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n I' . . I " . ,. r;¡. A~?; A STATE-LOCAL PARTNERSHIP? from page 1 ............................ - The Governor indicated his strong willing- Second, the administration is in the midst of ness to work with the Leagl~e and our partners preparing the Governor's revised budget for release to pass a constitutional amei'dment on the in mid-May, and there is growing incentive to recon- November 2004 ballot to prote.::! local revenues. cile the budget with the LOCAL initiative. , ,eague staff He also said his first duty is to restore the discussed this issue with administration r!::presenta- state's fiscal health, and to do that he said he tives and our LOCAL colleagues over the last few needs the help of local governments in reaching weeks, but with the workers compensation debate that goal for two years. underway serious discussions were delayed until just last week. Following that call the League Board of Directors discussed the proposal at its regularly The League Board of Directors was briefed again scheduled meeting in Riverside, April 16-17. April 23 by conference call on the status of the After several hours of discussion and debate, discussions with the administration. No decisions the Board reaffirmed its continued strong were made. support for the just-filed Local Taxpayers and Public Safety Protection Act (the "LOCAL" The Board plans to work diligently over the next initiative), including fundraising for this critical few weeks to evaluate this important opportunity, but campaign, The Board also authorized the its (and the League's) Number 1 priority is the consti- Executive Committee to enter into discussions tutional protection of local revenues. If the proposal at the invitation of the Governor about a Novem- provides the same or better constitutional protection ber 2004 constitutional amendment package as the LOCAL initiative and receives the Governor's that would protect the same local revenues as strong support, the Board will strongly consider it. In the LOCAL initiative and respond to the the meantime, the Board has signaled its commit- - Governor's budget proposals. After discussions ment to move forward with the Local Taxpayers and the Executive Committee may only approve the Public Safety Protection Act. without fail. alternative proposal following consultation with the Board of Directors, In fact, a number of fundraising events for the campaign are scheduled next week. Why Did This Happen Now? League General Assembly: Details to Follow As stories about the discussions with the Soon administration began to appear in papers around the state, many questions have arisen Today League board members also supported a among city officials: Why deal with the state recommendation of the Executive Committee to hold now, when the LOCAL initiative just turned in a special meeting of the League General Assembly in 1.1 million signatures? Why accept the idea of Sacramento, associated with the LOCAL Legislative state takeaways of local revenues, when the Action Days. The League Board of Directors will LOCAL initiative is all about preventing that from present details of any proposed agreement with the happening? What would happen to the LOCAL state, ensuring that members are able to get an- initiative? Would it come off the ballot? swers to their many questions. Delegates from member cities will be asked to vote to ratify any First, the presence of the LOCAL initiative proposed agreement. A special notice will be sent out on the November 2004 ballot is assured be- about this meeting in the next few days regarding the cause we filed enough signatures last Friday, scheduling and agenda, April 16. It will be on the ballot. Nothing can change that fact now, - Continued on Page 5 Visit the League's Official Web Site--www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUSIPAGE 3