Biography
Carley V. Porter, a Democrat, was first elected to the Assembly in a special election held on November 8, 1949. Porter represented the 69th Assembly District (1950-62), reapportioned as the 38th Assembly District in 1962, comprising parts of Compton, Downey, Lynwood, Paramount, and Bellflower until his death on December 6, 1972. Porter's primary legislative interests centered around the State's water problems, education, child care centers, the dairy industry, court reorganization, and city and county government.
Porter chaired the Assembly Water Committee from its creation in 1959, and before that, served on the Joint Water Problems Committee. Legislation sponsored by Porter includes the San Francisco Bay-Delta Water Control Program; State Waste Water Reclamation and Re-Use Law; Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the toughest state anti-pollution law ever enacted; was the lead author of a successful 1970 ballot measure to provide funds for waste treatment plants; and co-authored the $1.75 billion bond act to finance the California Water Project.
From the guide to the Assemblymember Carley V. Porter Papers, (California State Archives)
