Lawmakers Pass Bill to Fund Caltrans Office in Orange County

With the end of the legislative session only hours away, state lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a measure providing money for the new state Department of Transportation district in Orange County.

The measure, introduced by Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra), appropriates $4.1 million for staff and start-up costs for a new Caltrans office that had been sought for years by county officials. Until now, Orange County projects have been directed by Caltrans’ Los Angeles office, and officials have predicted the new office will expedite those projects.

“I’m very tickled,” Johnson said. “I think that (the vote) is important for the county. . . . It’s something we’ve all been working for.”

Bruce Nestande, a former county supervisor and a member of the state Transportation Commission, agreed, saying: “It is a great thing . . . Caltrans’ Los Angeles office has been burdened with the Century Freeway and other important projects and could not give Orange County the attention that it deserves.”

Governor Created District

Gov. George Deukmejian previously indicated that he would sign the measure. The governor created the new Caltrans district for Orange County by executive decree earlier this year, and Caltrans has opened a leased office in Orange.

With the legislative session scheduled to end at midnight Friday, state lawmakers also sent to the governor bills by:

- State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) that would increase surcharges on court fines. It would add $1.50 to every parking fine. The amount of the surcharge on a non-parking fine would depend on the size of the fine and would be calculated by adding $2 for every $10 the person is fined. The revenue would go toward new Orange County court and juvenile facility construction.

- Bergeson that would allow local agencies to use their own funds for state highway projects and then be reimbursed when state or federal money designated for the same projects becomes available.

- Bergeson that would make it more difficult for newly incorporated areas of the county to withdraw from developer-fee agreements intended to finance new freeways and a companion bill that would set aside some of the developer-fee revenue for Transportation Corridor Agencies expenses.

- Bergeson that would allow Orange County to convert its flood control and beaches, harbors and parks districts into a single county service agency.

- State Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) that would permit use of toll road income to underwrite highway construction bonds.

- State Sen. Ken Maddy (R-Fresno) that would permit satellite horse race wagering at county fair sites and race tracks in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The exception is the Orange County Fair because of its proximity to the Los Alamitos Race Track. A companion measure would allow the Orange County Fair to operate 18 instead of 14 days of racing to compensate for being left out of the satellite betting authorization.

‘Physicians in Exile’ Board

- State Sen. Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim) that creates a “physicians in exile” board to review the academic credentials of about 32 Vietnamese refugee doctors who fled Saigon after 1975 and have had difficulty getting medical licenses. The measure affects several doctors in Orange County.

- Bergeson that allows an Orange County firm that was not the lowest bidder in competition for a freeway emergency call box system to keep the contracts it has won. The firm, Cellular Communications, was upheld in an Orange County lawsuit brought by one of its competitors, but lost in a conflicting court decision in San Diego.

- Bergeson that would raise some court fees to help pay for the Cal-ID computerized fingerprint system, which led to the arrest of Night Stalker suspect Richard Ramirez. Orange County would receive a small amount of reimbursement money for its previous purchase of the system.

- Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) and state Sen. Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk) that appropriates $350,000 for a study to determine why several dozen homes in the Cypress/La Palma/Lakewood area have foundations that are slipping or cracking.

Friday, the governor signed into law a measure introduced by Seymour that requires safety zones at least four feet wide between car-pool lanes and lanes carrying regular traffic.