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California Proposition 1, the Water Bond (Assembly Bill 1471), was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in California as a legislatively-referred bond act. This measure was approved. This measure replaced a previous measure known as Proposition 43. [1]

The measure will enact the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. Proposition 1 will: [2]

• Authorize $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance, wastewater treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration.
• Appropriate money from the General Fund to pay off bonds.
• Require certain projects to provide matching funds from non-state sources in order to receive bond funds.

Specific spending proposals in the proposition include: [2]

• $520 million to improve water quality for “beneficial use,” for reducing and preventing drinking water contaminants, disadvantaged communities, and the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund.
• $1.495 billion for competitive grants for multibenefit ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration projects.
• $810 million for expenditures on, and competitive grants and loans to, integrated regional water management plan projects.
• $2.7 billion for water storage projects, dams and reservoirs.
• $725 million for water recycling and advanced water treatment technology projects.
• $900 million for competitive grants and loans for projects to prevent or clean up the contamination of groundwater that serves as a source of drinking water.
• $395 million for statewide flood management projects and activities.

Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called on the legislature to replace the previous $11.14 billion bond (Proposition 43) with a cheaper $6 billion bond on June 25, 2014. [3] Brown called the previous water bond a pork-laden water bond… with a price tag beyond what’s reasonable or affordable. [4] The legislature passed the new $7.12 billion bond on August 13, 2014.

The original water bond was moved twice. Originally certified to be on the state’s 2010 ballot. it was removed and placed on the 2012 ballot. On July 5, 2012, the state legislature approved a bill to take the measure off the 2012 ballot and put it on the 2014 ballot.

Election results

California Proposition 1