Senator Portantino’s Arroyo Seco Tributary Bill Passes the California Legislature and Awaits the Governor’s Signature

Sacramento, California – The California State Legislature has voted to pass SB 1126 authored by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge). The bill will include the Arroyo Seco Tributary into the Upper Los Angeles River and Tributaries Working Group. SB 1126 contains an urgency clause which would make it effective on the day it garners a signature from Governor Brown.  Non-urgency bills do not become law until January 1st. 

“I am very glad that this important district and regional measure is now headed to the Governor’s desk. As a representative of the 25th Senate District, I was grateful to my friend Tim Brick who highlighted the need to include the Arroyo Seco Tributary to the greater regional study. The Arroyo Seco is not just important to our district but to the environmental well-being of the entire Los Angeles watershed.  In addition, SB 1126 ensures the communities in our district are well-represented on the working group as we move forward,” commented Senator Portantino.

SB 1126 formally includes the Arroyo Seco Tributary in the Upper Los Angeles River and Tributaries Working Group plan. It was inadvertently left out of the original legislation that set up the working group last year. Tim Brick from the Arroyo Seco Foundation brought the legislative oversight to the attention of local leaders asking for a solution. 

“Those of us who value the Arroyo Seco are very excited to see it included in the working group. We are very appreciative to Senator Portantino who heard our call to action and acted upon it. It’s a great example of how environmental activists can raise an issue to a sympathetic policy maker who can turn our plea into state law,” commented Tim Brick Managing Director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation.

SB 1422 was supported by Arroyo Advisory Group and the City of Pasadena.

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Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Lake View Terrace, La Verne, Los Feliz, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.