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I �. A 4 SB 440 from page 1 SB 440, authored by Senator Pro Tem John Burton is a bill that attempts to overtum the decision of the Supreme Court in County of Riverside v Superior Court. That decision held that previous legislation (SB 402) to institute a system of compulsory and binding arbitration on local government was unconstitutional. SB 440 uses the dubious tack that a decision of an arbitrator may be overturned by a unanimous decision of the board of supervisors or city coun- cil. This circumvents the courts concern that the original legislation was an unauthorized delegation of local legislative authority. A unanimous decision by a city council is nearly impossible to achieve and we question whether it will survive subse- quent legal challenges on the same basis that SB 402 was found unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Governor Davis signed SB 440 anyway, with the reason that it was merely a "technical clean -up" bill that addressed the constitutionality question. In that same week, Governor Davis vetoed AB 899, which would require the State to enter into a binding arbitration with employees of select state public safety bargaining units. His reasoning behind his veto was that binding arbitration eroded the Department of Personnel Administration's ability to bargain fairly with their unions, and that it would erode the State's authority. The Governor's veto message closely resembles the League's opposition to binding arbitration, both in SB 402 and SB 440. His veto message is below: To Members of the California State Assembly: 1 am returning Assembly Bill 899 without my signature. This bill would require the State to enter into a binding arbitration with employees of the California Department of Forestry Firefighters (Collective Bargaining Unit 8) when an impasse has been declared over economic issues. / am unable to sign this bill because it would erode the authority of the State fiscal and em- ployment policymakers to ensure that the State's pr ficies in these areas are followed. Collective t argaining between the State and employee unions should be left between those two entities and not to an outside arbitrator. Sincerely, Gray Davis INITIATIVE from page 1.... a a a 0 0 a 0 a a None of the refinements have changed the basic thrust of the initiative, which will require voter approval before there are further reductions in city, county and special district property, sales and VLF (or successor) revenues. Similar protec- tions are included for the recently enacted VLF backfill "gap" deferred payments, requiring the property tax backfill payments during the "triple flip ", and requiring return of the local sales tax suspended during the term of the "triple flip." Most of the refinements recommended over the last week have concerned the language clarifying the state's existing constitutional duty to reimburse local governments for unfunded mandates. The League is grateful for the contributions of the city attorneys and county counsel around the state who helped improve the measure signifi- cantly. Filing of the final version is imminent, and member cities will be notified immediately of the actual filing and how they can access a copy of the initiative. In addition to city and county legal counsel, an attorney for the California Special District Association (CSDA), another sponsor of the measure, has assisted in the final preparation of the initiative. For additional information on the ballot initiative visit www.cacities.orq /initiative. PAGE 4 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 a a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 a a 0 a a 0 0 0 a 0 0