California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Butte County Loses Bid on Welfare Costs

The state Supreme Court has refused to order the state government to pay Butte County’s share of welfare costs, prompting a lawyer for the county to warn that radical measures may be needed to stave off bankruptcy. “Proposition 13 is about to result in the death of the first county,” attorney Ephraim Margolin said after the Supreme Court’s action. The court unanimously denied a hearing on Butte County’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that the county’s current financial plight did not excuse it from paying 5.4% of Aid to Families with Dependent Children costs--the share counties must pay under state law. The county says it was particularly hard hit by Proposition 13 because its property tax base was the lowest in the state when the 1978 measure rolled back and froze tax rates and assessments. Butte County supervisors must pass a balanced budget for 1990-91 by Aug. 31.