AgdaPkt 2010-01-11 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

9A Page 2 'Speaker' ConUnued from Page 1... The next step of the process will be for the full Assembly to officially elect Assembly Member Perez to Speaker. This is considered purely ceremonial, as he already has the full support of the Democratic Caucus which represents more than a majority of the Assembly. The exact date that he will assume the speakership has not been announced, although speculation is that the transition will happen early in 2010. Perez is the cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Prior to being elected to the Assembly, he worked with the United Food and Commercial Workers union and was a board member of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. He has also served as a board member for the California League of Conservation Voters, AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Latino Coalition against AIDS, the California Center for Regional Leadership, and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. Perez is the first openly gay minority to be elected to the Legislature and won the endorsement of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund as well as a presidential appointment to serve on the President's Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS. He also spoke out against the California Supreme Court decision that upheld Proposition 8, the ban on same sex marriage. Over the last year, he served as the Assembly's Democratic caucus chair. Perez also serves on several policy committees including Appropriations, Business and Professions, Joint Legislative Ethics, Transportation, Water Parks and Wildlife, the Select Committee on Renewable Energy and the Select Committee on Domestic Violence. He is a member of the Environmental, Latino and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender caucuses. 'Bonds' Continued from Page 1... Both BABs and RZEDs offer some attractive financial advantages, including a federal government direct subsidy of the bond interest costs: 35 percent for BABs and 45 percent for RZEDs. Municipalities can lower borrowing costs by 10 to 25 percent or more if they take full advantage of the most favorable taxable municipal bond rates. A Closer Look at RZEDs As part of the ARRA, the U.S. Treasury has allocated $10 billion nationally for RZEDs, which are issued in the taxable markets at taxable interest rates, offset by the 45 percent interest rate subsidy. The resulting net interest rate for RZEDs dramatically lowers the cost of borrowing for new projects. Furthermore, RZEDs can be combined with BABs or tax-exempt financings. In terms of municipal public projects, RZEDs can finance a very broad range of new construction and rehabilitation efforts. The focus is on "shovel-ready" projects that will enhance the economic stimulus, and the RZEDs must be sold by the end of 2010. Any community interested in utilizing RZEDs must establish a recovery zone, and the project(s) being financed must be within or clearly of benefit to the new zone. Municipalities with allocations are considering: . Public facilities, such as police and fire stations; . Other public infrastructure projects, such as street paving and major street repair; . City hall upgrades or improvements; . Parks and recreation facilities; and . Libraries and community centers. More About BABs BASs can finance all of the municipal public projects that qualify for standard tax-exempt municipal bonds. Sold in the taxable market at taxable Interest rates, BABs receive a 35 percent interest subsidy from the U.S. Treasury in the form of a direct payment to the city, in accordance with the ARRA. In contrast to RZEDs, BASs do not require allocation and therefore have no size or geographic limitation. As a result, the market for BASs has developed rapidly over the past few months and offers cities significantly lower net-interest costs than comparable tax-exempt 2