Senate Panel to Take Key Vote on Bill to Ease Valley Secession

A pivotal vote on a bill that could set the stage for a San Fernando Valley secession movement--or stop it in its tracks--will be cast today by a seven-member state Senate committee.

Neither side would predict victory or concede defeat late Tuesday, but a bare majority of four committee members appears to favor the bill.

“The bottom line is we’re not giving up,” said Los Angeles lobbyist Norm Boyer. “We think we have a shot at stopping it.” Even so, state senators from Los Angeles seeking to defeat the bill are already girding for a floor fight.

“I’m still really cautiously optimistic,” said the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills). The Boland bill, which passed the Assembly in May and has caused a furor in the Valley as well as at City Hall, removes the the Los Angeles City Council’s veto power over proposals to break away from the city.

City Councilmen Hal Bernson and Rudy Svorinich are among those who will testify for the bill at a hearing before the senate’s Local Government Committee. The council, which voted 8 to 6 to oppose the measure, is sending council President John Ferraro and Controller Rick Tuttle to speak against the legislation.

If opponents can’t defeat the measure outright, they want to amend it to allow everyone in Los Angeles to vote on secession, not just Valley residents. Another amendment to make the law apply statewide is also expected. Such an amendment could hurt the measure’s chances of passage in the full Senate because legislators from other parts of the state would have to consider its impact on their own districts.

Times staff writer Hugo Martin contributed to this story from Los Angeles.