Assembly OKs Valley Secession Bill

The Assembly passed a bill Thursday that would remove the Los Angeles City Council’s veto power over secession requests, but the measure could face an uncertain future in the Senate.

The bipartisan bill (AB 62) passed 74 to 1. Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) cast the lone dissenting vote.

“There is now a virtually universal recognition that communities have a right to decide for themselves what kind of community government they’re going to have,” said Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Granada Hills), co-sponsor of the bill. “People have a right to change governments which they feel are no longer serving them.”

The vote is the latest chapter in the bill’s long, contentious history. Initially introduced by former San Fernando Valley Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland, the bill was rejected by a state Senate committee the final night of the legislative session last summer.

A day after being sworn into office, McClintock reintroduced the bill, unchanged. But a compromise reached last month between McClintock and Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) resolved a hotly debated issue over who would be allowed to vote on secession, and paved the way for Thursday’s vote.

McClintock and Hertzberg agreed to co-sponsor a bill that would allow for a citywide vote rather than limit the matter to San Fernando Valley voters.

“The important thing is that this was a bipartisan effort,” Hertzberg said. “We were able to get together and work out the differences. It’s just incredible compared to where we were last year.”

Locally, supporters praised the Assembly’s vote and said the success was the result of a collective effort that included residents of several communities outside the Valley.

“We’ve [used] the time between last year’s defeat and the time this bill was reintroduced to lobby and recruit more support in the Valley and citywide,” said Jeff Brain, co-chairman of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment.

After the Boland bill was defeated, the Alliance for Self-Determination was organized to include non-Valley residents with similar views. The group includes residents of areas such as Eagle Rock, San Pedro, South-Central Los Angeles and Westchester.

“All these areas recognize this is not just a Valley effort,” Brain said. “This is in their best interest. It’s the way to hold our elected officials accountable.”

Predicting that the bill will have a tough time in the Senate, Valley VOTE and the alliance will continue encouraging citizens and community groups to call and write letters supporting the bill, Brain said.

“We’re not letting down our efforts. In fact, we’ll probably be picking up,” he said.

In the Senate, another secession bill moved a step closer to passage last month. Sponsored by President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), that measure (SB 176) passed the Rules Committee on a 4-1 vote.

In addition to a citywide vote, Lockyer’s bill calls for a study of the impact of secession.

Lockyer press secretary Sandy Harrison said the vote Thursday would not affect the senator’s bill.

“Our bill is a better bill, and it will move ahead,” Harrison said. “[The Assembly measure] does not include . . . a study of the effects of secession. We think those are real problems with it.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to act on the bill in late May, he said.

Hertzberg said he did not know how much support the Assembly measure has in the Senate, but the legislator was confident that a secession bill would be passed.

“I’ve had a number of lengthy meetings with Mr. Lockyer, and we’re working together,” Hertzberg said. “I think we’re going to get a bill and the governor is going to sign it.”