Riordan-Backed Bill to Reform MTA OKd by Assembly Panel
A bill pushed by Mayor Richard Riordan to reform Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority passed its first legislative test in Sacramento on Monday.
The legislation was approved on a bipartisan 10-2 vote by the Assembly Transportation Committee.
The bill would replace the 13-member MTA board with a nine-member panel of non-elected appointees. It was introduced by Assemblyman Steve Kuykendall (R-Long Beach) at the request of Riordan, who has said the reform measure would “take the politics out of the MTA.”
A Riordan aide called the vote “a great first step.” Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) and a former MTA board member voted against the bill.
“I think there’s bipartisan concern for what’s going on at the MTA,” he said. “I’m not sure this bill addresses the problem.”
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