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INITIATIVE from page 1 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 THE BUDGET STORY- SOME PRESS QUOTES The last time the Board sponsored a petitioned resolution was at the 2000 Annual Conference. That resolution was approved overwhelmingly, and it authorized the League to initiate or support litigation challenging the constitutionality of SIB 402, concern- ing binding arbitration. The League followed up, and two and a half years later the California Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional. The proposed petitioned resolution will follow this course during the conference. STEP 1: Sunday, September 7. The League Board of Directors will gather the morning of the first day of the Annual Conference, September 7, for a special meeting to approve the final form of the proposed petitioned resolution. After being briefed by the League's political consultants, the Board will consider approval of the petitioned resolution for signatures by designated voting delegates. Members of the Board who are registered voting delegates may sign the petition, but Board members will then fan out to secure additional signatures from city delegates until the required number of forty -eight (ten percent of the designated voting delegates registered with the Credentials Committee) are attained. STEP 2: Tuesday September 9. Part of the general session Tuesday morning will provide an opportunity for conference delegates and division leaders to learn more and speak out on the proposal. The General Resolutions Committee will review the petitioned resolution and other resolutions later in the day STEP 3: Wednesday, September 10. The final stop for the resolution will occur when the registered voting delegates of the League General Assembly consider it for final action during the Annual Business Meeting If approved, it will become the standing policy of the League. It will form the foundation for the League's efforts to seek voter approval of an initiative at the November 2004 election to protect local revenues from state raids in the future. The actual initiative language is being drafted by lawyers at this time and will be the basis for a state- wide poll of likely voters in the next few weeks. Whether a final version will be available at the confer- ence is unclear at this time, but delegates will be briefed on its likely contents and have a chance to offer suggestions. Editorials Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 8118/03, A Bad Tax Idea, Built On a Shaky Legal Rationale. "The tripling of the state's car tax has proved to be widely unpopular, so Democrats in Sacramento are scrambling to find a more palatable substitute. But what they've come up with so far looks more like a Rube Goldberg contraption than any sen- sible fiscal policy." News Stories The San Jose Mercury, 8/18/03, GOP Calls Democratic Plan to Swap Tax for Car Fee Illegal. "Gov. Gray Davis, campaigning to keep his term from coming to a premature end in the recall election, endorsed a fledgling Democratic proposal last week to dump the planned increase in the car tax in favor of higher taxes on the wealthy and cigarettes." The Antelope Valley Press, 8/18/03, Eastside Budget Cuts Mean Fewer Buses Again. "Parents in the Eastside Union School District are feeling the first pains of a budget crunch district officials have been aching over for months." Stockton Record, 08/18/03, Courts in- crease Fees to Cover Budget Lapses. "The administrative arm of the state trial courts hopes to plug holes in its ever - shrinking budget by boosting court fees, requiring the public to pay more to operate the courts." Monterey County Herald, 8/18103, Center To Get the Ax. "The Archer Park Community Center is the latest casualty in the city of Monterey's struggle to balance its budget." Riverside Press Enterprise, 8/17103, Li- cense Fee 'Loan' Hurts Palm Springs. "Palm Springs, which stands to lose $516,000, has cut its budget by $2 million by laying off employees. The city's 2003 -2004 spending plan is $48.7 million versus $45 million the previous fiscal year. Palm Springs dealt with a $4 million deficit this Continued on Page 7 Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 5