Gov. Newsom wants to charge you $10 a month to help clean up contaminated water

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Thursday, March 21, 2019
Gov. Newsom wants to charge you $10 a month to help clean up contaminated water
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to charge you $10 a month to help clean up contaminated water in low-income and rural areas.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to charge California water customers up to $10 per month to help clean up contaminated water in low-income and rural areas.



His plan will face resistance from some Democrats hesitant to impose new taxes.



Up to 1 million Californians are estimated to have some type of contaminated or unclean water coming through their taps that can cause health issues.



Newsom has called it a "moral disgrace and a medical emergency."



He wants to impose new fees on water customers and animal and dairy farms to pay for public water improvements.



It's nearly identical to a measure that failed last session.



A competing proposal by Democratic Sen. Anna Caballero would use money from the state's multibillion-dollar surplus to create a trust fund to pay for water improvements.

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