State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, released the following statement Wednesday on the Senate’s passage of emergency drought legislation:

“As most of us are aware, California is in the midst of a very serious and unprecedented drought. While we can’t make it rain, we can help communities undertake projects that best use limited water supplies, improve our water infrastructure and provide emergency assistance to residents suffering from a lack of water.

“Today, we passed legislation that expedites funding for drought relief, so we can work ahead of the normal budget schedule to get this funding quickly into the communities that need it. This is just the beginning of the assistance we will be providing this year to Californians during this historic drought.

‘In the meantime, we all must continue to treat our water as the precious resource that it is, and conserve, conserve, conserve.”

Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.

— Lisa Gardiner is the communications director for state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson.