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Legislation
overview
Lakewood,
like every other city, gets one cent of the sales tax
consumers pay on most purchases. The rule goes back
all the way to the first days of Lakewood, which lobbied
the state legislature even then to protect local revenue
sources. Lakewood's share of sales tax revenue, because
of the relatively low percentage of its land area zoned
for commercial uses, is critical to Lakewood's law enforcement
activities, park programs, street repair projects, and
facility maintenance needs. Sales tax receipts currently
make up 43% of the city's general fund budget - the
money that pays for these essential services. (Property
tax revenue, by contrast, is just 8% of the general
fund budget.)
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City
of Lakewood Legislative Priorities
Revised
2/20/2002
Full
story
Formation
of a
Lakewood Unified School District
Appeal
of the Municipal Discharge Permit requirements
imposed by the Los Angeles Regional Water
Quality Control Board
Protection
of local revenues, including the sales tax
and vehicle license fee from state revenue
raids
Reform
of the state housing allocation process
and enactment of housing production reform
measures that rely on incentives, not mandates
Enactment
of a California “Cop on Board” and a Volunteer
Federal Deputy Program for Homeland Security
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There
are many in Sacramento, however, who see competition
for sales tax revenue as an unhealthy consequence of
the state's long-standing sales tax formula. They say
"cash box" development in recent years has
distorted the patterns of growth and housing and job
creation in California. They believe these problems
will get better if all cities were less dependent on
sales tax revenue, even those cities (like Lakewood)
that are not turning raw land into vast, new shopping
centers. They see AB 680 as a possible model for how
cities would give up some of their sales tax revenue
through a complicated new sharing formula.
This
isn't as dry as it seems . . . and its implications
for your neighborhood in Lakewood are profound.
So,
let's say you're intrigued by AB 680 . . . or any other
piece of legislation under consideration in Sacramento
or Washington D.C. With the help of the Internet (and
the online services offered by the state Legislature
and Congress), you have a ringside seat on the drama
that goes into making the laws that will shape your
city.
Essential
resources for the grassroots lobbyist:
California
State Assembly
California
State Senate
U.S.
House of Representatives
U.S.
Senate
Library
of Congress/Thomas (legislative information)
L.A.
County
League
of California Cities
National
League of Cities
U.S.
Conference of Mayors
Los
Angeles Times
Press
Telegram
Sacramento
Bee
(A
detailed description of these resources shown below.)
The
"e" way to the grassroots
Thousands
of bills every year pass like "The Perfect Storm"
through the halls of the state capitol in Sacramento.
All aspire to change the lives of Californians for the
better. Each of these "good ideas" by a legislator
has to fight for attention, compete with similar legislative
proposals, survive the winnowing process of committee
votes and friendly (and not so friendly) amendments,
pass both houses of the state legislature, and escape
a possible governor's veto.Top
Going
from "good idea" to "good legislation"
is a process that is both fascinating and perplexing.
The
process is open to the public, of course, but tracking
proposed legislation that may affect your family or
business wasn't at all easy . . . until now. Never have
so many Americans had so much access so quickly. The
cause of this "great leap forward" in access
and speed? It's no mystery. You're using it right now!
Your
access through the World Wide Web is beyond our Founding
Fathers' wildest dreams. They imagined a deliberative
process that relied on reports that were published days
or weeks after proposed legislation had been heard by
the state legislature or Congress.
That's
not the case today. State and federal legislation is
just a click away, along with analyses, status reports,
and the results of voting through the entire legislative
process.
You
don't have to wait for TV, radio, or newspaper reports
after the fact to tell you about current legislation.
You can be your own "legislative watchdog"
and join the on-going debate -- with a letter, an e-mail,
or a fax -- to your representatives in Sacramento or
Washington D.C. before a bill becomes law. Who knows,
your "good idea" may spark its very own piece
of legislation.
Getting
started
As
a brand-new legislative watchdog, you'll need to know
which proposed legislation is important to you. The
best place to start, not surprisingly, is a good newspaper.
The Press Telegram and Los Angeles Times cover the County
Board of Supervisors, the state assembly, state senate,
and Congress. The Sacramento Bee, as the "hometown"
paper of the California Legislature, follows the twists
and turns of the state legislative process better than
almost any other publication.
All
three papers have helpful websites -- particularly the
Sacramento Bee -- and frequently report from Sacramento
on legislation that is significant to the Lakewood and
Long Beach area.
Top
Good
bill hunting!
Let's
look at a piece of proposed legislation that Lakewood
residents might want to track. It's a bill that targets
a conflict between cities and their county in northern
California that also would have consequences for Lakewood.
Why
AB 680 (Steinberg)? Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg says
his legislation is "Smart Growth" and calls
it the "Smart Energy Act of 2001." On his
website, Steinberg says, "Endless competition for
sales tax among cities and counties within the Sacramento
region has contributed greatly to sprawl and poor land
use decisions. As a result, the Sacramento region has
among the worst air quality and traffic congestion in
the country. AB 680 will be a multi-part winner for
the Sacramento region. AB 680 decreases competition
for sales tax dollars among cities and counties by putting
them on a level playing field in terms of future per
capita sales tax revenue. Finally, AB 680 would enable
the Sacramento region to increase power generation by
doing good land use planning and energy conservation."
That
optimistic view is countered by the political analyst
Dan Walters, who writes for the Sacramento Bee. He says
that AB 680 is something other than a "smart growth"
bill after all. According to Walters, "The latest
version (of AB 680), which surfaced last week, would
allow Sacramento-area cities and counties to retain
their current shares of the local sales tax, which are
distributed according to the point of sale, but would
divide growth three ways: a third still on point of
sale, a third by population, and the remaining third
dependent on whether a local jurisdiction had complied
with the legislation's standards on low-income housing
and homeless care.
"What's really happening? The fact that Sacramento's
city and county governments are spending lavishly on
a high-intensity lobbying campaign indicates that they
believe there is something to gain at the expense of
their suburban neighbors, a much-touted but superficial
study notwithstanding.
"Finally, if Steinberg is successful and AB 680
is enacted, it would undercut the regionalism and 'smart
growth' it purports to foster…"
Who
is right in this debate? To learn more about AB 680,
go to the California
State Assembly site.
Go
to Legislation. Enter AB 680 and the name of the bill
sponsor, Steinberg. You will access a page that allows
you to choose whether you want to read the bill in HTML
or PDF format.
Before
selecting, scroll to the bottom of the page. Hit "Subscribe."
Enter your e-mail address and you will be informed automatically
by e-mail of all committee actions, amendments, hearings,
and updates to AB 680.
Then,
return to read the latest version of the bill. Over
time, the file will include actions taken by the relevant
Assembly and Senate committees and the reports by legislative
analysts.
Assemblyman
Steinberg has a website. You can find his mailing address,
email address, phone and fax numbers in Sacramento by
clicking on "Assembly Members" from the California
State Assembly homepage and then clicking on his name,
which is listed alphabetically. Top
Legislative
watchdogs
If
the Steinberg bill has given you an appetite for legislative
sleuthing, you'll also want to use these links:
California
State Assembly
Hit
the "Legislation" link. You'll arrive at a
page where you can locate a particular bill by its number
or the name of one of the bill's authors.
[Remember:
Bills introduced in the Assembly have the letters "AB"
preceding the bill number. Bills introduced in the Senate
have "SB" before the bill number. Occasionally,
there will be Constitutional Amendments initiated in
either the Assembly or Senate. These will be labeled
with ACA or SCA, respectively.]
You
are offered a choice of viewing the bill in HTML in
a simple, typewritten format. Or you may select PDF,
which will display the bill in the same format as it
is printed for the legislators to consider. Top
You
will need Adobe Acrobat, downloadable free at Adobe
Software. Use it to view legislation and many
committee or agency reports.
Another
neat watchdog-friendly feature is a free service called
"Subscriber." The State Assembly will automatically
inform you via e-mail of any amendments, committee actions,
etc. as the bill progresses all the way through approval
and enactment.
California
State Senate
A
similar, but not identical, means to locate and track
pending Senate bills is available at the California
Senate site. Both the Senate and Assembly sites offer
ample information explaining the legislative process.
The
Senate's FAQs are meager. But, their page links to a
group of related associations, media, and departments.
Among them is the Legislative Analyst, which is helpful
in understanding the impact of proposed measures.
Keep
in mind during your searches that the bill numbering
process begins anew each session, which is every two
years.
So,
SB 1234 in the 2001-2002 legislative session will be
different from SB 1234 in the 1999-2000 session.
U.S.
House of Representatives
A
good place to begin is at "The Legislative Process"
link. It gives you access to information about bills
and resolutions being considered in the Congress, broken
down into digestible segments.
I
recommend you go to "Tying It All Together"
before you jump into "Bill Text," "Bill
Status," "Amendment Status," "Committee
Jurisdiction," "Roll Call Votes," or
"Current House Proceedings." It is a summary
explanation of how the legislative process works. Top
Library
of Congress "Thomas"
Once
you've read that, to paraphrase a familiar LA car dealer's
TV theme song, "Go see Thomas! Go see Thomas! Go
see Thomas!"
THOMAS
(as in Jefferson) is the Library of Congress' searchable
database about the U.S. Congress and the legislative
process. THOMAS allows you to search bills by topic,
bill number, or title. You can find committee reports
by topic or committee name via THOMAS.
U.S.
Senate
At
first glance, the U. S. Senate home page seems like
a guide to an art gallery. There's a painting from the
Senate Art Collection (The Battle of Lake Erie). There
are paintings of old senators and old buildings where
the Senate once met in New York City.
Once
you get past their past, you will notice at the top
of the page a button for "Legislative Activities."
(Remember the House called it "The Legislative
Process." That's where you can check on the Senate's
activity or inactivity, as the case may be).
L.
A. County
With
practice, you can readily follow the meeting agendas
to see what is going on in a county that has a greater
population than 42 states. At the county home page,
hit the Board of Supervisors (I mean that figuratively).
From there, you may access either the "Board Agenda"
button or the "Statement of Proceedings" button.
The former will tell you what measures the Board is
considering, while the latter will tell you what items
the Board actually approved, denied, or tabled.
Links
to an Information Booklet are available to assist the
public with agendas and meetings of the Board. A copy
of Rules of the Board also is online.
League
of California Cities
The
League is primarily an information and advocacy resource
for cities. The League isn't a neutral player in the
process of making laws. The League sees the legislative
process as a "contact sport." So, be prepared
for strong opinions.
Their
site has short, informative sections that will help
you understand state policies and legislative issues
in a number of areas, including these links:
National
League of Cities
Check
out the "Legislative Priorities" section.
The NLC sets out the most crucial legislative areas
for American cities. This is a guidepost to understanding
the reasons for their positions on proposed legislation.
Next,
check out the "Other Resources and Gateways."
This links you to "The Big Seven" organizations
that, according to the NLC, "represent the top
elected and appointed officials in the nation's state
and local governments. This page also links to 200 other
national organizations and associations that serve local
government by subject area (i.e., education, finance,
transportation, etc.). You will be well grounded in
what goals local governments are aiming to achieve.
Top
U.S.
Conference of Mayors
The
U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) features current issues
of concern to America's mayors such as "Kids and
Violence," "Hunger and Homelessness,"
and "Gun Safety."
By
clicking on the "Washington Update" icon,
you'll get a menu of topics. Select any that interest
you. I tried "Education and Workforce Training"
and found dozens of informative articles and reports
addressing these issues.
What
you find here is a way to locate the "hot bills"
that are the greatest help or detriment to America's
mayors and local government. From here, you can check
them out for yourself and form your own opinion.
After all, isn't that what the exercise we call Democracy
is all about?
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