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Assembly Bill Requiring Vote On Delta Tunnels Project Passes Committee

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A bill that would put Gov. Jerry Brown's Delta tunnels plan to a vote narrowly passed an Assembly committee on Tuesday.

Assembly Bill 1713 calls for voters to weigh in on the controversial $15.5 billion project to build two massive tunnels in the San Joaquin Delta to send water to residents and farmers in Southern California.

It narrowly passed the Water, Parks and Wildlife committee on Tuesday.

The bill by Assemblywoman Susan Tamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) would prevent the project from being started unless voters approve it in an election held after January 2017. It would also require the Legislative Analyst's Office to assess the total cost of the project and the impacts on taxpayers, water ratepayers and the state's general fund.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California signed a $175 million deal last week to buy islands in the Delta that are presumed to be for the tunnels project. Officials in San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties filed a lawsuit to block the deal on Thursday.

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