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9 A -i3 <br />SBC REQUEST FOR SUPPORT OF <br />TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESOLUTION <br />THE BUDGET CRISIS —PRESS QUOTES <br />Many cities have contacted the League of <br />California Cities asking for background info ora- <br />tion or suggestions on how to act on a propoead <br />Telecommunications Resolution of Support thet <br />SBC is pushing in many communities. <br />The text of the resolution closely mirrors AB <br />1389 (Ridley - Thomas) which asks the California <br />Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to place new <br />requirements on Competitive Local Exchange <br />Carriers (CLECs) which compete with SBC for <br />the provision of phone and telecommunication <br />services in California. <br />The League has taken no position on AB 1389. <br />However, it is worth noting that the bill is a con- <br />tested issue in the legislature. According to <br />recent legislative staff reports on AB 1389, the bill <br />is supported by SBC and several union groups <br />and is opposed by several of SBC's competitors <br />in the telecom field including AT &T, MCI <br />Worldcom, Pac West Telecom, Sprint, California <br />Cable and Telecommunications Association and <br />the California Association of Competitive Telecom- <br />munications Companies. <br />The issues of fairness between SBC and <br />CLECs and how one can stimulate more choices <br />and competition in the provision of telecommuni- <br />cations services and pricing in California are <br />extremely complicated. Cities are encouraged to <br />consider the complexities involved before deciding <br />whether they want to get involved in this issue or <br />not. For more information contact Amy Brown at <br />browns ol�.cacities.ora or call 916 -658 -8279. <br />For more information on this and other <br />League issues, visit www.cacities.org <br />Editorials <br />Long Beach Press- Telegram,-8 /13/03, The <br />Car Tax Shuffle. "So let's try to get this straight: <br />Sacramento's political leaders, after months of <br />steadfastly defending the car tax, which they said <br />was not actually a tax but a 'fee increase,' are <br />suddenly talking seriously about repealing this tax - <br />which-is- not -a -tax, a month after the state budget <br />was signed ?" <br />San Diego Union Tribune, 8/10/03, <br />California's Financial Troubles Won't Walt for <br />Recall. "The much delayed, nearly $100 billion <br />state budget passed by the Legislature and <br />recently signed by Gov. Gray Davis still leaves <br />California with an $8 billion deficit that must be <br />addressed in the next fiscal year - and that deficit <br />could grow to over $10 billion." <br />Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 8108/03, Budget <br />Passed, but Now it Faces Legal Challenges. <br />"California's Legislature passed a budget, finally, <br />and the governor signed it. But that's hardly the <br />end of the story. The primary foundations of the <br />recently approved budget have come under legal <br />assault, which could undermine the whole struc- <br />ture." <br />Sacramento Bee, 8113/03, Dan Walters: <br />Steinberg's Tax Swap Could have Adverse <br />Long -Term Consequences. "Steinberg pro- <br />poses to repeal the huge increase in property <br />taxes on cars (vehicle license fees) that the Davis <br />administration imposed a couple of months ago <br />under pressure from Steinberg and his fellow <br />Democrats, and offset it with boosts in cigarette <br />taxes and income taxes on high- income Califor- <br />nians. If the $4 billion tax swap was evenly bal- <br />anced with no net increase in overall revenues, <br />Democrats believe, it could be done with a <br />simple- majority legislative vote, and Republicans <br />could not block ft." <br />Sacramento Bee, 8/11/03, Dan Walters: <br />Davis' Version of Budget Crisis Doesn't <br />Square with History. "Davis' version of the <br />Continued on Page S <br />Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 3 <br />