Updated: Bill Authorizing Natomas Levee Repairs Passes House

THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Updated 3:50 p.m.

The House of Representatives today voted 417-3 to pass the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. The legislation would authorize flood protection projects across the nation including several of the Sacramento region’s primary flood protection priorities such as the Natomas Levee Improvement Program.

Natomas levee improvement legislation could take a significant step forward today.

The House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. is scheduled to vote some time today on the Water Resources and Reform Development Act – H.R. 3080 – which will authorize the Natomas Levee Improvement Project.

The bill includes language certifying improvements already done on the Natomas levee system and designates a path for the remaining work to be completed, according to a post on Facebook early this morning by Sacramento Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby.

“If it passes it is a major victory for our region,” wrote Ashby, who represents a large portion of Natomas on the city council. “It’s not the finish line but it is a major check point that has alluded us for far too long.”

Congresswoman Doris Matsui, an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3080, will be speaking in favor of the bill during debate on the House floor, according to a message sent to constituents Tuesday night by Matsui’s District director Nathan Dietrich.

A similar bill, lead by California Senator Barbara Boxer, passed the Senate in May.

If approved by the House today, H.R. 3080 would next go to conference where senate and house leadership work to iron out the differences in their two bills creating one piece of legislation in their place.

The resulting legislation must then go back to the House and Senate for approval and, if passed by both houses of Congress, will still require the President’s signature before being finalized.

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