The bad news emerging from Sacramento on Tuesday was that, after two postponements, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee held a hearing allowing the Department of Water Resources to extend State Water Project contracts for another 50 years.
No committee vote was needed. Just holding the hearing allows the state to move forward with the contract extensions, which, in turn could provide the needed funding for Gov. Jerry Brown's $19.9 billion Delta twin-tunnels project.
The contract extensions could commit the 27 water districts that are a part of the State Water Project to pay for the tunnels _ without the approval of voters or the Legislature. Three Bay Area water districts _ Santa Clara Valley Water District, Alameda County Water District, and Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Zone 7 _ could be affected.
Voters and taxpayers should be outraged. We are.
Brown's successor, likely Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, should kill the project if he can. But if the Legislature and governor can't bother to look out for the best interests of Californians, perhaps it's time for opponents to start thinking about a state ballot measure for 2020 giving voters a chance to decide the fate of the project, once and for all.
