Just when Arnold's problems seemed solved. What's unclear in LA's contention is, does "state residents most in need of help" mean people living in blighted areas, or does it mean the LA government itself? It's almost $4 billion designated for blighted areas that the state wants to take to balance the budget. Their argument is especially delicious.
"For the state to balance its budget on the backs of state residents most in need of help, and the counties that serve them, is fiscally reckless and morally bankrupt," the motion said.
Suddenly tax dollars must be spent on what they were taken for, or returned to the local jurisdiction. Why not take it a step further and return it to the people you took it from? Why isn't that in the law? Yeah, a foolish question, I know.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to sue the state to stop proposed cuts to the county's share of the state highway tax and community redevelopment funds.
The five-member board approved a motion to initiate a lawsuit if state lawmakers approve a plan to take about $2 billion from local redevelopment agencies and $1.7 billion in Highway User Tax Account funds to close the state's $26 billion deficit.The county vote to sue comes the day after top state lawmakers and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broke a months-long budget impasse that had forced the cash-strapped state to issue hundreds of millions of dollars in IOUs.
Los Angeles is California's largest county and if the court challenge stands, it could raise uncertainty over the budget plan.
The county contends the proposed taking of the redevelopment funds is illegal because the funds are raised by levying additional property taxes to cure blight and must be spent in the area from which they are raised, the motion says.
State law requires that the additional taxes must be returned to the local taxing jurisdictions once the blight is cured, the motion said.
la v ca.
Give them weapons.
Ammo.
Let 'em shoot it out.
Old old tired story.
Lots and lots of ammo.
What a freakin waste of time, Dan.
Posted by: ac halle | Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Socialists fighting socialists - I love it! As the left falls apart, Conservatives will prevail. Now we'll see if the stupid party (GOP) will be smart enough to return to it's CONSERVATIVE roots instead of committing suicide by running more RINO's and listening to MSNBC on how it needs to go left to win. Hard Right NOW!!!
Posted by: Mikecampbelly2k | Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Another facet of the "resolution package" is for the state to take away money from the counties and localities and in turn have THEM borrow. The state would then pay the local governments back in a few years.
This is a workaround on the prohibition on further state borrowing. It's like making your kids take out credit cards to hand over to you when yours are maxed out.
This is a bad idea.
Posted by: whitehall | Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 07:04 PM