "But Napa has long been doing its part to meet its flooding challenges. The state must do so as well. This bill package will build more of these links to help Napa and other flood-prone communities protect themselves."

A summary of the Assembly Flood Protection Package follows.

Flood Protection Financing. In order to protect Californians, the State and the Federal Government first need to fix the existing levees that are falling apart. Local governments also need reliable funding to continue maintaining flood protection infrastructure and, in some cases, improve flood protection.

• AB 1783 - Infrastructure Bond Funding will finance comprehensive levee assessment, flood mapping and levee repair, cost-sharing with the Federal Government.
• ACA 13 - Proposition 218 Exemption will allow local governments to impose assessments to build flood protection infrastructure.
• TBA - Beneficiary-pays flood fee assessment will authorize broad fee assessment to fund levee repair and maintenance.
• AB 798 - Delta Levee Subventions Extension will extend State funding for 75% of Delta levee maintenance or improvement projects.

Local Land Use Policies. In order to promote State-local coordination on flood protection and land-use, land-use decisions related to new developments (not infill) will assess flood protection. Approval of new developments will require certification of 200-year flood protection, or at least a reasonable plan to achieve such protection, of new urban developments.

• AB 1899 - Local Land-Use Decisions for new developments will require sufficient information for a certification that the area will enjoy 200-year flood protection before approval.
• AB 802 - Local Flood Planning will require local governments to incorporate flood planning into general plans in order to minimize and prepare for floods in flood-prone areas.

Statewide Planning and Mapping. A 2003 California appellate court found that the State's implementation of its flood plan was unreasonable, based on its interpretation of 100 years of disconnected legislative decisions. The State needs to adopt a comprehensive plan for Central Valley flood protection.

• AB 1665 - Comprehensive Assessment and Mapping of Central Valley levees will allow the State to determine where Californians are most at risk. It will also provide the information to inform the state where it faces the greatest flood risk.

Flood Insurance and Liability. Preparing communities to pay for the costs of recovering from floods requires broader participation in the flood insurance program and clear liability standards. In addition, with a clearer plan for sharing responsibility for flood protection, the State and local governments can share liability for implementation.

• AB 1898 - Flood Insurance - The State needs to mandate flood insurance for homeowners living in floodplains with less than 200-year flood protection.
• TBA - Comprehensive Flood Liability Reform will spread liability for flood protection, so the State and local governments can share liability.

Emergency Preparedness and Response. Flooding is inevitable. Communities at risk of floods need to prepare to respond to those floods in a coordinated and comprehensive way. A bill Assemblymember Nava will soon be announced.