HomeMy WebLinkAboutSB 7 LTR to Gov. Brown 20130911�DSO
city o sAn is oB is o
OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
990 Palm Street ■San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 3249 ■ 805/781 7119
September 11, 2013
VIA FACSIMILE 916-558-3160
The Honorable Jerry Brown
Governor, State of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 7 (Steinberg) Public Works: Charter Cities
REQUEST FOR VETO
Dear Governor Brown:
The City of San Luis Obispo respectfully requests that you Veto SB 7.
This legislation would prohibit a charter.city from receiving or using state funding or
financial assistance for a construction project if the city has a charter provision or ordinance that
exempts local projects funded solely with local monies from state prevailing wage requirements.
This measure violates the fundamental principle of local control and the constitutional
limits of state authority over charter cities, as recently held by the Court in the Vista decision.'
This measure conflicts with Vista by attempting, via the Legislature, to leverage a different
outcome than the Court's ruling by withholding vital state construction funds, derived from all of
the state's taxpayers, from charter cities that fail to adopt prevailing wage requirements for
projects built with local funds. Such a condition is unlawful because the state is seeking to
leverage outcomes it lacks the legal authority to compel.
While the City of San Luis Obispo has a longstanding practice to require the payment of
prevailing wages for city funded projects, we have grave concerns that this legislative tactic will
be used in the future to erode other local flexibility that is important to our community. Local
control. of local funds is integral to the ability of charter cities to manage local issues effectively
and responsively to local constituencies. Thus, we oppose this measure due to its undercutting of
local charter authority and fundamental insistencies with established constitutional principles.
The state should respect the Court decision in vista and stay out of the matter.
The California Supreme Court upheld that (1) the construction of a city -operated facility for the benefit of the city's inhabitants with
city funds is "quintessentially a municipal affair, "and (2) the state cannot require a charter city to exercise its purchasing power
based upon "some indirect effect [of the charter city's purchasing power] on the regional and state economies. " State Building and
Construction Trades Council of California, AFL-CIO v. City of Vista (2012) 54 Cal. 4"' 547.
city of san luis oBispo
September 11, 2013
Re: SB 7
Page 2
This measure would establish an impermissible framework for future state
micromanaging of charter city laws and policies by the tactic of withholding state funds as
political leverage to attempt to force changes to city charters and ordinances.
For these reasons City of San Luis Obispo respectfully requests your veto of SB 7.
Sincerely,
an Marx
Mayor
Cc: David Lanier, Chief Dep. Legislative Secty, Office of the Governor fax 916-558-3177
Senator Darrell Steinberg; fax 916-323-2263
Dan Carrigg, League of California CA Cities
David Mullinax, League of CA Cities
City Council
City Manager