Gaining Responsibility on Water Act of 2017
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Gaining Responsibility on Water Act of 2017
TITLE I--CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT WATER RELIABILITY
(Sec. 101) This bill amends the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to include among its purposes to: (1) ensure that water dedicated to fish and wildlife purposes is replaced and provided to Central Valley Project (CVP) water contractors by December 31, 2018, at the lowest cost reasonably achievable; and (2) facilitate and expedite water transfers in accordance with such Act.
(Sec. 102) The bill restricts the definition of "anadromous fish" to mean only those native stocks of salmon (including steelhead) and sturgeon that, as of October 30, 1992, were present in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries and ascend those rivers and their tributaries to reproduce after maturing in San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean. The bill defines "reasonable flows" as water flows capable of being maintained taking into account competing consumptive uses of water and economic, environmental, and social factors.
(Sec. 103) Upon request of the contractor, the Department of the Interior shall renew any existing long-term repayment or water service contract that provides for the delivery of water from the CVP for a period of 40 years.
(Sec. 104) The contracting district from which the water is coming, the agency, or Interior shall determine if a written water transfer proposal is complete within 45 days after the date of submission of such proposal. If such district or agency or Interior determines that such proposal is incomplete, it shall state with specificity what must be added or revised in order for such proposal to be complete. Interior shall not impose mitigation or other requirements on a proposed transfer but the contracting district from which the water is coming or the agency shall retain all authority under state law to approve or condition a proposed transfer.
(Sec. 105) The bill modifies provisions of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act regarding fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration.
The summary continues for 85 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on July 12, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 18, 2017: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
David Valadao (R-CA) introduced it on January 3, 2017, and 14 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 13 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 3, 2017, 3537 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3341 days ago, on July 18, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers