Doug LaMalfa Sacramento River Basin Water Security and Reliability Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Gallagher, James [R-CA-1]
Introduced
Summary
Would reauthorize and fund water storage and restoration in the Sacramento River Basin. It would support state-led storage projects, create a federal coordination committee, and let transferors retain temporary transfer revenues for drought resilience and dam safety.
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- State project sponsors would be eligible for nonreimbursable federal contributions for operations, maintenance, and replacement costs, capped at 50 percent of each project's annual public-benefit costs.
- River and habitat restoration would get dedicated funding and activities, including gravel and rearing area work, fish passage and barrier removal, floodplain reconnection, hatchery modernization, and related monitoring and studies. It authorizes $500.0 million for these purposes for fiscal years 2028–2037.
- Water transferors could keep revenue from eligible temporary transfers to pay down capital, fund drought resilience, perform extraordinary maintenance, or make dam safety investments, with unused reserve funds reverting after 10 years.
- Federal agencies would join a new Sacramento River Basin Integrated Water Management Federal Leadership Committee to align programs, remove regulatory obstacles, and recommend investment priorities; the committee would end after 15 years unless extended.
*Would authorize federal spending, including $500.0 million for 2028–2037, and could increase federal outlays if appropriations follow.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
$500 million for Sacramento restoration
If enacted, the bill would authorize $500 million to be appropriated for fiscal years 2028 through 2037 for Sacramento River Basin restoration and species recovery. The money would pay for habitat work like gravel and floodplain reconnection, fish passage and barrier removal, hatchery modernization, fish screens, temperature control improvements, monitoring and modeling, and related planning and construction. All such Federal funds would be nonreimbursable and provided only if Congress appropriates the money. Grants or agreements under this authority would not be treated as new or amended contracts for certain Reclamation statutes.
Transferors can keep water sale money
If enacted, the bill would let a transferor keep money from an eligible temporary water transfer instead of sending it to the Reclamation Fund. The transferor could use those amounts only after finishing repayment of capital tied to the project's original construction. Kept money could pay for repayment, drought resilience work, extraordinary maintenance, or dam safety projects, or be placed in a reserve account for those purposes. Money left in a reserve account that is unused after 10 years would have to go to the Reclamation Fund. The transferor would have to report uses to the Commissioner and follow State and Federal water law.
New basin committee and protections
If enacted, the bill would require creation of a Sacramento River Basin Integrated Water Management Federal Leadership Committee within 180 days, chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science. The committee would coordinate federal actions, align funding, support the Sacramento Floodplain MOU and recovery plans, recommend investment priorities, and send annual reports to Congress. The bill would also extend the WIIN Act feasibility deadline to January 1, 2041. It would preserve existing State water law duties, tribal trust and treaty rights, Endangered Species Act applicability, specified contract rights, and related protections, and it would include severability.
Federal pays up to 50% O&M costs
If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary (through the Commissioner of Reclamation) pay up to 50 percent of annual operations, maintenance, and replacement costs tied to public benefits of State-led storage projects that got prior WIIN Act assistance. Federal money under this authority would be nonreimbursable and could only pay costs directly linked to public benefits beyond mitigation and compliance. The bill would authorize such sums as may be necessary, subject to appropriation.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Gallagher, James [R-CA-1]
CA • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov