Scorecard Shows County Did Well in Bill Passage

As the deadline for Gov. George Deukmejian to sign or veto bills came and went last week, it was evident that some last-minute maneuvering in the Legislature had saved the Orange County delegation from defeat on several fronts.

Especially in the area of transportation, the delegation ultimately scored high marks despite early indications that the county was going to emerge from the session a clear loser.

Going into the session last January, transportation needs were Orange County’s top priority. The county has 20 major highway projects in the works, 12 of which are behind schedule.

Last week, Deukmejian signed several bills affecting transportation in the county that were passed in the closing days of the legislative session.

Toll Roads Approved

One was a bill by Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) authorizing toll roads in Orange County.

County transportation officials already have mapped a 15-mile route from Irvine to San Juan Capistrano through the hills west of the San Diego Freeway as the prime candidate for the first toll road, and construction could begin as soon as 1990. The project would be the first such effort in the state.

Other likely routes include a 17-mile stretch from the Riverside Freeway in Yorba Linda to Interstate 5 in Irvine, known as the Eastern Transportation Corridor, and a 32-mile route, known as the Foothill Corridor, connecting that Eastern Corridor to I-5 in San Clemente.

Seymour said he believed the Orange County delegation had its best performance this session of his five years in the Senate.

“It was a very positive year for the county,” Seymour said. “I think we have begun a momentum, and now we have to keep pushing that ball.”

Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) pushed through a bill that will allow the county to initiate new highway construction and seek reimbursement later by the state or federal government. Because hangups in the timing of state and federal financing have caused frequent delays in highway projects, the legislation was seen as critical for Orange County.

However, Bergeson was unable to win passage for legislation that would have allowed Caltrans to contract with private firms for some engineering and design work on highway construction projects. Bergeson said that bill also would have helped cut down on costly delays.

The bill sailed through the Senate but bogged down in the Assembly when Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) added amendments requiring 15% of the contracts to be awarded to minority businesses and another 5% to businesses owned by women. At that point, the Orange County delegation refused to support the bill.

However, Bergeson expects to renew action on the measure as soon as the Legislature returns to Sacramento in January.

‘Good Job’ for County

“We did a good job for the county,” Bergeson said. “We would lose out if we couldn’t get the contracting-out bill. But the bill is sitting there. It’s not dead. It’s very much alive.”

The problem is that, even if Bergeson’s bill passed early in the next session, it would not take effect until Jan. 1, 1989. Another critical year would contribute to further delays.

Bergeson can try to get the bill passed as an emergency measure, which would make it effective earlier, but that would require approval by two-thirds of the Legislature.

“I’m not optimistic we can accomplish that because there will be some opposition to the bill,” she said.

Bergeson, who is considered a strong contender for the state treasurer’s position left vacant by the death of Jesse Unruh on Aug. 3., said the bill would be carried by someone else if she is no longer in the Senate in January.

Stan Oftelie, executive director of the Orange County Transportation Commission, said the county was a clear winner with transportation-related legislation this year.

“We had an exceptionally ambitious program, and we did very well,” he said.

Oftelie conceded that Bergeson’s contracting bill was a crucial measure, but he agreed out that it would still be around next session.

‘Milestone for Us’

“The toll road bill is a tremendous milestone for us,” he said. “We will move quickly on that. That was the watershed for this year.”

Another long-term victory for the county was getting the state to provide it with its own Department of Transportation district office, severing the county’s ties to the Los Angeles Caltrans office.

After Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra) introduced a bill early in the session creating the office, Deukmejian bowed to pressure from politicians and business leaders and created the new office in April.

Last week, the governor signed legislation by Johnson that provided $4.1 million to staff the new Caltrans district office with 600 employees, many of whom will transfer from the Los Angeles office.

Sen. Ed Royce (R-Anaheim) said that severing ties to the Los Angeles Caltrans district office will allow Orange County top priority on new highway projects.

“Los Angeles’ projects always took priority over Orange County’s needs,” he said. “Now the state funding will go directly to Orange County and we will be able to set our own priorities.”

Royce also emphasized that with the passage of major transportation legislation this year, the county is getting a better share of state revenues.

“A decade ago, we only got about 2.5% of the state funding for transportation. Now it’s a little more than 10%,” he said. “That is a trend that we will continue to push for, especially with our own Caltrans office.”

Oftelie, however, said that state funds for transportation needs are shrinking and the money shortage will become critical.

“We need money in the system, and that will be our main objective next year,” he said. “That will also be a major statewide issue.”

Major Bond Issue

Seymour agreed. He said California voters will have to approve a major bond issue next year in order for the state to pay for much-needed transportation projects.

Seymour is co-authoring legislation with Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside) that calls for a referendum next June in which voters will be asked to approve a $2-billion transportation bond issue.

“Without that, everything comes to a screeching halt,” he said. “The vehicle is in place, but we need the state funds.”

Oftelie said the major transportation legislation the Orange County delegation passed this year will help sell voters on the idea of approving more money for highway construction.

“The strategy for us was to position ourselves to get our share of some of the state revenues that we need,” he said. “But you can’t convince voters to approve more money if you can’t show them how serious the problems are. That’s what we are doing.”

Another priority for the local delegation this year was to get help for the county’s crowded court system. Deukmejian signed legislation giving Orange County an additional five judges, as well as a measure under which it will become one of several counties whose court costs will be assumed by the state in part.

Other court-related legislation signed by the governor included a bill by Bergeson that will allow Orange County to raise $5 million annually for courthouse construction by increasing fines on traffic and parking tickets and from sentenced criminals.

The money will go toward a planned $22-million juvenile court facility in Orange and a $100-million superior court annex in Santa Ana.

Richard Keefe, an analyst for the Orange County Legislative Unit, said the local delegation had won approval for critical bills for the county.

“We haven’t done a scorecard yet, but we’ve done extremely well,” he said. “We got a lot of important bills passed and signed.”