Local News in Brief : Senate Panel OKs Davis’ Bill to Change Way Cities Are Born

Astate Senate committee Wednesday approved an amended version of a bill that would reform the government agency that oversees cityhood incorporation and dramatically alter the method by which cities are formed.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the measure, sponsored by Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), 7 to 1. It would give the state more control of Local Agency Formation Commissions.

The measure is scheduled to be voted on by the Senate before June 10, officials said.

Davis has said that LAFCOs have abused the incorporation process. He said there were such abuses in Calabasas and Santa Clarita.

Los Angeles County’s LAFCO cut in half the 95-square-mile city that Santa Clarita cityhood advocates had proposed, Davis said. And it denied Calabasas residents an opportunity to vote on incorporation because commissioners said the new city would not be solvent, Davis noted.

Davis’ legislation would require the hiring of an independent consultant to conduct feasibility studies for proposed cities. The measure calls for LAFCO offices to be housed in county buildings.

The legislation originally was written to switch the source of LAFCO funding from counties to the state. But Davis eliminated that part of the bill because state funding would not be immediately available.