County’s Legislators Battle for Bills as Deadline Looms

It was a legislator’s nightmare.

With only a week remaining in this year’s legislative session, Democrats in the Legislature were holding some major transportation bills hostage as a battle raged over affirmative action goals.

Suddenly, a bill allowing the state Department of Transportation to expedite highway projects by contracting with private firms for design and engineering work was passed by the Assembly without a vote to spare.

But instead of celebrating, the bill’s author, state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), was angry after the vote Thursday night. She said the governor is sure to veto the measure because it now includes affirmative action quotas--and she retaliated by working against a transit reorganization measure authored by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda). It was defeated Friday.

It was just the latest in a series of fights for Orange County legislators this year.

The county’s 13-member delegation introduced 482 bills this session, but most never made it past the mine field of the committee structure. And with the clock ticking toward the scheduled adjournment Friday, only a handful of bills directly affecting Orange County are on their way to the governor’s desk.

Many of the delegation’s key measures still await final votes in both the Assembly and the Senate, including legislation authorizing toll roads, block grant funds for county government, start-up money for the new CalTrans district operation in Orange County and a courthouse construction bill.

Transportation has been the big issue for the Orange County delegation this session, with state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), Bergeson and Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra) carrying most of the load.

Besides Bergeson, Seymour and Johnson, the delegation includes Assembly members Doris Allen (R-Cypress), Dennis L. Brown (R-Signal Hill), John R. Lewis (R-Orange), Richard Longshore (R-Santa Ana), Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), Nolan Frizzelle (R-Huntington Beach) and Robert C. Frazee (R-Carlsbad), and Sens. Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim), William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) and Cecil Green (D-Norwalk).

Brown, Frazee, Green and Campbell live outside Orange County but their districts overlap into it.

In interviews last week, delegation members said the high points of the session included Gov. George Deukmejian’s decision to create a new CalTrans operation for Orange County, something the county’s business and political leaders had sought for years.

“That was probably the most important thing that happened for the county,” Bergeson said. “And all of us supported it.”

Bill Awaits Action

Seymour, who worked behind the scenes with Johnson and others to secure the decision, agreed. But Johnson’s bill appropriating $4.1 million in start-up money for the operation is still awaiting final Senate Appropriations Committee action on Tuesday.

Seymour said a final assessment of the how the county fared in Sacramento this year hinges on the fate of his toll roads legislation, which would authorize Orange County Transportation Corridor agencies to operate toll highways.

Tolls would help speed construction of at least one new Orange County expressway, officials believe, but Seymour’s measure still awaits final action by both the Assembly and Senate.

“I think this session has been more productive (than those of previous years),” Seymour said. “I think the Orange County delegation has shown more cohesiveness this year. Of course, what I’ve just told you could be totally incorrect by next Friday. Because if we don’t get some of those major bills--evidently we have lost contracting out--and if we lose the toll road bill, that’s a major defeat. If we get it out, well, yeah, it’s been a more productive year overall.”

Transportation Revenue

Longshore, a freshman legislator, authored a bill now on the governor’s desk that would generate about $100,000 in new revenue for Orange County transportation projects. It would allow the county to convert money collected from off-road vehicle owners for trails and facilities for off-roaders to funds for bicycle or equestrian trails.

But much of the legislation introduced by the county delegation was not crafted to address problems specific to Orange County.

Seymour, for example, authored legislation that would increase fines for speeding truckers that the governor is expected to sign. He also carried a bill that allows driving schools to issue learner’s permits to students, so that the students don’t have to stand in line at Department of Motor Vehicles offices.

Johnson carried a bill that would have equalized property tax rates for pre- and post-Proposition 13 home buyers, but it was shelved in committee.

Bergeson carried legislation on subjects ranging from child care to water rights, including a measure that reduces local governments’ liability for beach accidents. She carries more legislation affecting government agencies than most legislators because she is chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee.

However, as with other legislators, Bergeson’s success rate this year is difficult to assess, since many of her bills have been held in committee, to be taken up again next year, or still await final floor votes.

Allen was successful with legislation requiring all-terrain vehicle riders under 15 1/2 years old to wear safety helmets, but she was disappointed that bills involving freeway sound-wall construction and urban school aid were held in committee.

One of Allen’s top priorities late in the session was trying to help families in Cypress, La Palma and Lakewood whose home foundations are cracking. Allen, Assemblyman Paul E. Zeltner (R-Lakewood) and Green have amended an existing bill to include a $350,000 appropriation for a study to determine the cause of the cracking and possible long-term solutions.

The bill is on the Senate floor.

Frizzelle Optimistic

Frizzelle, who authored three bills involving construction and operation of private toll roads that were defeated, still believes the delegation is gaining more clout.

“We have a strong delegation, and with other members of the Republican Caucus, we have staked out our positions and held firm on a lot of issues, and that means people know we have to be reckoned with.”

But Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) disagreed. Asked if he had seen any significant legislation come from Orange County lawmakers during the current session, Roos laughed and said: “No. You never see anything.”

Still, Ferguson, one of the delegation’s most outspoken and controversial figures, managed to get several of his bills through the Legislature. One that still has to survive a vote on the Senate floor but appears headed for approval is a measure designating the massive Santa Ana River flood control program a state project, making it easier to obtain federal funds.

This came after Ferguson proclaimed that he didn’t think there are many women who “know the right end of a T-square” during wrangling over the affirmative action issue.

The delegation--which is solidly Republican except for Green--showed some signs of division on several issues, ranging from Medi-Cal prenatal vitamins to personal service contracts. One day in the Assembly, for example, Frizzelle voted no on three items that had been supported in the Senate by Bergeson.

“They (delegation members) are not unified by any means,” said former state Sen. Dennis Carpenter, the county’s lobbyist in Sacramento. “Sometimes they go off in different directions. We try to hold them together on the big issues.”

KEY ORANGE COUNTY BILLS

Here is a look at the status of a partial list of bills directly affecting Orange County that were introduced by Orange County legislators.

Assembly bills:

AB 207. Brown, D. Wine sales. Special interest bill to allow the owner of a small winery to sell his own wine in his restaurant in Orange County. Passed, sent to governor.

AB 444. Johnson. Would allow majority of Superior Court judges to vote to hold court sessions anywhere within county. Passed, sent to governor.

AB 543. Ferguson. Provides for state cooperation in $1-billion Santa Ana Flood control project. Awaiting vote on Senate floor.

AB 666. Johnson. Would allow Superior and Municipal Courts to hold sessions in the old county courthouse in Santa Ana. Passed, sent to governor.

AB 694. Johnson. Would allow Orange County Transit District to hire transit police with full police officer status. Shelved in committee.

AB 696. Johnson. Contains funding for new Caltrans District office in Orange County. Awaiting Senate committee action. AB 738. Ferguson. Removes section of coastal act requiring that new shorefront developments include coastal access for the public. Shelved in committee.

AB 831, 1812, 2589. Frizzelle. Allows counties and private agencies to build toll roads and calls for sale of $1.5 billion in bonds backed by toll road revenues. Shelved in committee.

AB 897. Allen. Would allow Orange County and cities to create a special government authority to build freeway sound walls and landscaping on state highways. Failed in committee.

AB 1058. Frizzelle and Ferguson. Orders

Caltrans to begin design work on a new interchange at San Diego Freeway and Fairview Road in Costa Mesa if the city and county governments will pay 25% of the cost. Failed in committee.

AB 1147. Bergeson. Would allow merger of county budgets for flood control and harbors, beaches and parks districts to reduce impact of Gann spending limit. Awaiting floor action in both houses.

AB 1531. Longshore. Allows the county to spend money collected from off-road vehicle owners for bicycle or equestrian trails instead of on trails and facilities for the off-roaders. Passed, sent to governor.

AB 1773. Lewis. Attempts to solve longstanding dispute between Yorba Linda schools and Fullerton High School District. Awaiting vote on Senate floor.

AB 1814. Frizzelle. Bill sought by the Orange County Department of Education to provide greater say for targets of grand jury investigations. Shelved in committee.

AB 2473. Frizzelle. Requires state superintendent of public instruction to contract out for child care services in Orange County. Shelved in committee.

Senate bills:

SB 23. Bergeson. Beach Liability. Exempts public agencies from liability for accidents on public beaches. Awaiting final Senate vote.

SB 253. Bergeson. County funding. Increases funding for counties where revenues haven’t kept up with cost of state-mandated programs. Being merged into other legislation awaiting floor action.

SB 349. Bergeson. Permits Orange and 15 other counties to raise money for courthouse construction by increasing the surcharges on

fines and parking tickets. Awaiting final amendments, floor votes.

SB 456. Bergeson. Gives state Department of Conservation authority to order capping of abandoned oil wells that are a danger to the public because of methane gas buildup. Awaiting final floor votes.

SB 488. Bergeson. Exempts county from liability for injuries suffered in connection with freeway call-box system. Awaiting final Senate vote.

SB 516. Bergeson. Allows state Department of Transportation to contract with private firms in order to speed highway design and engineering work. Awaiting final Senate vote.

SB 688. Bergeson. Prohibits the state from classifying shredder waste as hazardous. Placed in inactive file.

SB 699. Seymour. Sets new conditions on car pool lanes on freeways. Passed and sent to governor.

SB 1146. Bergeson. Would provide 15 more Superior Court judges for Orange County. Replaced by a Willie Brown measure still pending that would give county five more judges.

SB 1366. Seymour. Attempts to bring Orange County drug and alcohol program funding closer to level of San Francisco and Los Angeles counties. Shelved in committee.

SB 1411. Bergeson. Would allow Orange County Transportation Commission to pay for state highway projects to avoid delays and be reimbursed later. Awaiting final floor votes.

SB 1413. Seymour. Allows Orange County transportation corridor agencies to operate toll roads. Awaiting final floor votes.

SB 1517. Bergeson. Creates new special district to govern Bolsa Chica development. Shelved in committee.