Industry News :: Business leaders lobbying for bond
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SACRAMENTO - As state lawmakers worked frantically toward a Friday deadline to get an infrastructure package on the June ballot, Los Angeles business executives toured the Capitol and exhorted them to get the deal done quickly.
In their annual lobbying trip to Sacramento, about 100 members of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce said they don't have a preference for any specific infrastructure proposal, but simply want to make it clear the deal should be done now because the state is desperate for the work.
"We're up here to fight for the bond issue," said chamber vice chairman David Fleming, a San Fernando Valley attorney. "We need to do something about the infrastructure in this state.
"Now's the time to move forward and be bold, to rise above politics and get this thing done."
The Legislature has until Friday to produce an agreement for the June ballot on the first installment of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $68 billion bond package to help fund $222 billion in infrastructure improvements over the next 20 years.
While infrastructure was the group's top lobbying priority, members also urged lawmakers to address runaway film production, health care and education issues.
The group met with 50 legislators, agency heads and staffers in a day and a half, including Speaker Fabian Nuez, D-Los Angeles and Secretary of State Bruce McPherson.
They also met with Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, to talk about runaway film production. Koretz wants to see a tax credit given to the film industry to keep production in California, and the restoration of the Film California First marketing program.
Koretz also told the group that he believes one of the problems Los Angeles has traditionally had is a lack of coordination among the various state legislators representing the vast region.
He has tried in the past few months, with mixed success, to organize a Los Angeles caucus in the Assembly.
"There is nothing formal, there's not even much informal," Koretz said. "It's a good reason why I don't think we get our fair share of funding oftentimes when there's a bond issue or whatever. We just don't work together in a coherent fashion."
Chamber officials said they were interested in working with Koretz to help organize the rest of the delegation.
"We'd like to work with Assemblyman Koretz on getting the L.A. delegation to work closer together," said Brendan Huffman, the chamber's public policy manager.
"He mentioned that after five years he figured out there isn't enough common interests or common efforts to fight for L.A.'s fair share in the state budget and other issues. So we'd like to help him facilitate that."
Harrison Sheppard, (916) 446-6723
harrison.sheppard@dailynews.com
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