Yes on Props. 12 and 13

Two of the most important matters before California voters on March 7 are proposed parks and water bond issues totaling $4 billion. Proposition 12 would provide $2.1 billion for state and urban parks, recreation facilities, wild lands and wildlife projects. Proposition 13 would finance water development and flood control projects totaling $1.97 billion.

The combined total is big but well below the $9 billion of the school bond issue approved two years ago. The outlays would be well worth the costs. California has not passed a parks bond issue since 1988. The state has also failed to develop the water systems needed to keep up with present demands and to meet those of the near future in a rapidly growing state.

The Times urges a yes vote on both Proposition 12 and Proposition 13.

Opponents argue that such projects should be paid for out of general state revenues. But even with the large budget surpluses of recent years, there is not nearly enough to finance statewide capital projects on a pay-as-you-go basis, and historically such projects have been financed by bond issues.

The respected state legislative analyst concludes that even if all of the bonds on the March 7 ballot pass, they will have little impact on the state’s debt ratio. This is due to rising state revenues and the fact that previously passed bond issues are being paid off.

There is concern among proponents of the measures that voters might confuse the two. For one thing, each title contains the words “clean water.” But the measures are distinct and separate and do not overlap or conflict. Both bonds would be paid out of general funds and would not add to property taxes.

Proposition 12 would allocate $1.16 billion to state parks, wild lands and wildlife projects, including $525 million for the neglected and rundown state park system. An additional $940 million would go to local governments to finance parks and recreation facilities, with $200 million specifically earmarked for core urban areas that now often lack basketball or soccer facilities for young people, grassy sanctuaries for their elders and places for families to gather.

Allocations for Southern California would include $605 million for Los Angeles County, $43 million for the city of Los Angeles and $60 million for other cities within the county.

Additionally, there would be $25 million for Santa Monica Bay projects and $25 million for wetlands protection, both financed through the state Coastal Conservancy; $10 million for the Los Angeles River watershed and $15 million for the San Gabriel and lower Los Angeles River watersheds, and $10 million for the California Science Center.

This is a comprehensive bond issue that benefits everyone in California, from the wilderness lover to the city youth who might find a recreation program more alluring than running with a street gang.

Proposition 13 would aid six different types of programs: drinking water facilities, $70 million; flood protection, $292 million; watershed protection, $468 million; pollution control and water recycling, $355 million; water conservation, $155 million, and water supply reliability, $630 million.

The measure would battle two fish-or-fowl problems that often confront Californians: flood and drought. Portions would be used to increase the reliability of water supplies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the estuary that is the source of much of Southern California’s imported water supply. Ground water storage would save water from wet periods for use during droughts.

State agriculture interests object to the bond issue because it does not include new storage reservoirs, but that issue is being dealt with separately in a state-federal process aimed at rehabilitating the environment of the delta and augmenting delta water supplies in dry periods.

By one estimate, Proposition 13 would increase the state’s usable water supply by 3%, a small but significant amount that would buffer Southern California against drought cutbacks and help assure water quality. In fact, all the disparate pieces of Proposition 13 work together to bolster California’s water supply and make it more manageable both in times of plenty and times of drought.