Yesterday, Assembly Member Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills), Budget Conference Committee chair announced the committee’s conferees. The Senate will be represented by Sens. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino), Bill Emmerson (R-Riverside) and Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar). The Assembly will be represented by Asms. Blumenfield, Felipe Fuentes (D-Slymar), Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point), Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), and Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).
The Conference Committee meets today at 10 a.m. and is scheduled to take up a variety of issues affecting local government, including redevelopment and enterprise zones. The agenda has been posted on the Senate website. The enterprise zone discussion is listed in the agenda on page 5, while the redevelopment discussion is listed on page 7.
Public safety realignment is first on the agenda. Because it relates to COPS and Booking Fees funding, this discussion is especially important to local government. Also of importance, is the broader of issue of the realignment of health and human services to counties, which includes such issues as potential reallocation of state prisoners to county jails. Counties are currently being told that funding for this realignment will come from proposed tax increases which would be effective for five years. After five years, the state has promised constitutional protections for continuing revenue for realignment. However, given the experience with constitutional protections and redevelopment, it remains a fair question whether the state will ultimately honor those protections for future county revenues.
Other likely controversial topics today include the single sales factor and increasing pressure from outside groups for pension reform.
Sen. Blumenfield has requested that the Budget Conference Committee also meet:
- Thursday, Feb. 24 at 11:00 a.m. in Room 4202
- Friday, Feb. 25, at 10:00 a.m. Room TBA
- Saturday, Feb. 26, Upon Call of the Chair, Room 4203
- Sunday, Feb. 27, Upon Call of the Chair, Room 4203
The notices will appear in both the Senate and Assembly Daily Files on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011.