Williams shelves transit bill that angered local officials in county

SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Das Williams has shelved a bill that sought to force local government officials in Ventura County to spend all money they receive from a state tax designed to fund local transit services for its intended purpose.

The action, which came on the eve of a scheduled hearing before the Senate Transportation Committee, means the bill is dead for this year, as Friday is the deadline for bills to advance out of policy committees.

The bill's demise sets the stage for negotiations among local officials and members of the county's legislative delegation to come up with a plan that can be approved by the Legislature next year. Absent that, under the provisions of current law, Ventura County's special exemption to use some of the money for road and street maintenance will expire July 1, 2014.

Last year, the county and its cities received about $28 million in Transit Development Act funds, about $4 million of which was spent on transportation needs other than transit, according to the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

Williams, D-Santa Barbara, represents Ventura and much of Oxnard. He said it made sense to pull the bill given the intensity of opposition from local government officials in Ventura County and the fact that there remains a full year to attempt to fashion a compromise.

"I remain committed to making sure that Ventura County residents get a better transit system," he said.

Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell, who has been leading the efforts of local officials to block Williams' bill, said Tuesday he was pleased the measure was shelved. He said the Ventura County Transportation Commission will try to schedule a meeting next month among local legislators and county officials to discuss how to proceed.

State Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, serves on the Senate panel that was scheduled to consider the bill. She had publicly said she would vote against it in its current form, and her opposition, given that she represents two Ventura County cities, probably ensured that the bill would not have made it out of the committee.

Pavley said she intends to meet with legislative colleagues — including Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, the author of the 2009 bill that gave Ventura County flexibility not afforded to other similarly-sized counties — to see "whether there's an ability to extend the timeline" for the county to comply.

She said a federal grant application submitted by the four cities in eastern Ventura County spells out in detail a plan to improve transit services in that end of the county.

"The four east-county cities have a quite well thought-out plan for fixed-route bus service connecting all the four cities," she said. "It could very well fit the substance of Sen. Wolk's bill. There is a specified plan — not just a concept."

The 2009 legislation said the county could submit a comprehensive transit plan to the Legislature for review before the 2014 cutoff. Such a plan was submitted to lawmakers in April.

Wolk told The Star last month that she considered the plan "an embarrassment" and that she would resist any effort by county officials to retreat from what she considers an agreement that they struck three years ago.

Pavley said that, given the economic circumstances of cities in the wake of the elimination of redevelopment agencies, an extension for Ventura County might not be unreasonable.

"A lot of the cities could use a little flexibility," she said.