A sputtering Assembly bill that would resuscitate efforts to
incorporate San Martin may get its own new life in time to win
passage this year.
Gilroy – A sputtering Assembly bill that would resuscitate efforts to incorporate San Martin may get its own new life in time to win passage this year.
AB 1602, a bill introduced by John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, would restore vehicle tax fees that were taken away from newly incorporated towns by a recent ballot measure.
Passed last November, Proposition 1A protects cities and counties from having tax revenue taken by the state through a complicated process whereby schools hand over property tax revenue to their municipalities and are reimbursed by the state. Proposition 1A did not, however, include language dealing with new towns, leaving areas like San Martin without the money it needs to operate independently of the county.
Laird’s bill would alter the funding formula, an idea that raised red flags with officials at the California League of Cities, who are concerned that existing cities could suffer at the expense of areas trying to incorporate. But rather than kill the bill, the league is working out a new formula that everyone can live with.
League spokeswoman Megan Taylor said Tuesday that the league is interested in moving quickly, but the looming legislation deadline – bills must be sent to the governor’s desk by September – may make AB 1602 a two-year bill.
“Basically we need to make sure this happens in a way that’s equitable to all cities,” Taylor said. “This may need to be a two-year bill so there’s enough time to figure out all the ramifications and do it in a way that makes sense.”
Laird said recently that he’s resigned to the two-year process, which would put off San Martin’s incorporation efforts until 2007, but an aide said Thursday there’s still a possibility the bill could gain the broad support needed to move it ahead in the current session.
San Martin’s annual share of vehicle registration fees would be about $450,000. Without that revenue, its residents can not raise the approximately $2.3 million it would need each year to support city services. Laird’s bill would restore San Martin’s access to that revenue by creating a new allocation of vehicle licensing fees for newly incorporated areas.
Sylvia Hamilton, head of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance, said the incorporation movement can not go forward in any meaningful way until the bill is passed. In the meantime, she added, the alliance continues to reach out to San Martin residents to build support for starting a new town.
