The Agricultural Water Optimization Fund bill ( HB381 ), sponsored by Timothy D. Hawkes, is a good start for the responsible conservation of the watersheds in our state. These efforts should be acknowledged. However, I am concerned about the amount of money that will be given to the fund as it is a one-time appropriation. How will this be able to ensure optimization long term?

I would like to hear more about what this bill would do for farmers to ensure that they will be able to get the adequate funding to irrigate water to their farms and what the taxes would look like for them using the watersheds. With climate change being as paramount as it is, I would also like to know how this bill takes such an issue into account. This winter alone has been rather dry and as a result the watersheds will not be full. How will the lack of water this winter affect the optimization of agricultural water usage?