The Latest: California lawmakers OK water for pot growers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Latest on the California budget (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

Republican lawmakers are objecting to a California budget provision that gives water to medical marijuana growers.

Republicans say a budget bill approved Thursday in the state Assembly gives pot farmers preferential treatment over the rest of the agriculture industry.

The bill allows licensed marijuana growers to use water from natural rivers, streams or lakes without state approval or environmental assessment. It cleared the Assembly in a 46-26 vote. It now goes to the Senate.

Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher of Plumas Lake says the law rewards pot growers who have illegally diverted water from streambeds and punishes ranchers who acted legally.

Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta of Alameda says Republican opponents are misinterpreting the provision. Bonta says medical marijuana regulations he authored last year already ban growers from improperly taking water.

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11 a.m.

California’s state budget includes $5 million for a gun violence research centre at the University of California.

The Assembly and Senate approved the research funding Thursday as part of several pieces of budget-related legislation.

Gun-violence researchers have long complained that funding is hard to find since Congress in 1996 prohibited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from paying for gun research.

Democratic Sen. Lois Wolk of Davis says violent acts including the weekend mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida has left people searching for answers. She says scientific data and methods can help provide them.

Gun-rights advocates were opposed, saying the research would be used to bolster more gun control laws.