A Senate panel has approved a bill designed to help cities protect against flooding.
An appropriations subcommittee backed the bill Wednesday. It would create a state flood mitigation program that would provide up to $30 million a year for levees, flood walls and other projects.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett says such a fund is needed for his city and others faced with flood threats.
Corbett says it will cost $375 million to protect Cedar Rapids from flooding by the Cedar River, but the Army Corps of Engineers has only approved about $65 million in federal funds. Corbett says without state help, the city will remain vulnerable.
The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
