Secession Study Aid Is Vetoed

A last-minute amendment to the state budget meant to help fund a study of the proposed secession of the San Fernando Valley from Los Angeles was vetoed Friday by Gov. Pete Wilson.

The amendment would have provided $340,000 toward a study of Valley secession by the Local Agency Formation Commission. Wilson blue-penciled the amendment because it would have provided state money to address a regional concern, he said in a statement accompanying the veto.

The veto was one of dozens of items rejected by the governor, who is crossing out most appropriations that were not part of the bipartisan budget agreement reached earlier this month.

Because Wilson has voiced support for a plan to put the question of Valley secession before the city’s voters, supporters said they expected him to approve the measure even though it was not part of the budget package.

“I was really surprised,” said Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), who had pushed hard for the bill. “Everyone in California has a stake in Los Angeles and its future. To me, this is clearly of statewide concern.”

It is not clear, however, whether the governor’s action will have much impact on the secession movement, which remains in its early stages and may not need outside funding for the study.

The study, estimated to cost about $1 million, would be conducted by LAFCO and would examine the financial and social impact on the region of the Valley’s incorporation as a separate city.

Under California law, the report would be required only if secession proponents are able to gather 135,000 signatures from registered voters within a legally prescribed period--now set at three months, but legislation for an additional three months has been approved by the state Senate.

Typically, the commission pays for such studies itself--but an in-depth look at the complex issues surrounding the Valley’s detachment from L.A. would most likely be unusually expensive. And secession proponents worry the commission would ask them to foot the bill.

“The legal responsibility [for payment] is a gray area,” said Richard Close, who sits on the commission and is also chairman of Valley VOTE, which favors putting the question of secession before the electorate. The commission has discussed who would pay for a secession study, but has made no decision, he said.

The appropriation vetoed by Wilson would have reimbursed the commission for one-third of the cost--but only if the city and county of Los Angeles had agreed to kick in the remaining two-thirds.

Wilson’s veto “puts us back where we were a week or 10 days ago--not knowing where the money was coming from,” Close said. “If it had been signed by the governor, we would have been well on our way.”