SACRAMENTO—California lawmakers on Thursday approved new restrictions that would make it harder for cities and counties to build on floodplains, saying the state should heed the lessons of Hurricane Katrina.

"Two years after Katrina, California stands at a turning point, and we have an opportunity to redesign our approach to flood management," said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis. "Everyone recognizes that business as usual is not working."

The Assembly approved two flood bills in what Democrats portrayed as a larger compromise package hammered out this week between the Senate and Assembly to enhance flood safety.

The first bill—co-authored by Wolk and Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden—would restrict development for the next eight years in areas that lack 100-year flood protection in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river valleys. After 2015, development would be barred in areas without 200-year flood protection, with the delay giving communities time to improve levees.

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