Legislature Heads Home, Stranding Transit Measures

Midway through the Legislature’s two-year session, the San Fernando Valley-area’s legislative agenda has been highlighted by land-use issues and two major transportation bills.

By early Saturday, as the first half of the session ended, more than a dozen bills directly affecting the Valley and surrounding areas had passed, ranging from a measure to help raise money for schools in the growing Santa Clarita Valley to legislation to purchase parkland in Simi Valley.

It was a year marked by two of the Valley’s key Democratic politicians--Assemblyman Richard Katz of Sepulveda and Sen. Alan Robbins of Van Nuys--forming a sometimes rocky alliance on a successful measure to overhaul the Southern California Rapid Transit District and give the Valley a seat on a new transit panel.

Tensions Boiled

Tensions within the delegation unexpectedly boiled into public view late Friday as Robbins and Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) disagreed over another Robbins-sponsored bill to delay Metro Rail in the Valley and eliminate two potential light-rail routes.

That bill was shelved until next year, leaving the fate of Metro Rail in the Valley up in the air.

Another major issue--financing for Mission College--finally was resolved after many setbacks. Other legislation provided funds for freeway interchanges; the sale of land at Camarillo State Hospital for a facility to treat abused children; $200,000 for a blood-research project sought by Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Tarzana) and a bailout for small cities.

These are among hundreds of bills awaiting action on Gov. George Deukmejian’s desk.

Several bills failed to win passage and will be reconsidered next year. Among them is a proposal to prohibit new landfills, which was introduced by Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Tarzana), the Valley’s only freshman lawmaker.

Robbins also set aside his proposal to spend $5 million in state funds for Japanese gardens in the Valley and San Diego until the Legislature reconvenes next year.

The major bill that stalled would have banned light-rail construction in Van Nuys and North Hollywood for a decade and postponed Metro Rail construction in the Valley for two years. It was unexpectedly shelved on Friday when it hit a parliamentary snag.

As a result, the RTD is required under a 1984 law to begin Metro Rail tunneling in North Hollywood by Sept. 29 and spend $13 million by next September, even though lawmakers agreed that the work should be postponed.

It was the bill’s proposed light-rail ban that sparked intense opposition. The measure would have eliminated consideration of two of five proposed Valley light-rail routes that are being fought by Robbins’ constituents in Van Nuys and North Hollywood.

Protest by La Follette

In the Assembly, Bane, who recently became chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, had steered the measure through on a party-line vote over the objections raised by Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge). She protested that the legislation interfered with a continuing environmental study of the five proposed routes.

In the Senate, Robbins delayed consideration of the bill until the RTD reorganization had won final approval. But, when he saw that it could be held up on a procedural question, Robbins made a last-ditch effort, seeking to persuade Hart not to delay consideration of the bill. Hart would not budge.

Hart, whose district includes Ventura County and part of Woodland Hills, said he opposes the light-rail ban because it would appease a small group of constituents at the expense of the welfare of Valley residents. He told Robbins that the bill should not even be considered by the full Senate until it had been reviewed by the Senate Transportation Committee.

“It’s bad policy, even worse process,” Hart said in an interview.

The Senate Rules Committee unanimously agreed with Hart. Transportation Committee members informally decided to wait until January.

“We won half the battle,” Robbins said later, referring to passage of the bill to abolish the RTD and replace it with a new agency. “Unfortunately, I’ve had a number of battles to fight over the last few days.”

In contrast, Robbins and Katz won approval Friday of their bill to reorganize the much-criticized RTD and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission into a countywide transit super-agency. The bill specifies that the new agency’s board include a Los Angeles City Council member from the Valley.

In early maneuvering, Robbins forced Katz to capitulate to his version of the reorganization, which included a provision that would have paved the way for Robbins to claim a seat on the powerful new Metropolitan Transportation Agency. But Robbins, the consummate expert of legislative gamesmanship, had to delete the provision when faced with intense Senate opposition. The bill, then sent to the governor, was close to Katz’s original measure.

Valley Could Win

Katz contended that the Valley will be a big winner if Deukmejian signs the measure, which would take effect Jan. 1, because it will gain a seat on the board. At his Saturday news conference, however, Deukmejian declined to take a position on the bill.

“Valley interests will be protected,” Katz said. Presumably, Valley lawmakers said, the new transit agency would be more sensitive to Valley concerns than its predecessors.

In other late developments as the bleary-eyed legislators rushed to their four-month adjournment early Saturday morning, a bill was sent to Deukmejian that could give more money to six Valley-area cities. It provides aid for small cities that levy little or no property tax.

The bailout would be triggered by a complicated plan to switch responsibility for funding municipal and superior courts from counties to the state. Individual county boards of supervisors would have the option of adopting this transfer. If approved, it would free $350 million for other programs, including aiding small cities.

Statewide, cities are expected to receive at least $6.5 million in the first year of the bailout. It is to be phased in over the next decade, with cities getting an extra 10% annually for the next 10 years. Legislative consultants could not estimate the share for individual cities but listed Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo and Moorpark as potential beneficiaries in Ventura County. In Los Angeles County, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village could get extra money.

Another bill passed late Friday would earmark $20 million for legislative pet projects, including about $1 million to buy Hopetown, the old Corriganville movie ranch in Simi Valley. The 172-acre ranch would then be used for parkland.

The measure redirects more than $2 million that Burbank received in 1985 to buy land in Cabrini Canyon. Burbank was unable to complete the purchase of that property, so $1 million would be diverted for Hopetown and about $1 million for Burbank to develop and improve parks in the Verdugo Mountains.

The bill also includes $400,000 to complete an interchange on the Golden State Freeway at Lyons Avenue straddling Valencia and Newhall.

School District Levies

Also on Friday, final approval was given to a bill to provide a mechanism for five Santa Clarita Valley school districts to collect a voter-approved tax on new home construction. The money is to be used for new schools.

Earlier in the year, Deukmejian approved a long-sought Valley project he had previously vetoed. He included in the 1987-88 state budget signed in July $8.5 million for Mission College’s permanent campus in Sylmar. Also included was $14.9 million for a library at California State University, Northridge.

The first half of the two-year session also marked the opening legislative round for freshman Friedman, whose district is divided between the East Valley and West Los Angeles.

Friedman, a former legal-aid attorney, suffered a setback when the Assembly Ways and Means Committee shelved his first major bill. The controversial bill would prohibit trash landfills in the Santa Monica Mountains and a large area of the Valley. He vowed to revive the proposal.

“My focus is to keep dumps out of the Santa Monica Mountains and I’ll look at all avenues to achieve that” when the Legislature reconvenes in January, Friedman said.

There was no lack of grist for the political mill among the Valley’s delegation. The session ended with Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) considering a 1988 primary challenge to Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia). Such a high-profile contest between the two veteran lawmakers would likely be costly and caustic.

“There is no increased tension between them,” said one Valley colleague who asked not to be named. “That tension developed early on.”

And Hart, long considered an attractive candidate for higher office, said he may challenge longtime U. S. Rep. Robert Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) next year. Hart said last week that he will decide next month.

“I’m more seriously considering it,” said Hart, who chairs the Senate Education Committee and briefly weighed a 1986 gubernatorial bid. “I’ve got to think it through.”