BILL ANALYSIS
AB 251
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 251 (Knight) - As Introduced: February 10, 2009
SUBJECT : Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority.
SUMMARY : Reconfigures the make up of the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) Board by removing
one of the public members appointed by the Mayor of the City of
Los Angeles and adding the appointment of one member by the city
councils of the Cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, and Santa
Clarita. Specifically, this bill :
1)Reduces the public member appointments, made by the Mayor of
the City of Los Angeles, on the LAMTA from two members to one
member.
2)Adds a seat on LAMTA for one member jointly appointed by the
city councils of the Cities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Santa
Clarita.
3)Requires that the new appointee, added above, be a mayor or a
city council member of one of those cities and shall serve a
one-year term on a three-year rotating cycle.
4)Removes the Cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, and Santa Clarita
from the selection of the four members appointed from other
cities in Los Angeles County.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that the LAMTA consists of 14 members, as follows:
a) Five members of the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors;
b) The Mayor of the City of Los Angeles;
c) Two public members and one member of the City Council of
the City of Los Angeles appointed by the Mayor of the City
of Los Angeles;
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d) Four members, each of whom shall be a mayor or a member
of a city council, appointed by the Los Angeles County City
Selection Committee [one] from the following sectors:
i) North County/San Fernando Valley sector;
ii) The Southwest Corridor sector;
iii) The San Gabriel Valley sector; and,
iv) The Southeast Long Beach sector.
e) One non-voting member appointed by the Governor.
2)Specifies that if, the population of the City of Los Angeles,
at any time, becomes less than 35% of the combined population
of all cities in Los Angeles County, the position of one of
the two public members appointed by the Mayor of the City of
Los Angeles, shall be vacated, and the vacant position shall
be filled by appointment by the city selection committee from
a city not represented by any other member currently
appointed.
3)Requires that the members selected by the city selection
committee serve four-year terms with no limitation on the
number of terms that may be served by any individual.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)AB 251 reconfigures the make up of the LAMTA Board by removing
one of the public members appointed by the Mayor of the City
of Los Angeles and adding the appointment
of one member by the city councils of the Cities of Palmdale,
Lancaster, and Santa Clarita.
2)Currently, the 14-member LAMTA Board is made up of the five
Los Angeles County Supervisors, the Mayor of Los Angeles,
three Los Angeles mayor-appointed members, four city council
members representing the other 87 cities in Los Angeles
County, and one non-voting gubernatorial appointment. LAMTA
is the regional transportation planner for all of Los Angeles
County (County). LAMTA develops and oversees transportation
plans, policies, funding programs, and both short-term and
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long-range solutions that address the County's increasing
mobility, accessibility and environmental needs. LAMTA also
implements a variety of projects, programs and plans in
support of these goals. More than
10 million people - one-third of California's residents - live,
work, and play within its
1,433-square-mile service area. According to Department of
Finance's estimates, over four million people live within the
boundaries of the City of Los Angeles alone; that makes the
population of the City of Los Angeles nearly 39% of the
County's total. Together the populations of Lancaster,
Palmdale, and Santa Clarita only make up 4.7% of the County's
total population. The Committee may wish to consider whether
it is prudent to give such a small percentage of the overall
population their own seat on the LAMTA Board.
3)According to the author, the current distribution of members
on the LAMTA Board unfairly represents the entire county of
Los Angeles. The author believes that adding a member from
northern Los Angeles to the LAMTA Board would improve the
County's ability to develop a regional transit plan. The
author feels that there is an imbalance in the structure of
the LAMTA, putting some cities and their commuters at a
disadvantage when it comes to equitable representation and
funding. With regions outside of the Los Angeles city limits
growing at an explosive rate and more tax revenues going to
the LAMTA to provide for the transit needs of the County's
residents, the author believes that there must be parity in
the manner in which those cities are represented on the board.
4)Although this measure is sponsored by Los Angeles County
Supervisor Michael Antonovich, the bill is not a consensus
item at the local level. The City of Los Angeles opposes the
measure, stating that "AB 251 is unnecessary, premature, and
violates the very spirit of this bill - to seek equitable
representation for cities and communities on the LAMTA Board.
Furthermore, it is based on the false premise that City of Los
Angeles - currently almost
39% of the population but less than 31% of the seats- is somehow
over represented on the LAMTA Board." The Committee may wish
to consider whether it is appropriate for the Legislature to
get involved with an issue that is truly local and has
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opposing sides. The Committee may wish to recommend that the
author convene meetings with all of the interested
stakeholders on this issue and work together on resolving this
matter and then,
if a solution necessitates legislation, bring the issue back to
the Legislature for approval.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Michael D. Antonovich, Supervisor, Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors [SPONSOR]
Victor Valley Transit Authority
Opposition
City of Los Angeles
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958