Citizens’ Panel a Key Part of Measure M

A key provision of Measure M on the Nov. 7 ballot in Orange County would establish a nine-member citizens’ panel to ensure that proceeds from a proposed half-cent sales tax will be spent on the transportation projects listed in the measure.

Supporters of the countywide sales tax measure say the panel is the voters’ guarantee that they will get what they approved in Measure M, that no change in spending priorities can occur without a two-thirds vote of its nine members.

But critics charge that the committee’s only power to enforce those spending priorities is by alerting the news media to any problems or urge voters to file lawsuits.

How would committee members be selected, and what would they do?

According to the ordinance that accompanies Measure M, there must be at least one member of the committee appointed from each of the county’s supervisorial districts, with no more than two members from any one district.

Members would be recommended by the Orange County Grand Jurors Assn., an organization of former Orange County grand jurors that already has contracted with the Orange County Transportation Commission to perform this role.

The five former grand jurors already named by their association to screen candidates for the citizens’ committee are Ginger Reed, David Bunch and Henry Klipstein, all of Santa Ana, Stan Viall of Anaheim and Valerie Ransom of Irvine, a past president of the group. There are five alternates.

The grand jury association’s panel would solicit and review applicants for citizens’ committee membership. No currently elected or appointed public official is eligible. Key qualifications are an interest and a history of participation in community activities, especially related to transportation.

The screening panel would recommend at least three, but no more than five candidates from each supervisorial district.

The chairman of the Orange County Transportation Commission then would hold a public drawing, where names of the recommended applicants would be put in a hopper. Initial terms would be staggered from one to three years during the 20-year life of the half-cent sales tax.

Under Measure M, any changes in project spending must be reviewed, then ratified by a two-thirds vote of the citizens’ committee. The panel must also review local growth management plans. Under Measure M, the citizens’ panel may not determine the adequacy of any component in a city’s growth management plan--only that the checklist of required elements has been fulfilled. But failure to fulfill the requirements is punishable by withholding sales tax revenue.

The citizens’ committee also has the power to call public hearings to determine whether the County Transportation Commission is following the mandate set out in Measure M, and can issue reports on the progress of transportation projects.

It also has the authority to hire outside consultants to conduct performance audits, and if two-thirds of the panelists agree, it can ask the commission to explain any deviation from Measure M.