$91 Million in Quake Aid Overwhelmingly Approved

The Legislature Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a $91-million package of emergency financial aid for victims of the Oct. 1 Southern California earthquake, including $10,000 grants for homeowners, tax breaks, and low-interest loans to rehabilitate their damaged dwellings.

The legislation, an open-ended disaster relief package that could cost far more than $91 million when the damage is ultimately totaled, was sent to Gov. George Deukmejian on a series of mostly unanimous roll calls in the Senate and Assembly.

Deukmejian, who called the Legislature back from its fall recess to draft the earthquake relief program, is expected to sign the six-bill package later in the week.

The Legislature, which began meeting in special session Monday, adjourned until January after passing the last of the bills. Shortly before adjournment, Deukmejian, under pressure from lawmakers, added victims of last summer’s Northern California wildfires to the list of aid recipients.

Just how long it will take to get the money into the hands of earthquake victims remains to be seen.

Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra), author of one of the bills, said, “We hope to have the program in place in 30 days.”

The program is chiefly designed to help earthquake victims whose losses are not covered by existing federal or state programs. The city of Whittier bore the brunt of the damage from the quake, but the damage zone stretched from the San Gabriel Valley to northeast Orange County.

Calderon, noting that the program is intended to help those Californians who ordinarily would not be eligible for government assistance, told reporters that “some will be made whole, depending upon how they meet the various criteria. I believe that (most) people will be made nearly whole.”

The relief package, which closely followed the program proposed by Deukmejian, was carried by Sens. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights), Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) and Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk) and by Assemblymen Frank Hill (R-Whittier), Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) and Calderon.

Passage of the bills was accompanied by a flurry of last-minute amendments that left some lawmakers complaining that the Legislature was moving too quickly. Negotiations went through Monday night, and the finishing touches were not put on the package until Tuesday morning.

As originally drafted, the package of six bills carried a price tag of $137 million in the Assembly, while the Senate estimated the costs at $110 million.

Amendments brought the price tag down to $91 million, although the appropriation is open-ended, meaning that it can increase over its three-year life span, and the ultimate cost could be higher.

The package was put together in the form of what government officials call a “continuous appropriation.” In this case, it means that the state is committed to provide funding for the program as long as applications are made and property owners are considered eligible.

Disagree on Estimates

Calderon said damage estimates are difficult to pin down. “We don’t know what the total damage is. We can’t get reliable estimates,” he said.

However, Assemblyman Hill, one of the chief Republican negotiators, disagreed. “We have very firm estimates. We think the total cost (to the state) will be right about $90 million,” he said.

No matter how it shakes down, the federal government will assume most of the costs of the disaster, which state officials say could total at least $358 million in damage to public and private property.

Throughout the two-day special session, legislators complained constantly that California lacks a comprehensive program to deal with earthquake disasters. They called it regrettable that the Legislature must be called into session to provide relief on a piecemeal basis.

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) said developing such a plan should be a top priority item when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Roberti said the state must be prepared for what he called the “Goodby California Earthquake,” a quake of extraordinary magnitude that some scientists predict is certain to occur some day.

‘Most Judicious Use?’

A Republican analysis of the Calderon bill granting low-interest loans of up to $20,000 said very wealthy people could receive the taxpayer-subsidized loans and questioned whether this is “the most judicious use of taxpayer funds.”

The analysis also noted that “there is no effective cap on the amount of money which may be borrowed from the new state program.”

While most of the bills passed unanimously, the Calderon bill received seven no votes.

One of the no votes was cast by Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge). “I am not against providing assistance to people who need it. I just don’t think this is the best way to do it,” she said.

Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) tried unsuccessfully to add legislation to the earthquake relief package to provide $20 million in additional financial aid to Los Angeles County’s financially ailing network of trauma care hospitals. Deukmejian has previously vetoed legislative efforts to add extra financial aid for trauma centers, contending that counties are receiving enough state funding to support the emergency care facilities.

“Isn’t this entire special session about emergency care? If it is about emergency care, if it is about how we respond to emergencies . . . , doesn’t it make sense that we somehow first of all put the dollars with the people, to the basic saving of life?” he said.

The bill failed on a 36-26 partisan vote, far short of the 54 it needed for approval. Republicans, supporting the governor’s position, voted against it.

HELP FOR QUAKE VICTIMS

Under measures approved Tuesday by the Legislature, several forms of aid would be available to property owners and renters, as well as to government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Grants: Families and individuals who suffered an uninsured loss from the earthquake would be eligible for state grants of up to $10,000, in addition to existing federal grants of $5,000. These grants would primarily serve as a last resort for quake victims who cannot qualify for federal low-interest loans. The state grants could be used to pay for clothing, furnishings, appliances, public transportation, medical and dental services and funeral expenses resulting from the earthquake. The grants would be processed through disaster assistance centers established by the state and federal governments in affected areas. A total of $10 million would be made available for these grants.

Deferred, Low-interest Loans: The state would provide a total of $15 million for low-interest loans to rebuild housing damaged by the earthquake. Half of the money would be available for loans to homeowners with low or moderate incomes. The remaining $7.5 million would be available for loans to owners of rental housing that is to be occupied by low-income tenants after it is rebuilt. A rate of 3% interest would be charged on the loans. Payments would be deferred for five years or until the property is sold.

Property Tax Relief: Owners whose property suffered damage in the earthquake or in the summer’s rash of forest fires would be able to delay payment of their property taxes until April 10, 1988, without paying a penalty. This would allow county assessors time to reassess damaged property. To be eligible for the deferral, a homeowner’s loss would have to exceed $5,000, or 10% of the value of the property, whichever is less. For all other property owners, the loss would have to be at least 20% of the value of the property.

Income Tax Break: Victims of the earthquake and forest fires would be able to write off their losses against their state income taxes over a period of up to five years. This would apply only if their losses exceeded their taxable income this year.

Government Buildings, Schools and Nonprofit Agencies: State grants would be provided for rebuilding damaged buildings owned by public and nonprofit agencies. Damage to these buildings is estimated at about $100 million. The state would cover up to 60%, while the federal government would pay the remaining 40%. Included in the bill would be $34.5 million for cities, counties and special districts, $10.2 million for school districts, $13.5 million for California State University, $1.8 million for community colleges, $1.8 million for other state facilities and $2.5 million for private nonprofit agencies.

Where to Apply for Aid: People who have not yet applied for aid should contact the nearest “one-stop” disaster aid center. The two centers--one in Whittier Quad Mall, 8442 Quad Way, Whittier, and another at Harvard Recreation Center, 1535 West 62nd St., Los Angeles--are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Those who already have applied for disaster aid need not reapply, officials said. Those who filed the more than 20,000 applications already under review will be notified if they qualify for any of the additional financial aid. It is not known how long the reviews will take.

Quake victims who have questions about the additional loans or grants, or who want information on the deferred property tax program or the federal income tax casualty loss provisions, should call the OES disaster hot line, 1-800-338-7693, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday.