A bill that would have provided the necessary funds to fix the sagging Friant-Kern Canal was killed by the state legislature on Thursday. 

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) introduced SB 559 to the legislature in February 2019, but the Assembly Appropriations Committee stuck it in the suspense file since August of last year, delaying its consideration to the 2020 legislative session. 

The bill would have granted $400 million to the Friant-Kern canal, which is the exact amount the Bureau of Reclamation – the agency that owns the canal – says it needs to fix the 33-mile stretch that is sagging due to land subsidence. However, the Assembly Appropriations Committee threw that money out the window. On Thursday, the committee brought the bill out of suspense and passed it as a study bill, meaning the money has been removed.

To read the full article click here.