1. September 3, 2012
The Honorable Jerry Brown, Governor
State of California
Capitol Room 1173
Sacramento, California 95814
Dear Governor Brown:
As a business owner living and working in the affected cities, I am pleased to SUPPORT AB 1098. As
passed by the legislature, AB 1098 would reinstate allocations of motor vehicle license fees to recently
incorporated cities and cities which annexed inhabited areas, consistent with the allocation
formula which those communities relied upon when making the decision to incorporate or annex the
affected territory.
The current state budget diverted $153 million in vehicle license fees from cities’ general funds into a
grant program for local law enforcement. Every city lost money, but the shift hit especially hard at the
state’s newest cities: Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Menifee and Wildomar, all cities within the Southwest
California region. The state had provided newly incorporated cities with additional vehicle license fee
money for five years to help fund the transition to cityhood, but that financing abruptly vanished this year.
SB 89 effectively eliminated VLF revenue to cities.
During their incorporation process, these cities were promised, and had relied upon, these moneys to fund
their transition to cityhood. Given the current economic climate, and facing significant property tax
revenue shortfalls, these cities are faced with extreme hardship due to the broken promises of the State of
California. For example, the City of Jurupa Valley is faced with two unacceptable alternatives; insolvency
coupled with disincorporation, or a reduction in law enforcement that endangers both law enforcement
officers and the general public. The City of Wildomar lost more than 20% of their anticipated (promised)
operating budget.
"This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or
safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The
facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to restore critical revenues to recently incorporated cities and cities that annexed inhabited
areas, removed from these communities as a result of the passage of Senate Bill 89 of the 2011–12
Regular Session (Chapter 35 of the Statutes of 2011) without providing a reasonable opportunity for
input from the affected agencies and the public, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately."
For these reasons, I am pleased to SUPPORT AB 1098 and encourage you to sign this important
measure.
cc:
nancy.mcfadden@gov.ca.gov,
gareth.elliott@gov.ca.gov,
anna.pozdyn@gov.ca.gov ,
gavin.newsom@ltgov.ca.gov
http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php