HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03122002 - C13 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ;a
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FROM: John Sweeten, County Administrator COSTA,, .i..n
DATE: March 12, 2002 -. COUNTY
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SUBJECT: ACR 124 (Harman) - Support
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOlIIIMENDATION#Sta
SUPPORT ACR 124 (Harman), which enjoinsthe Governor to ensure that local governments
continue to be fully reimbursed for the revenue losses associated with the vehicle license fee offset.
BACKGRt3UN 3JRE 4St)N#Sl FOR RECOMMENDATION(S):
The County's 2002 Legislative Program includes:
Oppose,any state imposed reduction of general-purpose revenue, including the vehicle license
fee (VLF) backfill, sales tax and property tax.
The Governor's January budget does not propose to reduce local government revenues for the
vehicle license fee (VLF) offset; however, it is widely acknowledged in Sacramento that the VLF
backfill could become a subject'of debate during the budget'session. This is especially probable if
the Legislative Analyst's Office's assessment of the State Budget problem at $17.5 billion, rather
than the$12.5 billion assumed by the Governor, proves correct.
ACR 124, an Assembly Concurrent Resolution, may help to keep the VLF issue off the table during
the budgetary discussions.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: S SIGNATURE: �d
RECOMMENDATION of COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR_RECOMMENDATION OF BOAR?COMMITTEE
.,APPROVE _ OTHER
SIGNATURE{S):
ACTION OF BOAR" March 12 2002' APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X�PTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A
X UNANIMOUS{ABSENT Nnne 1 TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN
AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS;,ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Contact:Sara Hoffman,335-1090 ATTESTED March 12. 2002 .
JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK Of
THE BOARD Of SUPERVISORS
AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
cc: CAO £
County Lobbyist
BYi ' _DEPUTY
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AMENDEDIN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 25, 2002'
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-20OIA2 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Concurrent'Resolution No. 124
Introduced by Assembly Member Harman
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bates, Bogh, Briggs, Bill'
Campbell, John Campbell, 'Cogdill, Cox, La Suer, Leach,
Leonard, Leslie, ',Mountjoy, Runner, Strickland, Wyland, and
Wyman)
(Coauthors: Senators Ackerman,Battin, .Haynes, Johannessen,
Johnson, Margett, Morrow, and 011er)
January 7, 2002
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 124—Relative to the retention
of vehicle license fee offset reimbursements to local governments,
LEGISLAME COUNSEU S INGEST
ACR 124, as amended; Harman. Vehicle license fee offsets;
reimbursements to local governments.
This measure would urge the Governor to ensure that local
governments will continue to be fully reimbursed'for the revenue losses
associated with the vehicle license fee 'offsets authorized under the
Vehicle License Fee Law.
Fiscal committee:no
1 WHEREAS, Under the Vehicle License Fee Law, set forth in
2 Part 5 (commencing with Section 10701) of Division 2 of the
3 Revenue and Taxation Code(VLF Law),vehicle license fees owed'
98
ACR 124 —2-
1
-21 by motor vehicle owners are collected by the Department of Motor
2 Vehicles and are then allocated to local governments and
3 WHEREAS,In 1998,the Governor and the Legislature reached
4 an agreement to reduce the vehicle license fees paid by motor
5 vehicle owners under the VLF Law by providing' for offsets
6 against the vehicle license fees computed under the VLF Law,and
7 WHEREAS,As part of that agreement it was the intention of the
8 Governor and the Legislature to ensure that local governments
9 would be reimbursed for'revenue losses associated with the tax
10 reductions under the VLF Law; and
11 WHEREAS, In this regard, existing law,provides that local
12 governments are to be reimbursed for revenue reductions
13` associated with the vehicle license fee offsets authorized under the
14: VLF Law; and
15 WHEREAS, Revenues received by local governments under
16 the VLF Law,including the vehicle license fee offsets,constitute'
17 one of the largest sources of discretionary revenue available to
18 local governments, and
19 WHEREAS, Most local governments use these discretionary
20 revenues to support police and Ere operations and to fund
21 mandated state programs, such as indigent health care and foster
22 care,'for which local governments receive matching funds from
23 the State of California,and
24 WHEREAS, It is anticipated that for the 2002.-03 fiscal year the
25 amount required to reimburse local governments for the revenue
26' reductions 'associated with the vehicle license fee offsets
27' authorized under the VLF Law will be$3.8 billion,and
28 WHEREAS, Existing law provides that the vehicle license fee
29' offsets are to be reduced or discontinued to the extent there are
30' insufficient revenues in the General Fund to fully reimburse;local;
31 governments for revenue.'reductions associated with the vehicle
32 license fee offsets; and
33 WHEREAS,The State of California is currently experiencing
34 a budget crisis and there are concerns that the existing requirement
35' to reimburse local;governments for the revenue losses associated
36 with the reductions under the VLA'Law may be eliminated in order
37 to address the current budget crisis; now,therefore, be it
38 .resolved by the Assembly of tate State of California, the Senate
39 thereof'concurring, That,',so long as the VLF Law provides for
40 vehicle license fee offsets, the Governor is urged to ensure that
98
-3— ACR 124
1 local governments will continue to be fully reimbursed for the
Z revenue losses associated with the vehicle license fee offsets.
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