SACRAMENTO, California — A California Democrat’s proposal to enshrine Biden-era water quality rules in state law to backstop potential rollbacks under the Trump administration has died in the state Legislature amid continued opposition from farmers and water agencies.
What happened: State Assembly Appropriations Chair Buffy Wicks announced on Thursday that state Sen. Ben Allen’s SB 601 was held back, meaning it won’t be voted on this year. It’s the second year in a row that Allen tried — and failed — to get his bill through the committee.
Sean Bothwell, the executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, which sponsored the bill, said in an interview that he had tried to reach a deal with the governor’s office and the State Water Resources Control Board on the bill over the past couple of months, but ultimately did not agree to all the administration’s proposed changes because they removed some of the environmental protections in the bill.
He said the state “failed to meet the moment.”
