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LEG ACTION DAYS from page 2 ....................................... Assemblymember Lloyd Levine, chair of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, spoke about AB 2987, a telecommunications reform measure opposed by the League that Levine is co-sponsoring with Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. Levine remained after his address to hear concerns expressed by members of the League's ethnic diversity caucuses about the bill's lack of stringent protections against red-lining. "Here's what it comes down to," said Los Angeles councilmember Tony Cardenas, a mem- ber of the League's Latino Caucus. "We support competition, but only if it leads to fairness - better access to video and broadband services for all neighborhoods and all businesses." Levine stressed that both he and the Speaker are working together with local officials to address their concerns. Other speakers at the event included Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, who spoke about the infrastructure package, and Assembly Budget Chair John Laird, who talked about the May Revise to the budget. State Transportation, Housing Officials Discuss Bonds Legislative Action Days continued on May 18, with League President and Los Angeles councilmember Alex Padilla opened the session. Commenting on the success of the previous day's meetings, Padilla stressed that the League would continue to succeed legislatively if members kept working together. He emphasized that there was much work yet to be done. "We have many challenges on the horizon," the League President said. "While the state infrastruc- ture package is a great start, we know we will need more tools at the local level to fund local services and infrastructure. We also need to continue to work to ensure that our communities get a fair deal on telecom reform and... establish a permanent source of funding for affordable housing." "It is our unity that has made us strong, and our unity will make us stronger," Padilla con- cluded. Padilla then introduced Terry Abbott, division chief, Local Assistance, of the California Depart- ment of Transportation. Abbott gave an overview of the infrastructure bond package, detailing how funds would be allotted, ifthe infrastructure bond package is passed by voters in November. Lynn Jacobs, director of the California Depart- ment of Housing and Community Development (HCD), next addressed the group. She stressed that her goal for the department is to work to- gether with local officials to build more housing. "This is my one-month anniversary [since assuming the position of HCD Director], and I want you to know my goal is to help you produce more housing, not to get in the way of you doing so," Jacobs explained. The new HCD Director also commented on some of the new affording housing programs that would be established if the infrastructure bond package is passed by voters. She said that her intent is to work with the League and other orga- nizations to establish stakeholder groups that will consult with the department on how best to prioritize projects that can be funded by the new bond. "We want to be able to tell the Legislature what works in the field and work with you to find out where the money is best spent," Jacobs said. "My main reason in being here today is to ask for your support as we work to build more housing. We have to make sure the people of California are safely and adequately housed." The session closed with a briefing by League Deputy Director Dwight Stenbakken on the status of AB 2987 negotiations with the authors and their staff. Visit the League's Official Website--www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS - PAGE 3 May 19, 2006 - Issue #20