Political Landscape:

Although discussions had broken down into party politics at the end of the regular session, those disputes were not representative of the real concern that members of all parties have had for ensuring a complete and balanced approach to solving the water crisis, Huff said.

The committee’s failure to meet the Sept. 11 deadline may prove to be better for California, because lawmakers did not rush together a package and opted to instead consider all of the details of what will likely be a set of sweeping reforms, he said.

Funding for shelters fails to get support

Partisan politics also derailed an effort to increase funding for faltering domestic violence shelters when state Senate Republicans refused to approve any legislation that required a two-thirds majority vote, even though the bill was authored by one of their colleagues.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, would have authorized $16.3 million to be borrowed from the state’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and paid to shelters that are in danger of shutting down and turning away domestic violence victims seeking help, Smyth said.

“We found a way to restore the funding that had no opposition and so we were hoping that we could get that to the governor and he would sign it so that these domestic violence shelters could remain open,” he said.

But Republican senators, frustrated that Democrats did not follow through on prior promises, blocked the bill, Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth wrote in a Twitter post.

“Since the Democrat leadership did not uphold their previous budget agreements, all of these important bills had to be delayed,” Hollingsworth said.

The bill’s unexpected entanglement in party politics was troubling, Smyth said.

“I understand my Senate colleagues wanting to hold firm on two-thirds vote bills, but I think that voting for funding for domestic violence shelters is a worthy exception,” he said.

He hoped to revive the bill when lawmakers return to the Legislature in October.

Low-interest disaster loan bid successful

Area congressmen successfully lobbied the U.S. Small Business Administration to make low-interest disaster loans available to those whose property was damaged or destroyed by the Station fire.

The administration will offer loans of up to $200,000 to homeowners, property owners, renters and businesses looking to repair or replace damaged property.