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9A Page 11 i \.'.... LEAGU E C. ~:.(:rftfs I Advocate Weekl IN THIS ISSUE: May 22, 2009 Issue #19-2009 Page 4: Plan to Attend Budget Action Day on Wednesday, June 3 Local Voters Say "Yes. to Some New Taxes Page 5: Retention Proceeds Legislation Moving Swiftly Federal Stimulus Funds Bolster 2009 Summer Youth Employment Programs Page 6: Registration Open for the 2009 League Annual Conference State Water Board Annual Stakeholder Meeting Scheduled June 5 Page 7: Department of Energy Webcast on Solar Panel Financing Set for May 27 CitiPAC Fundraising Continues Despite Challenging Economy Page 8: Coming Soon! Visit the New and Improved WestemCity.com BUDGET PROCESS MOVES FORWARD Following the defeat of Propositions 1A-E on Tuesday, the Legislature began in earnest to hammer out a plan to address the state's monumental $21 billion deficit which the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) now projects is over $24 billion. President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D- Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) held a joint news conference on May 19 on the budget and the state's cash flow crisis. The Democratic leaders said that they intend to resolve the budget before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1 and announced the Budget Conference Committee's upcoming schedule. For more, see Page 2. .................................... VOTERS REJECT BORROWING TO BAIL STATE OUT OF BUDGET MISMANAGEMENT Defeat of Props. 1A-E Makes it Clear that Borrowing Local Government Revenues is an Unacceptable State Budget Solution Rejecting the budget fixes put forth by state lawmakers in February with the defeat of Propositions 1A-E Tuesday, voters sent state lawmakers a resounding message: it's time for the state to deal with its fiscal problems once and for all. The League of California Cities urges the Legislature to heed the voters' message and focus on fixing its finances without taking local government revenues so that cities can provide the vital public safety and other services on which city residents rely day in and day out. Bailing the state out of its lack of fiscal discipline is bad public policy. For more, see Page 2. .................................... CLOSE TO 100 CALIFORNIA CITIES DECLARE STATE OF SEVERE FISCAL HARDSHIP Dozens More Expected to Follow Since May 11, 96 California cities have declared a state of severe fiscal hardship and opposed a proposal to take local property tax revenues to finance the state budget. Cities are already struggling to balance their own budgets: enacting drastic cuts including public safety reductions, employee layoffs, hiring freezes, project delays, program reductions and more. For more, see Page 3.