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Governor Newsom's Clean Water Tax A 'Moral Imperative' To Some, A Burden To Others

Kerry Klein
/
KVPR

Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will introduce a tax of up to $10 a month to water customers in order to fund safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities. Valley Public Radio has reported in the past about how many of those communities are right here in the San Joaquin Valley. To learn about Newsom’s plan, we spoke to Jonathan Nelson, policy director at the Community Water Center.

Nelson noted that the tax would not be applied to low-income water customers; most other residential water customers would pay 95 cents a month, and the $10-a-month tax would be applied to larger corporations and businesses. Listen to the interview above to hear more about  alternative solutions from state lawmakers and how funds from the tax would be applied.

Laura Tsutsui was a reporter and producer for Valley Public Radio. She joined the station in 2017 as a news intern, and later worked as a production assistant and weekend host. Laura covered local issues ranging from politics to housing, and produced the weekly news program Valley Edition. She left the station in November 2020.
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