State Is Asked to Pay for Secession Study

Mayor Richard Riordan and San Fernando Valley secessionists disagree on countless issues, but they have found common ground on one: Both believe someone else--the state--should shoulder the costs of studying Los Angeles’ possible deconstruction.

Now, if only they could persuade enough state leaders.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky joined advocates of Valley cityhood and Riordan’s chief of staff Monday in asking a state commission charged with reforming local government laws to recommend state funding for an analysis of municipal divorce.

Before they could even make their pitch, however, a powerful state legislator joined the debate, notifying the commission in writing that he would oppose all efforts to have the state pay for a Valley secession study because he considered it a troublesome precedent.

Although a number of state leaders, including Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), have pledged to help fund a secession study, the opposition by state Sen. Richard K. Rainey (R-Walnut Creek) could prove critical.

He heads the Senate Committee on Local Government, which probably would have to approve such a funding request, expected to total several million dollars.

“If we pay for this study, then legislators must expect other communities to come to Sacramento asking for favorable treatment,” Rainey said. “I fear that once we start down that slippery slope, legislators won’t be able to say no to similar requests.”

The secession group, Valley VOTE, has collected enough signatures to trigger a study on the consequences of splitting up Los Angeles and forming a separate Valley city--a step required before an election can take place.

But the highly political question of who should pay for the study remains unanswered, and the study has yet to begin. Valley VOTE leaders argue that forcing secession backers to pay would represent an unconstitutional barrier to the ballot.

Hoping to resolve the issue, Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) asked the Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century to take up the secession funding issue quickly and give him a recommendation before the end of this year’s legislative session.

In turn, the commission is holding a series of meetings and plans to release its recommendation next month. The 15-member appointed panel, headed by San Diego Mayor Susan Golding, met Monday in downtown Los Angeles to take suggestions from opponents and proponents of Valley secession.

Kelly Martin, Riordan’s chief of staff, told the commission that city leaders planned to provide the reams of information needed for the massive analysis, but were concerned that they would have to pay to collect the data.

“The city is having this foisted upon us,” Martin said. “We didn’t say to all the voters in Los Angeles, ‘Is this OK with you? Is this where you want us to spend your money?’ ”

Yaroslavsky said the state secession law passed two years ago was intended to ensure that citizens had a way to get secession on the ballot, but it did not address funding issues that could effectively kill such movements. He suggested a possible public vote on funding secession studies.

“Unless there is some burden sharing here, this process is going to be stillborn,” he said. “I don’t think anyone who took part in the legislation wanted that.”