Proposition 18, one of the more contentious issues on the upcoming ballot, has been pushed back to 2012.  Yesterday Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger  signed legislation that would delay the vote until 2012. The governor and other supporters of this measure fear that with the state's economy struggling, the proposition would be defeated.

Opponents of the legislation were quick to seize the moment and complain that instead of delaying the legislation, they ought to dump it altogether.

A motion to approve AB 1594 by Assembly Member Alyson Huber died in committee for lack of a second.  Senator Lois Wolk and Assemblymember Mariko Yamada joined a press conference Monday in support of Assemblymember Alyson Huber's bill, AB 1594, that would prohibit construction of a peripheral canal through the Delta without a full fiscal analysis and vote of the state legislature.

AB 1594 prohibits the construction of a peripheral canal unless expressly authorized by the Legislature. It further requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to the enactment of a statute authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal.

Last fall when Democrats were crumbling in the face of water bill demands by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, one the Democrats who stood the strongest against potential destruction of the Delta was Senator Lois Wolk in her first term as Senator after spending six years in the Assembly.

Capitol Alert now reports that Senator Wolk has been punished for her leadership and vision in protecting the delta by having been stripped of key committee positions.  She has just two of the seven committee assignments she previously held.