SACRAMENTO, CA –Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement today after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation that declared a state of emergency in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties due to drought and directed state agencies to take actions to prepare for ongoing drought conditions:

“The drought has serious and devastating consequences for all, especially to many agricultural communities in the Central Valley,” said Senator Hurtado. “Droughts are not unique to California, but as the producer of a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts, this drought will greatly worsen food insecurity and health across the state, and country. Today’s action by Governor Newsom rings the alarm bell for California and gets our state government moving to increase our drought resilience. With the Legislature working on critical funding to help our local communities deal with dry conditions, I will continue to push for clean water for rural families and to repair our water infrastructure in the Central Valley. This work can only be successful with community input on how to adapt to these drought conditions, and I encourage residents to send me their ideas on how California can conserve water and improve drought conditions.”

Submit your water and drought resiliency ideas to Senator Hurtado here. 

During this legislative session, Senator Hurtado introduced Senate Bill 559, which allocates $785 million to repairing vital water delivery systems that provide drinking water to communities throughout California and water to sustain the state’s leading agricultural economy. The funds would go to fixing the Friant-Kern Canal, the Delta-Mendota Canal and major portions of the California Aqueduct, all of which have degraded and are losing water as a result of subsidence – the actual shrinking of land. The Senator is also a co-author of the Water Innovation Act of 2021, which will create the Office of Water Innovation at the California Water Commission-furthering new technologies and other approaches within the water sector. The Senator has also introduced Senate Bill 464, which will expand the eligibility for state funded food benefits to undocumented immigrants, ensuring all residents an access food assistance. Senator Hurtado’s SB 108 which will declare it to be state policy that all people have access to sufficient, healthy food.

In prior legislative sessions, Senator Hurtado secured $15 million for a one-time budget investment to provide safe drinking water to southern Central Valley vulnerable communities. The Senator was also a principal co-author of Senate Bill 200, which provided an additional $130 million for safe drinking water for communities in her district. To help communities counteract the impacts of the last drought, she authored Senate Bill 513, which expanded grant funding for families to install emergency water tanks.

Last year, Senator Hurtado’s Senate Bill 974 created California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions for small, disadvantaged community water systems to install, repair or reconstruct their water infrastructure to address water contamination and improve safe drinking water supply. This exemption will help disadvantaged communities address their water needs, providing resources to upgrade infrastructure that serves more than 1 million Californians. 

Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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