Secession Bill Advances to State Senate Floor

SACRAMENTO —  After an intense day of lobbying and with no votes to spare, the bill that would pave the way for San Fernando Valley secession cleared its last committee hurdle Tuesday and moved to the state Senate floor for consideration.

The measure--which removes the veto power of city councils over secession efforts--could be voted on as early as Friday.

But it is more likely the bill will be taken up next week, giving its authors time to line up support.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), co-author with Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) of the bill.

That caution is the result of newly intense opposition to the bill from the League of California Cities, as well as individual municipalities such as San Jose.

They oppose AB62 because it was amended in the Senate Local Government Committee over the authors’ objections to apply statewide, not just to Los Angeles.

The amendment that angered opponents was the work of Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), who is against the bill in any form.

Polanco correctly predicted statewide application of the bill would galvanize opposition from other cities, who fear secession might appeal to some of their residents.

The amendment’s impact was apparent Tuesday as lobbying efforts by the League of California Cities and some of its members came close to stalling the bill in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“We don’t appreciate the dismantling of the major urban centers of the state,” said Roxanne Miller, lobbyist for San Jose, in an interview.

But the bill squeaked through the committee, 7 to 3, after Sen. David Kelley (R-Idyllwild) changed his vote to “yes” on the fifth round of voting over a five-hour period.

Without seven votes, the bill would have been stalled in committee, though there were other maneuvers that could have been employed to keep it afloat.

Kelley had initially voted “no” based on opposition from cities in his district, he told proponents.

He could not be reached for comment on why he changed his vote.

The bill had come tantalizingly close to passing early Tuesday, when the first vote was 5 to 1.

Voting yes initially were: Sens. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado), Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton), Tim Leslie (R-Carnelian Bay) and Richard Mountjoy (R-Arcadia).

Seven votes are needed to pass the bill along.

Six committee members were not present for the hearing, but under the rules could add their votes later.

After the initial committee vote, proponents and opponents of the bill scattered through the corridors of the Capitol to lobby the absent members.

Hertzberg and McClintock were joined in their effort by Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), a longtime friend of the legislation, and Leslie McFadden, the lobbyist for the city of Los Angeles.

In midday, the roll was called again and Sen. Chuck Calderon (D-Whittier) became the sixth vote for the secession bill.

Later in the afternoon, Sens. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), whose district includes San Jose, and Sen. Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), joined the opponents.

They told Hertzberg and McClintock they were following the wishes of the cities in their districts.

Three committee members--Sens. Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and John Burton (D-San Francisco)--ducked the vote altogether. One, Sen. Ralph Dills (D-El Segundo), was ill.

Karnette, who was lobbied heavily by both sides, was in a bind because the cities in her district were divided on the bill.

“It’s hard when you have friends on both sides,” she told one lobbyist, who had corralled her as she left the hearing room.

Finally, as the committee prepared to adjourn, Chairman Sen. Patrick Johnston went through the pending bills again, as Hertzberg moved about the committee table hoping to get the last needed vote.

“Hallelujah! On to the floor,” he said after Kelley had switched sides.

Hertzberg and McClintock earlier sidestepped a less desirable option--that their bill be sent to the “suspense file,” which was recommended by committee staff members.

That’s a sort of legislative limbo in which appropriations bills await an end-of-the-session decision by the leadership of the Senate on which of the bills will be funded.

Even though Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) is an advocate for the bill, putting it in the end-of-session pile is considered risky.

Instead, with Lockyer’s help, McClintock removed the appropriations from the bill to keep it from being eligible for the “suspense file.”

While there was some sentiment at the hearing to shed the amendment that makes the bill apply statewide, the authors resisted that change. It would have delayed their progress, which could have spelled disaster so near the close of the session.