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Io.A-z Save Our Local Services. That's the message city officials and other local partners need to share with their legislatom. The League and its LOCAL coalition partners issued an action alert earlier this week to hundreds of organizations and individuals asking members to call, write or ernail their Senators and Assembly Members before the special legislative session begins December 9m. To find a full copy of this alert, and access talking points in the League's new Advocacy Center (see details below), go to www.cacities.ora/budaet. THE LEAGUE'S NEW ADVOCACY CENTEPc "JUST IX) IT!" One of the critical factors to succeeding in Sacramento is organization and mobilization. City officials will find it easier to get involved with the League's new Web site Advocacy Center. It will provide the latest information on key issues, as well as talking points, letters, e-mails, and more. Just visit www.cacities.ora/advocacvcenter to see this exciting feature. Once there, it's as easy as entering your zip code to find your elected officials, their biographies, distric~ office infor- mation, and more. You will also see a list of action alerts and drafted messages that you and your colleagues can to send to your legislators, "The decisions made by our state Legislators are incredibly important to our members," said Chris McKenzie, Executive Director of the League. "Keeping our members informed and enabling them to take action is a very important par( of our work. The new features on our website make it easy for them to get involved and make a difference." Please visit the site today to find out more about the newly electe~l legislators and learn how easy it is to get involved. As the session gets fully underway, you should check back to learn about more critical issues that arise. Keep an eye on more Web site changes coming in the new year - all focused on making it easier to find information on the issues you care about. BURTON RE-INTRODUCES BILL ON NATIVE AMERICAN SACRED PLACES President Pro Tempore of the Senate John Burton has introduced a bill (SB 18) which currently makes non-substantive, clarifying changes to statutes governing the Native American Heritage Commission, but which ma), become the vehicle to reintroduce last year's SB 1828 (Burton). That bill was strongly opposed by local governments and development groups, and vetoed by Governor Davis in September. SB 1828 would have required a lead agency to notify any affected tribe when determining if a negative declaration or an environmental impact report (EIR) is required for a proposed project; required lead agencies to consider mitigation measures prior to project approval; and proposed several changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for these specific projects. Governor Davis szated in ht'~ veto message that the bill did not create ~e right balance between the need for confiden- tiality to protect sacred sites, and the need for disclosure and notification to allow those planning projects to know to avoid areas containing sacred sites. He also stated that SB 1828 would make controversial changes to the CEQA process, atlowing influence by Native Americans over this process that no other party, agency or governmental body now has. The governor also indicated that he would direct the Secretary of Resources and the Director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research to work with the proponents of the bill and others to introduce a bill that addresses these concerns. PAGE 2/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site--w~w.cacities.org