Legislators Get Clinton Vow of Help for State : Economy: The President warns that he can do little to stop closures of military bases. But California lawmakers are heartened by his understanding of the state’s economic distress.

President Clinton, shadowed by worries over the California economy and the potentially explosive federal trial in the Rodney G. King case, met with members of the California Legislature Wednesday and promised help for the state. But he warned that he can do little to prevent closure of more military bases.

California lawmakers said afterward they were heartened by some of what they heard and were impressed by the new President, yet left the hourlong meeting with no assurances that the state can avoid the looming closure of nine military installations.

California and its problems have been a major preoccupation for the President and his top advisers--not least because of the state’s central role in the electoral coalition that put Clinton into office.

The concern at the White House over California’s condition has been heightened in recent days by worries about the possibility of violence connected with the King case, aides say. Clinton has closely followed accounts of the trial testimony, and Administration officials have had several meetings to ensure coordination of federal action in case of trouble. They also have met to discuss ways to send more money to needy neighborhoods in Los Angeles and other Southern California communities.

“We’re trying to figure out what we can do in the short term” to reduce the tensions that contributed to last year’s riots, says one senior White House aide. “But a lot of the solutions take a long time.”

At the same time, however, officials concede that some Administration policies, particularly continued cuts in the defense budget, are bound to inflict more pain on the state--at least in the near future.

Base closures were at the top of the list of problems that legislators confronted Clinton with during the private meeting, according to White House aides. Both Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and state Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys) appealed to Clinton to spare the state from further cuts, arguing that California had been disproportionately hit by the last round of base closures.

But Clinton offered little hope, explaining at considerable length that under the law governing base closures he has no power to adjust the list of bases to be closed and does not even see the formal list until July. “There’s not much he can do in the meantime,” said White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers.

Meeting with reporters after the meeting, Roberti tried to cast the discussion in the most favorable light.

“It was a very productive meeting with President Clinton,” Roberti said. “We heard the most encouraging words we’ve heard all week.”

True to form, Clinton apparently dazzled the delegation with his mastery of detail.

“He was extremely knowledgeable about issues confronting California,” Roberti said. “He was very understanding of the state’s plight. These weren’t the kind of ‘done-deal’ comments we got from lower Administration officials earlier in the trip.”

Yet Roberti and Assembly Majority Leader Tom Hannigan conceded that they received no assurances from Clinton about saving any of the California bases. “He didn’t specifically promise any changes,” Roberti recalled.

Hannigan said Clinton “cautioned that it’s not a case of expecting them all to be left open. We got a serious feeling that list would be looked at again . . . He said our best shot was the public input time of the process,” referring to public hearings the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission is expected to hold before making its recommendations by July 1.

Members of the delegation received an even blunter warning earlier in the day from Deputy Secretary of Defense William Perry, who told them that further base closures in the state were all but inevitable, Administration officials said.

Clinton did offer the delegation some good news, promising that he would push for full funding of a federal law designed to help out states with the costs of handling large numbers of illegal immigrants. The law provides fewer funds than Gov. Pete Wilson has sought, but would give California considerably more aid than it has received in the past year.

Clinton also urged the legislators to support his overall economic program, telling them that his high-technology initiatives and programs aimed at helping the health and education of children would both provide considerable assistance to the state.

Nonetheless, the issue of base closings dominated the final day of the legislators’ tour of Washington. In remarks after the formal press conference, Roberti made it clear that the state’s congressional delegation would be held responsible if the base-closing list--with its nine California bases--became official as feared.

“We really expect this huge delegation to get results,” Roberti said. “We want our 54-member delegation to do just as well as the smaller delegation from Texas does with theirs. It’s a wonderment that Texas has no bases removed and California got hit so hard. That makes you scratch your head.”

But Roberti said he was pleased with the effort the congressional delegation had put out, “especially the freshmen senators.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) spoke briefly on the Senate floor Wednesday in support of her colleague, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has called for a moratorium on base closings in states with high unemployment like California’s. The senators are also backing a resolution urging the base closure commission to place greater emphasis on the economic impact the shutdowns will have on the surrounding communities.

As Friday’s official announcement drew nearer, House members began mentioning more often that Aspin’s decision is just the first step in a long process.

“The President said that Aspin has a difficult job but that he wasn’t going to interfere at that level,” said Hannigan.