Planners of State Bash for Birthday Are Assailed

California’s official celebration to mark the state’s 150th birthday came under fire Tuesday from angry lawmakers wary about funneling more taxpayer money into an effort that even supporters say has stumbled badly.

At an oversight hearing, Assembly members voiced strong reservations about whether they should go along with a request from Gov. Pete Wilson to set aside nearly another $1 million for the program. Previously, $2.3 million was budgeted for the birthday festivities, which began this year.

Although no recommendation was made Tuesday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle acknowledged that the future of the official, three-year commemoration of statehood and the discovery of gold is in jeopardy and may need to be scaled back because of poor administration.

“I don’t think this program should be jettisoned, but it is darn close,” said Assemblyman Mike Machado (D-Linden), who chaired the oversight hearing.

The three-hour hearing reviewed the administration of the California Gold Discovery to Statehood Sesquicentennial Commission and a parallel nonprofit foundation established to raise corporate contributions. Both groups were established four years ago by Wilson.

The commemoration was intended to unify Californians by spotlighting the state’s unique history.

Instead, state officials concede, the effort has lacked focus and has faced nearly as rough a road as that encountered by the pioneers trying to get over the Sierra Nevada to the gold fields.

Machado said the core of the problem is the nonprofit foundation, which is the commission’s fund-raising arm. The foundation has raised only about $200,000--far below expectations.

The group had been expected to raise millions of dollars to finance a variety of events, from tall ships visiting state ports to a world championship gold-panning contest planned for this fall in Coloma, near where James Marshall discovered gold 150 years ago.

Instead, Machado said, the foundation spent state funds frivolously. Machado cited $12,000 in public funds spent for a 1997 kickoff party in Monterey that included $775 for “herald trumpeters,” and another $10,000 to renovate its Los Angeles office.

Wilson administration officials didn’t dispute the figures, but indicated that seed money sometimes needs to be spent to attract private donations. The foundation has received about $350,000 in seed money from the state, according to legislative aides.

“Clearly, these individuals haven’t gotten the best return possible for the state’s investment,” said Sean Walsh, Wilson’s press secretary.

The commission is chaired by State Librarian Kevin Starr, a noted California history scholar, and includes the governor’s wife, Gayle.

Walsh noted that the commission did help organize a major event in January in Coloma to observe Marshall’s gold discovery and has sponsored other celebrations.

Some lawmakers grumbled that tiny Sierra Nevada foothill communities were ignored by state officials planning the festivities although the communities were critical in shaping the state’s destiny after gold was discovered.

Machado gave the Wilson administration three weeks to come up with a satisfactory plan to salvage the birthday and gold rush commemoration. At that time, he will hold another oversight hearing.

Starr expressed hope that the hearing would prompt a “mid-course adjustment” in plans for the commemoration.

Starr and others complained about the difficulties in raising funds from private sources.

He said that some big companies simply aren’t interested in history, and are instead focused on the future and the interests of young consumers.

The hearing by Machado’s Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee was sparked by a recent report by a joint legislative task force, which said the commission was late in getting organized, made some questionable expenditures of public funds and missed opportunities to raise private donations.

Shortly before the report was issued, the commission’s executive director resigned.

The Sesquicentennial Commission was the latest target of a joint legislative task force, which was set up a year ago by Democratic legislative leaders to scrutinize the way that state agencies spend public funds.

The task force increasingly has become a thorn in the Wilson administration’s side as it has questioned state expenditures on a range of items, from a consumer hotline to water purification in San Diego.

Recently, Wilson aides urged state departments not to cooperate with the task force. Walsh assailed the task force as a partisan tool--a charge denied by Democrats.

But last week Walsh indicated that the administration would comply with the task force’s requests for information.

“We’re not backpedaling. We think there’s partisan politics here . . . but we will simply do our jobs,” Walsh said.