Davis Signs Bill Funding Harbor Secession Study

Gov. Gray Davis has signed legislation providing state funds to pay for a study of the possible secession of three communities from the city of Los Angeles.

The funds--$320,000--will cover 80% of the cost of the study on San Pedro, Wilmington and part of Harbor City. The city and the county of Los Angeles will split the $80,000 balance of the $400,000 study, to be conducted by the Local Agency Formation Commission.

The study--which would look at whether a proposed harbor area city could survive economically, without financially harming Los Angeles--is required, along with commission approval, before the new cityhood issue can be put to voters.

“It is important for this study to take place,” said Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), co-author of the legislation. “Only then will we know if it makes sense for [residents of] the harbor area to form their own city.”

Lowenthal noted that the study funding formula--80% by the state and 10% each by the city and county--follows the pattern set by earlier legislation that provided $1.8 million in state money for a feasibility study of the much larger secession effort in the San Fernando Valley.

Secession leaders want to have the studies done simultaneously in hopes they can go before voters on the same ballot.

“The governor recognized this as a basic fairness issue, given his support of the San Fernando Valley secession study,” Lowenthal said, adding that Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) played a crucial role in securing the funds by signing on as joint author of the legislation.