Bill Permitting Secession Vote Advances

One bill that would ease the way for San Fernando Valley secession cleared a key state Senate committee Wednesday, while a second, more controversial measure failed to win favor.

A measure by Assemblymen Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) and Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) passed the Senate Local Government Committee by a 4-0 vote. It calls for the elimination of the veto power of city councils over secession.

The bill will probably move on to the Appropriations Committee before going to the full Senate.

“We’re moving, at least we’re moving,” Hertzberg said after the hearing.

The committee’s failure to act on the second measure, sponsored by Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), almost certainly marks the end of his quest for a bill requiring a two-thirds vote of Valley residents for the area to secede.

That requirement, Cardenas has contended, would ensure that his northeast Valley constituents would have to be included in any secession campaign, not overlooked because of their low turnout at the polls.

But the idea of a Valley-only vote was given up by others months ago because it would prevent the legislation from passing in the Senate.

Moreover, two weeks ago, when secession foe Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) tried to add a provision to also require a two-thirds citywide vote to the Cardenas bill, suspicions arose that the measure could be used by Polanco as the lesser of two evils.

Given the difficulty in getting a two-thirds majority at the polls, secession would be highly unlikely to succeed if such a super-majority was required.

Using the argument that splitting up Los Angeles would pose at least as significant a financial impact as school bond measures that require a two-thirds majority, Cardenas made a second try to add the amendment Wednesday to no avail.

With the Cardenas bill derailed, the stage is set for a Senate showdown on McClintock and Hertzberg’s bill.

Under its provisions, a decision on secession would be made by a majority of voters citywide.

The bill was amended to apply to all of California, not just Los Angeles, as had been the authors’ intent.

Although statewide application was viewed two weeks ago as a “poison pill” amendment that would draw opposition from lawmakers protecting their own cities, the authors say they are now confident of passage.

That confidence was boosted when Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) made a surprise appearance in the committee room to lobby against another change in the bill proposed by Polanco.

Polanco wanted to require a commission study before a secession election, so voters are informed about the impacts.

But proponents of the McClintock-Hertzberg bill saw Polanco’s suggestion as a way to stall a vote by stalling the study.

Polanco’s changes were not adopted by the committee.

Lockyer has indicated the Rules Committee, which he controls, will direct the bill to Appropriations. If the bill clears that committee, it moves to the full Senate for a vote.

Wednesday’s hearing drew two new opponents to the legislation--the League of California Cities and the union that represents city employees.

A representative of the Service Employees International Union asked the senators to put protections for contracts and pensions in the secession bill. No one took them up on their concerns.

But if a coordinated union campaign emerges, it could get the attention of Senate Democrats who generally rely on union support at election time.

Longtime secession opponents Polanco and Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) were not in the room for the vote on the McClintock-Hertzberg bill, but they continued to voice opposition during and after the hearing.

Watson was particularly angry that the city of Los Angeles has abandoned its opposition and now supports the McClintock-Hertzberg bill.

“Don’t you understand your support of the McClintock bill will set a precedent?” Watson asked the city lobbyist. “It really is not a thoughtful way for a city council to move.”

The lobbyist, Leslie McFadden, replied that the council was willing to cede its veto power as long as voters throughout the city have a say on secession.

After the hearing, Polanco said the committee vote “was to be expected,” but he will continue opposing efforts to break up Los Angeles.

He and Watson see the legislation as a way for the more affluent Valley to desert the poorer areas of the city they represent.