Council Rejects Rush Vote on Secession Bill
Due to a technicality, the Los Angeles City Council failed to vote Tuesday on whether to oppose state legislation that would make it easier for the San Fernando Valley to secede and form its own city.
The bill by Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills) would take away the power of the council to veto any request to secede from the city, a stipulation that was added to state law the last time the Valley tried to form its own city in the 1970s.
Councilman Nate Holden, an opponent of the Boland bill, issued an urgency request, asking the council to vote to oppose the bill before the Assembly takes a vote sometime next month.
The urgency request, known as a “rule 16 motion,” allows the council to vote on an issue before it has been considered by a council committee.
But the council voted 9 to 5 to take up the “rule 16 motion,” falling one vote short of the 10 votes needed to consider the matter.
Voting against Holden’s motion were council members Joel Wachs, Richard Alarcon, Laura Chick, Hal Bernson and Rudy Svorinich, Jr.
The matter was sent to the council’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
