Jerry Brown Issues Executive Order to Address Drought

The Los Angeles Times reports that Gov. Jerry Brown issued a new executive order addressing the state’s drought on Friday. 

The provisions include temporarily halting environmental regulations, urging restaurants to only serve water if customers request it, ordering homeowners associations to stop fining their residents if they leave their lawns unwatered, and allowing CalFire to buy whatever equipment it needs for fighting fires without waiting for competitive bids.

Brown said, “Our fire seasons are longer, and the dry season is upon us, so we have to take renewed vigilance.” His decision to halt some regulations worried Steve Fleischli, water program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who said, “They need to be very cautious there. They need to show they’re responsible stewards of the environment with those provisions.”