Bill to Divide Judicial District Has Little Import for O.C. : Courts: House-passed legislation would benefit Riverside and San Bernardino counties if it becomes law.

House-passed legislation dividing the Central Judicial District of California into three parts will have little effect in Orange County and falls far short of the long-sought goal of creating a separate federal jurisdiction for the area, officials said Tuesday.

The legislation, approved Monday by a voice vote, mainly benefits the Inland Empire counties of San Bernardino and Riverside by permitting construction of a new federal courthouse to serve the growing population there. The bill, however, provides no funds for courthouse construction or new federal judgeships.

Congress previously authorized federal judges to sit in Orange County, and they have held court for several years in crowded, temporary quarters in downtown Santa Ana. Last year, Congress approved construction of an $80-million federal courthouse for Orange County to replace the temporary facilities.

The new legislation, authored by Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Colton), must be approved by the Senate and signed by President Bush before it becomes law.

Brown’s bill would separate California’s central federal judicial district, which comprises seven counties, into eastern, western and southern divisions.

The existing federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles would continue to handle most cases from Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, while the new Santa Ana courthouse would take care of most Orange County cases. The bill for the first time would permit federal judges to sit in the cities of San Bernardino or Riverside.

“This is authorization to sit, and it’s authorization to seek appropriations to build a federal courthouse” to serve the growing population of the Inland Empire, said Bill Goold, a spokesman for Brown.

A spokesman for Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), who has sought to create a separate judicial district for Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said the new bill “doesn’t take care of the real problem because the same caseloads will all be there; it’s the same district, and it’s the same power base and bureaucracy.”

“It’s like having a branch office of a bank,” added Dannemeyer press secretary Paul Mero. “You still send your check to the main office even though you get to hand it to the branch.”

Judge Manuel Real, who presides over central district, has long opposed splitting the district in two. However, Real supported Brown’s bill to create three divisions within the central district.

The Brown legislation “allows Manny Real to maintain his power base and yet kind of quenches the thirst of those out in Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” Mero said. “Orange County had its branch office already authorized.”

Separate House and Senate 1993 appropriations bills have set aside $3.96 million for design and preliminary construction work on the Orange County federal court complex, which may include other federal offices. The 1993 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The Senate, in legislation appropriating funds for the Treasury, Postal Service and general government functions, has approved an additional $5 million for the courthouse for unspecified purposes.

The funding bills must go to a House-Senate conference committee for resolution and then win the approval of President Bush before they become law.

Times staff writer Matt Lait in Orange County contributed to this report.