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H.R. 6940: California Drought Alleviation Act of 2008

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H.R. 6940: California Drought Alleviation Act of 2008

110th Congress · introduced 2008-09-18 · Water Resources Development · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2008-09-18 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Radanovich, George [R-CA-19] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

California Drought Alleviation Act of 2008

Plain summary

California Drought Alleviation Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior: (1) within 30 days after the declaration of a drought emergency by the governor of California, to make a written determination as to the existence of a drought emergency for Central Valley Project and State Water Project service areas; and (2) upon determining such an emergency exists, to temporarily exempt operations of the C.W. "Bill" Jones and Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plants from prohibitions under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) against taking endangered or threatened species or adversely modifying critical habitat until drought emergency conditions are alleviated. Authorizes the Secretary to include in any such determination reasonable and prudent measures for the protection of an endangered species or its critical habitat. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with California to support the establishment of a fish hatchery program to preserve and restore the species Hypomesus transpacificus (Delta Smelt) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Requires the program to be designed to establish a sustainable population sufficient to warrant the species' removal from lists published under ESA and the State of California Endangered Species Act. Deems Hypomesus transpacificus maintained, cultured, introduced, or reintroduced to be members of any subspecies or population segment listed under ESA for purposes of determining whether such subspecies or population segment is a threatened or endangered species.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

California Drought Alleviation Act of 2008

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Radanovich, George [R-CA-19] · 7 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Jim Costa (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Exemption
A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong110-hr6940 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong110 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong110