Mass transit sales tax faces more hurdles
Readers who have checked their calendars today may have noticed it's August 25. That's just six days before Aug. 31, the deadline for the Legislature to pass most bills for the 2008 legislative season.
One bill not yet passed is AB 2321, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles). That's the piece of state legislation that would allow Los Angeles County officials to ask voters in November to consider a one-half cent sales tax increase to pay for $30- to $40-billion in mass transit projects and road improvements.
Here's the skinny on what needs to happen:
HURDLE NUMBER ONE: The full Senate needs to vote on AB 2321, which then must be re-approved by the full Assembly. This must happen by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Proponents of the bill say they've got the votes and the Senate could vote as early as Tuesday.
HURDLE NUMBER TWO: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must sign the bill into law within 30 days of receiving it from the Legislature. This is a big obstacle. Why?
"The governor has said he'll veto anything unrelated to the budget," said spokesperson Rachel Cameron today.
Bills in California can automatically become law without the governor's signature if he fails to sign or veto a bill within 30 days. But Cameron said that her boss has yet to let that happen since taking office in 2003.
In other words, if legislators want Schwarzenegger to start signing their bills, they better find a way to close the $15-billion-plus budget gap.
HURDLE NUMBER THREE: By the way, Schwarzenegger has not taken an official position on AB 2321, Cameron said. "Generally speaking, he doesn't take an official position until it reaches his desk in final form," she asdded.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at a news conference on Aug. 11, said he had spoken with Schwarzenegger about the sales tax the prior evening and that Schwarzenegger supported it. There's no reason to think that's not true, but nothing's final until ink hits paper.
HURDLE NUMBER FOUR: Schwarzenegger has proposed solving the budget impasse by temporarily raising sales taxes on Californians by as much as a penny. That would bring the sales tax to 9.25% in Los Angeles County and likely make it extremely challenging to persuade voters to tax themselves another half-penny.
But it's hard to say if the sales tax will happen or it's just a threat. Republicans in the Assembly have said they won't raise taxes -- and there are enough Republicans to block such an effort -- and many Democrats aren't wild about the idea.
photo: Ken Hively / LAT
