PROP 1E

YES ON PROPOSITION 1E: PROTECT AGAINST FLOODS, PREVENT OCEAN POLLUTION, SAFEGUARD CLEAN DRINKING WATER

California continually faces natural disasters—from earthquakes and fires to floods and mudslides. Proposition 1E is critical to prepare for these natural disasters and ensure we always have enough clean water to meet our needs.

YES ON 1E: PROTECT HOMES, PREVENT LOSS OF LIFE

Our nation learned a tragic lesson from Hurricane Katrina—we cannot continue to neglect our unsafe levees and flood control systems. One catastrophic flood would impact the entire state and disrupt the supply of clean drinking water to major cities.

Proposition 1E expedites urgent projects to protect homes and lives across the state:

• Urgent repairs and essential improvements to levees and flood control facilities

“Californians deserve to know that their homes and families are protected from flooding, caused by levee failure in the Central Valley, or flash flooding in Southern California or coastal areas. Proposition 1E is vital to the state’s ability to ensure flood safety throughout the state.”—Lester Snow, Director, California Department of Water Resources

YES ON 1E: PROTECT OUR OCEANS AND OUR SUPPLY OF CLEAN, SAFE DRINKING WATER

Outdated flood control systems can threaten drinking water supplies, pollute streams, and foul beaches.

• Some cities rely on water mains and sewers more than a century old that can fail at any time. Experts say that water pressure inside the pipes is often the only thing keeping them from collapsing.

• In 2001, sewer spills and overflows forced officials to issue over 2,000 beach closings and health advisories. Spills and overflows are generally caused by overused and antiquated wastewater systems.

Proposition 1E helps ensure that clean water is available for all Californians all the time by providing funds to rebuild out-of-date systems to prevent pollution and safeguard water sources.

YES ON 1E: STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY AND NO NEW TAXES

Proposition 1E won’t raise taxes to pay for these important infrastructure improvements. By building safeguards now, with current revenues, we can limit the impact of disasters when they do hit. And, Prop. 1E includes annual audits and tough fiscal safeguards to ensure the money is spent wisely.

YES ON 1E: PART OF A LONG-TERM PLAN TO REBUILD CALIFORNIA

Proposition 1E is part of the Rebuild California Plan, which uses the taxes we’re already paying to build the roads, housing, schools, and water systems we need to sustain our economy and our quality of life for the long-term.

The Rebuild California Plan: YES ON 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E

California’s population will reach 50 million in the next 20 years—twice what our current infrastructure was designed for—and it can’t be rebuilt overnight. That’s why we’ve got to start now.

To learn more about how this infrastructure plan will benefit you and your community, visit www.ReadForYourself.org.

YES on 1E: Clean Water, Flood Protection, and Disaster Preparedness.

HENRY RENTERIA, Director
California Office of Emergency Services

After reading Prop. 1E, it won’t surprise you to learn that the Legislature adopted it after 3 a.m. when they got tired of arguing. They couldn’t agree on a list of projects or even a list of priorities; they could only agree that THEY WANT MORE OF YOUR MONEY right away. How typical! That’s what this $4,090,000,000.00 bond is all about: raising taxes to give Sacramento politicians a blank check based on vague promises that they won’t waste our money this time. It’s like giving a drunk one more drink for the drive home.

Our legislators have been ignoring public levees for years. Now, instead of allocating a small portion of our record-breaking revenues for levees, they want to borrow money for thirty years for repairs that will need to be repaired again long before this bond is paid off. What will we do then? This is a TAX INCREASE. Taxpayers will be forced to spend over $8,200,000,000 to pay back this bond with interest!

At recent prices, this proposal contains funding for about 25 miles of levees, but California has far more than 2,000 miles of levees to maintain. Since this measure does nothing to reform our crazy spending practices and policies, we might not even get 25 miles of repairs. What is worse, with politicians in charge of selecting the projects (not hydrologists, scientists, and engineers), funding will be based on political influence rather than critical need. This is a recipe for disaster.

Please Vote “NO” on 1E.

THOMAS N. HUDSON, Executive Director
The California Taxpayer Protection Committee

We need strong levees and clean water, but Proposition 1E is the wrong solution. This measure is full of misguided priorities and doesn’t have any controls on funds. The most important thing we can do is to make sure we have enough water for our growing population, but 1E doesn’t spend a cent on that.

Prop. 1E sounds good, but it means higher taxes for projects that local and federal governments should already be doing.

—Proposition 1E won’t provide “Clean Water” to drink:

California’s population is expected to grow to fifty million people in the next decade. This will place an enormous strain on our water supply. However, this bond will not provide a single drop of drinking water for California’s growing population. It will not build a single water storage reservoir or water treatment facility. Yet it will give hundreds of millions to private organizations to spend on their pet projects and lets them use these funds for their own “administrative costs.”

—Benefits local urban projects:

Rural California loses under Proposition 1E. State taxpayers’ money from these bonds will go to protecting cities and their water supplies. These communities and their local governments should be paying for their own water supply improvements. Local tax dollars should be used to fund these projects, not state funds.

—Federal responsibility:

Instead of putting the state in more debt to pay for these levee repair projects, our state should be demanding more federal funding. This is a federal responsibility. California taxes are already high, and we shouldn’t have to pay more taxes to protect ourselves because the federal government won’t plan for disasters.

—Fiscally irresponsible:

By taking on what are really local and federal responsibilities, we are encouraging mismanagement from all levels of government. And, they will expect taxpayers to foot the bill down the road rather than refocusing their priorities.

—Californians must focus on our priorities:

While our economy is slowly recovering, approving Proposition 1E would be like taking out a loan to buy new patio furniture when you can’t afford to pay your mortgage or rent. At the same time, this measure means less money for other important priorities like education, health care, or public safety.

The state can’t take responsibility for every project in the state. These projects should be paid for by the local and federal agencies responsible for these public safety issues. If we don’t make them reprioritize their spending, our children will continue to foot the bill for their short-sighted planning and mismanagement.

Proposition 1E is bad for families, bad for taxpayers, and bad for California. Vote NO on 1E.

THOMAS N. HUDSON, Executive Director
The California Taxpayer Protection
  Committee

Proposition 1E is vital to California’s disaster preparedness—protecting lives and water supplies. It is our responsibility to ensure that all Californians have access to safe, clean drinking water at all times. Yes on 1E does that without raising taxes, and it leverages additional federal and local funding.

WE CANNOT AFFORD TO NEGLECT OUR WATER SUPPLY AND FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEMS

If we wait for others to fix our unsafe levees and flood control systems, we are putting our homes, drinking water supplies, and children at risk in every corner of the state. By building safeguards now, we can limit the impact of disasters when they do hit. Yes on 1E provides:

• Increased flood protection for urban and rural areas, meaning a stable, clean water supply.

• Repaired and improved levees.

• Updated flood control systems—to prevent failures that can pollute our streams and oceans.

FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE

Proposition 1E uses the taxes we are already paying to make these important infrastructure improvements. Utilizing federal and local matching funds means we can complete more of these important projects in communities across the state. And, 1E has important accountability standards, including independent audits, to ensure money is spent wisely.

Proposition 1E is part of the Rebuild California Plan. It will provide the flood protection vital to sustaining our economy, protecting our supply of drinking water, and preserving our quality of life for the long term.

YES on 1E: Clean Water, Flood Protection, and Disaster Preparedness for Our Future.

THOMAS A. NASSIF, President
Western Growers

LINDA ADAMS, Secretary
California Environmental Protection
   Agency

PETER SILVA, Former Vice Chair
State Water Resources Control Board