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9A Page 15 telecommunications services. Voters in Desert Hot Springs voted 74 percent yes to increase their UUT from 5 percent to 7 percent and modernized it to include new telecommunications technologies. A Rancho Cordova proposal to modernize the city's UUT to include cell phones and other new communication devices failed. It needed a two-thirds approval to pass but only 55 percent of voters approved it. Voters in Palmdale repealed their local term limits law. Voters in Sacramento County extended binding arbitration of labor contracts to additional classes of employees. A full report of these measures as well as others in 2009 may be found at htto:/Iwww.californiacitvfinance.com/#VOTES. Please contact Michael Coleman for more information at (530) 758-3952 or coleman@muni1.com. Source: County elections offices. Retention Proceeds Legislation Moving Swiftly League Opposed to AB 396 and SB 802 AB 396 (Fuentes) and SB 802 (Leno) both contain provisions which would require that contract retention proceeds not exceed 5 percent of the payment of all contracts entered into after January 2010, between a public entity and an original contractor, between an original contractor and a subcontractor, and between all subcontractors. This bill removes the authority of public entitles to decide the appropriate amount of retention. Local agencies must accept the lowest responsible bidder and the flexible retention rate helps to ensure timely and budget-conscious project completion. Local agencies commonly reduce retention to 5 percent at the half-way point of project completion, if adequate progress is being made and the contractor is acting in good faith. However, AB 396 and SB 802 would require local agencies to limit retention to 5 percent regardless of the progress or good faith of the contractor. This will protect potential bad actors either unknown or even known to the public agency, placing public interests and public funds at risk. The League has had many discussions in recent years regarding similar proposals to limit retention proceeds to 5 percent (AS 1949: Conroy, 1996, vetoed; AS 940: Miller, 1997, vetoed; AB 806: Keeley, 1999J vetoed; S8 619: Migden, 200BJ held). The League however remains concerned over these measures because we have yet to see a specific need to limit retention proceeds to 5 percent, but have instances where 5 percent retention is simply insufficient, particularly for smaller agencies. AB 396 is currently on the suspense file in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. S8 802 has passed out of the Senate, and is expected to next be heard in Assembly Judiciary. The bills have received only one "no" vote in any committee. Sample opposition letters are available on the League Web site. Visit www.cacities.oro/billsearch and type "AB 396" and "SB 802" into the search box to access up the letters. Federal Stimulus Funds Bolster 2009 Summer Youth Employment Programs Local Workforce Investment Areas (LWIAs) throughout California will be able to offer expanded job training programs to young people this summer, as a result of the federal stimulus legislation enacted in February. California is set to receive $415 million of a total $1.2 billion now available nationwide through Title VII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Public Law 111-5). The funding has been distributed as grants to states to supplement existing Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth activities, including summer employment. 5