Calif. Voters Have Final Say Over $11B Water Bond

SAMANTHA YOUNG

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders say their $11.1 billion water bond is an essential investment for California's future, but it may be a hard sell to voters.

California already is saddled with debt, and the bond measure that will appear on the November 2010 ballot is filled with special-interest earmarks added in the late hours through backroom dealmaking.

The bond ballooned by $1.7 billion over two days while legislative leaders sought to win the votes they needed to pass the measure.

"It is a little bit of a Catch-22," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "We did go into this thinking it would do better if we kept the financing piece smaller and yet, as we moved toward the finish line, I think we recognized there's a whole lot of unmet need."

Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the bond and four companion bills that would change how the state uses water and manages the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the estuary that funnels fresh water from Northern to Southern California, where most people live.