The California Water Institute at Fresno State, in partnership with the Maddy Institute, launched a new Legislative Bill Summary Series designed to help Californians better understand recently enacted state legislation related to water and natural resource policy.
“Informed participation starts with accessible information,” said Laura Ramos, director of the California Water Institute. “Legislative bills are necessarily detailed and technical, but that shouldn’t prevent people from understanding the policies that affect their water, their communities and their livelihoods.”
Ramos said the Legislative Bill Summary Series provides one-page summaries intended to explain the purpose and key provisions of newly-signed legislation in an accessible format, noting the summaries are nonpartisan and informational and do not advocate for or against any legislation.
She said each summary is developed using publicly available legislative materials and includes the bill author and enactment date, the general purpose of the law, a description of what the law does, implementation considerations and links to official state resources for additional information.
The series launched with summaries of SB 72, AB 1319 and SB 695, with additional summaries planned. The first release, SB 72, addresses long-term water supply planning and updates to the California Water Plan.
The Legislative Bill Summary Series reflects a shared effort by the California Water Institute and The Maddy Institute to support public understanding of enacted state policy, said Blake Zante, executive director of The Maddy Institute.
“One of the tenets of The Maddy Institute’s mission is providing nonpartisan policy analysis on key issues that impact the San Joaquin Valley,” Zante said. “By analyzing key pieces of legislation, the institute is strengthening public access to reliable, nonpartisan information. We are grateful for the California Water Institute’s partnership in providing this information to the public.”
(Story by Julissa Zavala, California Water Institute)
