MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Legislature passed a resolution Thursday to develop something the state doesn't have — a statewide water management plan, despite a severe drought and years of tri-state water talks.

The Alabama Senate used a voice vote to give final approval to a resolution pushed by Sen. Kim Benefield, D-Woodland, and Rep. Greg Canfield, R-Vestavia Hills.

The resolution, if signed by the governor, will create the Alabama Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management.

Riley, who is in China on a trade mission, will review the resolution when he returns and decide whether to sign it, his press secretary, Tara Hutchison, said.

The Alabama Legislature's action followed the Georgia Legislature's approval of a water management plan for that state in February.

Canfield said the severe drought Alabama experienced last year showed the need for a water management plan. The drought ruined some crops, caused water restrictions in small towns and big cities, and left many lake homes with their piers standing on dry land.

"There is no resource that cuts across everyday life and commerce like water," Canfield said.

Canfield said Alabama knows lots about its rivers and other surface water, but not enough about how much water is under the ground. Determining that will be a key step in developing a management plan, he said.

The committee will be made up of 14 legislators. It will have several advisory members, including the state agriculture commissioner, state geologist and director of the state environmental agency.

The committee, which will operate permanently, will make a continuous study of the state water supply and its future needs and availability of water. It will develop conservation programs and make annual reports to the Legislature.

Benefield said the committee must begin work quickly because its first report is due in the spring of 2009.

The resolution setting up the committee is one of the few major items that has passed in the feuding Senate even though the legislative session is nearly two-thirds gone. Benefield and Canfield said it helped to have a rural Democrat and suburban Republican teaming up.