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9•A' bruary 14, 2003 Issue #6.2003 ct caGFanio cities FINANCE DIRECTOR MEETS WITH LEAGUE BOARD, URGES BALLOT MEASURE State Director of Finance Steve Peace attended the League's Board of Directors meeting last Saturday in Oakland, to talk about the state's budget crisis and explain why the Administration feels it is necessary to veto AB 4X (Wesson). He arrived at the meeting the morning after returning to California from New York, where he and State Treasurer Phil Angelides had met with members of the financial community about the Administration's plans to address the state's deficit. Speaking informally for about a half an hour, Mr. Peace analyzed the causes behind the state's huge deficit, and emphasized the importance of a bipartisan approach in the legislature to achieving both a solution to this year's budget and enacting long term structural reforms. He said that the lack of bipartism support for AB 4X undermined that goal. For more, see page 6. .............. NEW REPORT QUESTIONS EFFECTIVENESS OF HOUSING ELEMENT LAW The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) has just released a report by Paul Lewis titled Califomia's Housing Element Law: The Issue of Local Noncompliance. The report examines which types of city governments tend to be out of compliance with state guidelines and tests whether non- compliance can be statistically linked to lower levels of new housing production. The report's conclu- sions appear to vindicate some of the concerns raised by local governments over the effectiveness of the existing process when it finds "no detectable relationship between compliance and the percentage increase in units." Furthermore, the report finds that noncompliance was not a significant predictor of the rate of multifamily development. For more, see page 5. .............. NO FORMAL ACTION YET ON AB 4X (VLF) AB 4X (Wesson), a bill that would clarify existing language related to the VLF "trigger", and which was passed by both the Senate and Assembly, has not yet been delivered to the Governor for action. This bill, along with other special session mid -year budget bills, are currently being held in enrollment. There is no indication as to when they will be delivered to Governor Davis for his action. In the meantime, no further action has been taken on the budget issues. We urge cities to continue their efforts, if not already done, to pass resolutions supporting the restoration of the VLF, as well as send thank -you letters to members who voted in favor of AB 4X. For sample resolutions and thank -you letters, go to www.cacities.org /budget. Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 5 • Cal TRANS Announces Implementation of Advertising Act Provisions • Peace Officer Training Reimbursement Program Faces Budget Reductions • LOCAL Generates Statewide Press Coverage of Budget Concerns • Institute Publishes Inclusionary Housing Reader • City Officials Urged to Help Protect Redevelopment Funds • $25 Million In Jobs- Housing Balance Awards Now Available