HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04161996 - C94 Contra
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To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Costa
FROM: Supervisor Tom Torlakson County
DATE: April 16, 199.6
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE SENDING A LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR AND OUR STATE LEGISLATIVE
DELEGATION SUPPORTING THE PASSAGE OF "NO WORKINO PAY" PROVISIONS AS IT
RELATES TO THE STATE BUDGET
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Authorize the County Administrator to draft a letter for signature by each
of the Board Members to be sent to Governor Pete Wilson and our State Legislative Delegation supporting the
passage of"No Work/No Pay" provisions as they relate to the Legislature's passage of the State Budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Over the last ten years, the State has met the constitutional
deadline for adoption of a budget in only three instances. As a result of the State's inability to adopt a state
budget on time, the nine counties, eighteen cities, and numerous school and special districts of the Bay Area
are negatively impacted. Local government suffers millions of dollars of budget disruptions and costs every
time there are significant delays. The entire Bay Area suffers millions of dollars of disruption because of the
tardy adoption of the state budget. The state's credit rating suffers from the effects of late adoption, as well as
the state's ability to attract and retain businesses.
There is a need to legislatively provide a tool to hold our representatives accountable for adopting a
budget before the constitutional deadline passes. There are several constitutional amendments currently
being proposed (ACA32, ACA33, SCA2) which require the forfeiture of salaries, travel expenses, and per
diems for the Governor, as well as the Legislature, if a budget is not adopted on time. In addition, each of
these bills contains a provision that declares that the forfeited funds will not be paid retroactively once the
budget is adopted after the deadline. It is ridiculous that the practice of paying "bonuses" or"overtime" for the
extra days spent in budget sessions after the deadline has been missed, and this practice should cease
immediately. While serving as President of the Association of Bay Area Governments over the last two years,
I have proposed legislation that will hold our representatives accountable to delivering a state budget by the
constitutional deadline.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT:K YES SIGNATURE: I ,
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S)
ACTION OF BOARD ON April 16 , 1996 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED: X OTHER:
Vote of Supervisors: HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ------ ) OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF
AYES• NOEE—� THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTED April 16 , 1996
P B ELOR,CLERK OF THE BOAR F
CC: Supervisor Torlakson ORS AND COUNMINI TOR
County Administrator '
County CounselBY —
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lawed �ll
on,- taxes
s ,
he California iZ.egislature p,con taxes: Clearly,:it is not.Instead, it man-
F siderug a_bill thatwofuld allow to dates voter approval of future taxes.
cal governments that illegally ens-, -Although the court has yet to rule
acted utility and other taxes to get away 'on it;there is,a chance the state
with it. Not.:only rtis,Senate Bill 1590 by : Supreme Court decision.willbe
Sen. Jack O'Connell, D Santa Barbara,' ; retroactive and could force cities:and
bad policy,it probably is unconstitutional ' other-;local agencies to return tax
b,..
and should not�abeapproved mosey that has been collected for sev
The bill would validate local taxes ' erayeas unless voters allow govern
Renacted pnor-to a Dec 14 , 1995,ruling mental agencies to keep it.:
ythe California Supreme:- ourt up rSB:1590,which seeks relief for local
; oldmg Proposition^6L Prop- 62, 1 �governments that failed to put tax
vhich.waadopted Iiy yoters in 1986, easures beforethe voters, could com
W foravard.It requires general- :pound the;' roblem b leadingto an
iax6#9&,app oved by two thirds otl}e coubattle, y
f a ove
g rnuig�ody�lus amalonty of Even�f cities acted in good faith in
h6.-popular vote Spec�fiic,purpose: enacing local taxes based on an appel=
axes' ave Lobe passedy tvvo°thirdsYat court"decision,the state Supreme
the voters , Court has.made.it clear those local
Unfortunately,many local govern ,,,, governments violated Prop: 62: .
rents relied on flawed ruling against California voters approved Prop. 62
rop.:62 and enacted utility, hotel and ui'I986:It stands to reason it has been
flier local taxes without'c.vote `" valid since then. No legislation in,1996
�The:citiesSand the appellate court should be,able to invalidate,even for a
,ould have known,better.'The lower ;; limited time,a constitutional amend-
court said Prop 62;was unconstitu- inert thatwas approved by.the voters
'conal:because it was a_referendum on years earlier.
To bud et no .
. _ g p y, no wa y
+W" ow.here's a piece of legislation If approved by the Legislature and
that should make us all feel voters, it would require legislators and
��"
good..A bill before the Assem= the governor starting in 1999 to forgo
wily would add a new rule to the Cali- salary and expense money if the bud-
Q forma Constitution requiring lawmak- get is not passed by midnight of June
yrs to forfeit their pay if the state. 30.Actually, that's 15 days after the
udget isn't approved on time. deadline.In addition, they wouldn't get
::4: The bill,b Assemblyman Jim Mor-y yin paid until the budget passed.Nor
issey of Santa Ana,is co-authored by would they receive retroactive pay.
8 Republican Assembly members, two ' Makes sense. If you don't do your
E OP senators and liberal Democratic job,you dont get paid.Will it ever
, Sen. Tom Hayden. happen?Don't hold your breath.
'lord le)�
p
rybvck) ZI) lq% eq
Endorsing 'no work, no pay'
I am endorsing the"no work,no pay"proposed,
legislation,for getting a state budget'adopted on 1
time.It is disappointing,however,to sotohow few r
legislators are behind this common-,O fp,KA'r -..
posal to hold themselves accoutitabld 'of a opt=
ing a state budget before the deadline required
by our state Constitution.
As president of the Association of Bay Area
Governments over the past two years, 1 have
proposed similar legislation. I go two steps fur-
ther.
First, if legimlatore can't meet the Constitu.-
tional deadline for adoptinga budget,all benefits
(health, retirement, etc.), as well as baso pay,
should be forfeited with no retroactively.Second;;
the currant ridiculous practice of paying %Q
nuses"or"overtime"for the extra days in budget;
session after the deadlinchas been missed should.'
be stopped immediately. Legislators should
pledge this year not to accept such undeserved,
income.They need not wait for a bill to pass or a,
constitutional amendment.
The nine counties,the cities and school district;
of the Bay Area suffer millions of dollars 6r;
disruption every year because of the tardy adop-i.
tion of the state budget.The state's credit rating,
has been damaged by such delays and the attrac-;
tiveness of our state to investors and job-prodtic-:
ing entrepreneurs has been damaged. There is;
no excuse for the kinds of games and gridlock;
that have resulted in these budget stalemates.
As I've gone door-to-door and neighborhood-to-;
neighborhood in my campaign for the 11th As
sembly District, I have encountered unparal
leled outrage and disappointment of voters over:
the performance of the Assembly in recent year 3.
This matches the great frustration local officials
like myself have expressed over Sacramento's'
lack of connection to the real world in which we
all live.
We don't get rewarded with extra pay when we
don't do our job or don't balance our budget.We
certainly don't get driven around in chauffeured
limousines.It's time to cut out the nonsense.It's
time for a reality check.
Tom Torlakson
Pittsburg
Tom Torlakson =--sE=;
j f -_: 300 East Leland Road
Supervisor, District Five ;� - Suite 100
Contra Costa County o - s Pittsburg;California 94565-4961
Board of Supervisors ;coq (510)427-8138
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
March 22, 1996 Tom Torlakson
(510) 427-8138
(510) 757-2379
TORLAKSON DECLARES "NO WORK, NO PAY" FOR
LEGISLATORS IF BUDGET IS NOT ADOPTED
The Executive Board of the Association of Bay Area Governments
unanimously approved a recommendation presented by Supervisor Tom
Torlakson to hold State legislators accountable for getting the budget adopted on
time by imposing a "No Work, No Pay" policy.
Torlakson stated emphatically, "The current situation is simply ludicrous.
Legislators are in fact rewarded with a bonus when they miss the deadline
because they get extra per diem pay for the extra days they must be.in.session
to resolve matters."
As President of ABAG over the past two years, Torlakson has proposed
similar legislation. "The nine counties, the cities and school districts of the Bay
Area suffer millions of dollars of disruption and costs every year because of the
tardy adoption of the State Budget. The State's credit rating has been damaged
by such delays and the attractiveness of our state to investors and job-producing
entrepreneurs has been damaged. There is no excuse for the kinds of games
and gridlock that have resulted in these budget stalemates," said Torlakson.
-more-
"No Work, No Pay"
March 22, 1996
Page TWO
Torlakson told ABAG representatives not to wait for the No Work, No Pay
legislation to pass, which could be as far off as 1997. "We should ask our
legislators to pledge now that they will work to get the budget adopted on time
this year. And if the budget is not adopted on time, they should pledge to give
up their pay and the extra per diem," stated Torlakson
"I have encountered unparalleled outrage and disappointment of citizens
over the performance of the Assembly in recent years. This matches the great
frustration local officials like myself have expressed over Sacramento's lack of
connection to the real world in which we live. We don't get rewarded with extra
pay when we don't do our job or don't balance our budget. It's time to cut out the
nonsense" stated Torlakson.
-end-