Wolk speaks at Governo's bond signing ceremony

Speaker's flood infrastructure bond places over $4 billion on the November 2006 ballot

SACRAMENTO– Representing the State Assembly, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) joined Governor Schwarzenegger today at his signing of the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006 in Stockton.

The Governor signed Assembly Bill 140 by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez at a private bill signing ceremony, placing $4.1 billion for flood protection on the November 2006 ballot. If approved by voters, the general obligation bond will fund levee inspection, repair and maintenance, flood plain mapping and improved flood control infrastructure throughout California.

Assemblywoman Wolk, who attended the ceremony on the Speaker’s behalf, made the following comments:

“This is a good day for all those who live and work in the shadow of California’s great river systems. Flooding is the most common hazard in California—not earthquakes or fire. Flooding. In the last 10 years, all 58 of California’s counties have been declared Federal Storm Disaster Areas at least three times each.

“Today is a great day for the Delta and for California. We have come to the heart of the Sacramento and San Joaquin watershed to sign the Flood Infrastructure Bond of 2006. And what an ideal choice of location. Because it is here, in the heart of the Delta, that we find the water supply for most of California—for its agricultural industry, its complex transportation network of ports, trains, and pipelines, for its recreational boating and fisheries.

“What we have today is a 19th century flood control system facing 21st century challenges. Hundreds of thousands of people live behind these piles of dirt we called levees—levees that were designed to protect farm land, not suburbs. That’s why today is so important.

“The Governor, the Assembly, and the Senate understood that risk, a risk not only to human life but to the economy of this region and this state. Speaker Nuñez, Pro Tem Perata and Governor Schwarzenegger worked in a bipartisan fashion to put this $4 billion on the November ballot because they know that this is not just a Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley issue. They know that if there is a flood, taxpayers throughout the state would suffer the financial losses. We have only to look at Louisiana to see the human cost of poor land use, planning and neglect.”

“This bond is an investment in our future. In November, we will be asking you, the voters of the state of California, to join this partnership and support this investment. This is affordable, financially prudent and absolutely necessary for the safety and security of California. Join us in November.”