Assembly Defeats Move to Put Quake Bond Issue on Ballot

SACRAMENTO â€”  The state Assembly defeated a measure Friday that would have allowed voters to approve a $300-million bond issue to upgrade public buildings to meet earthquake safety standards.

The lawmakers, meanwhile, increased the amount of money that they want to be included in a bond measure for school construction to $1.2 billion from $800 million.

Both actions contradict what Republican Gov. George Deukmejian and legislative leaders agreed should be placed on the June ballot, and what the Senate had already agreed to.

“I guess Mother Nature has to give the Legislature another earthquake before they (Assembly members) realize there’s a problem,� said Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), who introduced the earthquake measure after the Oct. 17 San Francisco Bay Area quake.

Torres, who originally had sought a $900-million bond issue for quake safety retrofitting, said he would ask the Assembly to reconsider its vote. The state Seismic Safety Commission has said that at least $1.2 billion is needed.

Torres’ measure fell 10 votes short of the 54 it needed in the Assembly; several Republicans withdrew their yes votes after agreeing to approve a higher bond amount for school construction.

Deukmejian and Republican state Treasurer Tom Hayes want to keep the total dollar amount of proposed bond measures on the June ballot at about $5 billion, to limit the state’s indebtedness.

Other bond issue proposals approved by the Legislature for the June ballot include $450 million for college-level building construction, $450 million for prison construction, $1 billion for transportation improvements and $150 million for housing programs.