California governor, lawmakers announce $1 billion drought package

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown and top lawmakers on Thursday announced a $1 billion emergency legislative package to deal with the state's devastating, multiyear drought. The state is entering a fourth year of record-breaking drought that has prompted officials to sharply reduce water supplies to farmers and impose strict conservation measures statewide. State regulators imposed new regulations earlier this week, outlawing lawn watering within 48 hours of rain and prohibiting water from being served in restaurants unless a customer requests it. The legislation announced by Brown and both Democratic and Republican state lawmakers calls for appropriations of more than $1 billion to pay for water projects and programs and to help communities respond to the impact from the drought. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Jeffrey Benkoe)