BREAKING NEWS: Amended sales tax bill clears Senate committee

With almost no prior warning, the state Senate's Appropriations Committee quickly convened this afternoon and approved AB 2321, the state bill that would allow a proposal for a half-cent sales tax increase in Los Angeles County to be placed on the Nov. 4 ballot.

UPDATE: The vote was 14 to 0, with one absence. Among the supporters were state Sen. Jenny Oropeza and state Sen. Gil Cedillo, both of whom had issues with the bill before it was updated.

I just got off the phone with Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), the sponsor of the bill. He said the amendments included so-called "intent language" that clarified that some of the sales tax revenues should be spent on several projects, including a Green Line Extension to LAX, fixes at traffic hotspots along the 605 freeway, the Gold Line extension and 710 Freeway improvements.

However, the intent language does not change the list of projects in either the state bill or the MTA's sales tax ordinance. Those two lists must match or the sales tax initiative could have been invalidated, according to MTA officials and Los Angeles County attorneys.

"I want to convey to your readers it's a good day because the logjam has been broken here," Feuer said. "I think it's smooth sailing to the ballot and it's up to all of us who support this to gain the support of two thirds of the voters."

The other amendment to the bill -- and in my view, the one that you should note -- requires that the MTA give the state Legislature one year's prior notice if the MTA board decides to change the spending plan for expected sales tax revenues. In other words, if the MTA board wants to take money from one project and give it to another, they have to let the Legislature know way ahead of time so anyone who wants to cry foul can do so.

The state bill still must pass the full Senate, then go back to the Assembly for approval. Then it must be signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has said he won't sign any more bills until the state budget deficit is solved. Schwarzenegger has said that he supports this bill -- but it remains to be seen if he makes an exception if the budget problems can't be solved.

SECOND UPDATE, 4 p.m.: I just spoke with Sen. Oropeza. I would describe her mood as ebullient.

She said that her staff and MTA staff had "hunkered down" over the past two days to figure out a way to amend the bill that would satisfy everyone's interests. She needed to see language that the Green Line extension was a project that would get built if the sales tax was passed, while the MTA, she said, didn't want to have to change the county's ordinance.

When I suggested to her that the language about the Green Line was basically "intent language" -- that is, without the force of law -- Oropeza respectfully disagreed. "This codifies the fact that this project is expected to be constructed," she said. "We thought that was very important."

The other amendment, she said, should help all interested parties because it requires the MTA to give the Legislature one year's notice if they intend to transfer money between projects. That has been the big concern of many public officials all along -- that the sales tax was basically a guise to bring in billions of dollars that the MTA board would one day use on the subway on the Westside.

"It's a safeguard against raiding certain projects to fund other projects," Oropeza said. "This was all about getting some assurances in the law for the people who may vote for this in good faith. It goes along the lines of this issue of transparency -- of having decisions made out in the open and not in a closed door meeting with two days notice. It's good government."

Finally, I asked her if she'll campaign for the sales tax. Oropeza said that no one has asked her yet -- but she's more than willing to help.

--Steve Hymon

Comments

[Stuart KD]

Good news.

It's just sad that the Chinese can build a high-speed train 75 miles from Beijing to their coastal city in Tianjin in two and a half years and it will take ten years to finish the seven and a half miles from Wilshire and Western to Santa Monica.

We really are falling behind...

[lsm]

I appreciate greatly all the politicians who chose not to deny us voters our right to decide our future; I celebrate this latest decision. The last remaining hurdle to us getting our chance to decide our future, assuming the Senate and Assembly do the right thing, is for Governor Schwarzenegger to sign this bill. Pushing as he is for a one cent non-transportation sales tax, he may "regretfully stand on principle" and refuse to allow us to vote for this transportation tax increase on the same ballot which would also ask us to approve the constitutional spending limits he demands to allow his non-transportation sales tax to proceed.

Assuming the Governor will not act so hypocritically, however, it will then be up to us voters to muster the two-thirds support necessary to approve this tax. If in the next eighty days Metro can effectively highlight how little this tax will cost each of us per year, what and when specific transportation projects will be built if (and only if) we pass this tax, how much failing to build these projects will cost each of us per year, how the exempted goods and services make this a far less regressive tax than most sales taxes and what safe guards will prevent raiding these funds for purposes other than what we voters intend, I trust the electorate will do the right thing. The rub, of course, will be communicating all this effectively to the electorate in the limited time remaining.

[Ken Alpern]

I am also excited about these prospects, and we should promote the Green Line to LAX completion as a major way to bring taxpaying voters on board with this one.

Another key list of improvements should include (in our outreach) all the freeway improvements to the county that this will fund...and which will never occur for years or even decades unless this passes.

[Rob Dawg]

Does anyone think a 1/2 cent transit tax is going to get even 40%?

[Dan W.]

This is terrific.

Great news!

[David Raether]

Fantastic!

This is great news.

And because the legislature wrote in protections so the MTA doesn't change things mid-stream, I don't see how any San Gabriel Valley politicians can honestly now oppose this.

[Dana Gabbard]

Hooray! This promises the hope of fulfilling all I have been working toward since 1994 as a transportation activist!

83 days until Nov. 4th? YEOW! We supporters are going to be working up a campaign on the run.

But we can do it! Onword!

[Oscar]

yay!