Senators Jean Fuller and Andy Vidak, congressman David Valadao, and assemblyman Rudy Salas attended and answered questions for students at Bakersfield College’s annually hosted legislative forum, sponsored by the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Business Political Action Committee (BIPAC) on Friday, Sept. 26 in the Fireside Room.

The event lasted a little over an hour and the issue of water once again took center stage. The panel, primarily republican with the exception of Rudy Salas, a democrat, established that getting water to the county was a nonpartisan goal. They discussed their excitement for the upcoming water bond that they have collectively proposed.

The water bond (Assembly Bill 1471), or California Proposition 1, does not propose any changes to current federal policies or to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and would fund the creation of a system that would be built to capture the snow melting off of the Sierra Mountains and direct it toward the Central Valley, according to Sen. Fuller.

The panel also dedicated attention to education and work force development. According to Rudy Salas, he recently helped appropriate a bill that would provide 15 million dollars worth of funding to job training. “Education should be tied to jobs, and jobs should be tied to education,” Fuller said.

Immigration platforms were also discussed, particularly by Congressman Valadao who considers himself amongst the few in his political party to advocate for the issue. “We have a system that has failed,” he said and emphasized the advances in technology that should be applied to the system. Valadao also took advantage of the occasion to discuss the California Prosperity Project. (Online research for “the California Prosperity Project” yielded as The California Opportunity and Prosperity Act, or COPA, and may appear as a measure to be voted on for the November ballot. COPA proposes the safe employment of undocumented residents who have lived in the state of California for at least four years.)

Among other issues discussed that the public may not be aware about, cost changes in energy billing, loan programs, agricultural program funding, and even illegal casinos. The panel of representatives emphasized the importance of receiving feedback from local students to help guide their decisions through the issues.

“The Reality is public procedures and politics are going to affect you daily,” said BC vice president Nan Gomez-Hertzberg to students at the beginning of the event. The panel nodded approvingly and Salas added, “Whether or not you take an interest in politics, politics takes an interest in you.”