Valley Secession Bill Moves to Senate Floor for Possible Vote Today

After two months of legislative wrangling, the bill that would ease the way for the San Fernando Valley to secede from Los Angeles was moved to the state Senate floor Tuesday where it could be voted on as early as today.

State Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) announced the bill’s removal from the Appropriations Committee and arrival on the Senate floor during Tuesday’s afternoon session. He made it clear that he was calling for a floor vote on the bill at the behest of the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills).

Indeed, Boland viewed the upcoming floor vote as a long-awaited victory.

“We’ve won what we wanted from the beginning,” Boland said. “We wanted this bill to go to the floor.”

Boland’s hotly contested bill would remove the veto power of the City Council over requests to leave Los Angeles and form a new city. The veto power, Boland argues, is an insurmountable obstacle to secession.

Los Angeles city officials are opposing the bill.

Most Senate observers, including Lockyer, predict that the bill will be defeated in the Senate. Lockyer has said Boland is two votes shy of the 21 votes needed. Other senators Tuesday, including bill opponents Sens. Richard Polanco and Charles Calderon, both Los Angeles Democrats, said their counts show the bill losing.

Although Boland won’t reveal her vote tally, she said she would rather take her chances on what she calls a “simple democracy bill” than accept unwanted amendments proposed by Lockyer.

After telling Boland that her bill was doomed in the Senate two weeks ago, Lockyer sought to amend it by calling for a $1.2-million state funded blue ribbon commission to study detachment and incorporation law in general and the impact of breaking up Los Angeles specifically.

Lockyer’s proposed amendments also called for a citywide vote on secession rather than a Valley-only vote as Boland prefers.

At that time, Lockyer offered Boland a choice. She could move forward with his amendments and have a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee or take it to the Senate floor as is.

Boland chose a floor vote last week, but Lockyer offered her a chance to reconsider Tuesday morning.

Although a vote could be taken as early as today, the timing of the vote is up to Boland, who must designate a senator to carry her bill. That senator would bring up the Valley secession bill at the optimum time for Boland.

Possible candidates are state Sens. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) or Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley). Another potential candidate, Sen. Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco) said Tuesday he would not carry the bill.

Lockyer has vowed to fight any attempt by Boland to “write the bill on the Senate floor,” saying she had pledged at a Rules Committee meeting to have amendments aired in committee first.

Asked about the pledge, Boland said, “I don’t recall any such conversation.”