Local News in Brief : Vote to Bar Raiders Move

Another bill designed to block the Los Angeles Raiders from moving out of the Coliseum into a proposed new Irwindale stadium was approved 6 to 4 Wednesday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee and sent on to the lower house floor.

The legislation would authorize district attorneys to file lawsuits against cities or special districts to determine if they have exceeded voter-imposed spending limits set in 1979. The bill’s author, Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), charged that Irwindale gave Raiders owner Al Davis $10 million to lure him away from Los Angeles at a time when the city’s budget was just $4 million.

Irwindale city officials do not admit that they have exceeded the spending limit. But if they have, they argue, any excess spending to get the Raiders could be ratified by the local electorate in the future.