September 23, 2005
Issue #38-2005
WANT MORE DET AILS
ON BILLS?
Visit the League of
California Cities
website at
www.cacities.org/
billsearch.
• LEAGUE SET FOR 107TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER
• INDIAN GAMING FORUM TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER
• U.S. EPA SPONSORS FREE BROWNFIELDS GRANT TRAINING
WORKSHOPS IN OCTOBER
Annual Conference,
October 5-8, 2005 -
San Francisco
The League of California Cities’ 107th Annual Conference opens on
Wednesday, October 5, at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco. With
the theme of “Stepping It Up,” more than 2,300 California mayors, council
members and other city officials will attend, sharing ideas about issues
important to cities. For more, see Page 3.
LEAGUE SET FOR 107TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER
EDUCATION AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT ATTENDEES
The League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties
(CSAC), California Tribal Business Alliance and the California State Sheriffs’
Association are sponsoring “Government to Government Relationships: A
Forum on Indian Gaming,” -- a free symposium on tribal gaming issues in
California. For more, see Page 2.
INDIAN GAMING FORUM TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will sponsor two free
training workshops in Southern California next month, to help local govern-
ment and other eligible quasi-governmental agencies learn how to apply for
grants to clean up brownfield contamination. For more, see Page 2.
U.S. EPA SPONSORS FREE BROWNFIELDS GRANT TRAINING
WORKSHOPS IN OCTOBERVisit the League’s Official Website--www.cacities.org
PAGE 2/PRIORITY FOCUS
INDIAN GAMING from page 1
The forum will be held on Wednesday, Octo-
ber 26, from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the CSAC
Conference Center, located at 1020 11th Street,
2nd Floor, in Sacramento. Panel discussions will
cover areas such as tribal sovereignty, tribal
governance, Indian gaming facilities, developing a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between
governments, local mitigation, and negotiation
guidelines.
Public safety issues such as enforcement and
prosecution practice will also be discussed in an
informational setting. A roundtable discussion on
opportunities beyond Indian gaming for tribes,
counties, and cities will conclude the event.
Pastries, coffee, and lunch will also be provided.
To register, please fax the attached registration
form to the attention of Katrina Thompson of
CSAC, at (916) 321-5048, no later than October 7.
Please include your name, title, and contact
information in the registration. You can also e-mail
the form to Katrina at kthompson@counties.org. A
digital copy of the registration form is available on
the League’s website at www.cacities.org.
BROWNFIELDS from page 1
The workshops will include a discussion of
eligibility criteria for applicants and sites, applica-
tion formatting, scoring criteria, and important
points of emphasis.
The workshops will be held October 24 in Los
Angeles, and October 26 in San Diego, at the
following times and locations:
Monday, October 24
1:30 pm - 3:30 p.m.
USEPA Southern California Field Office
600 Wilshire Boulevard at Grand, Suite 1460
Mike Schulz Conference Room
Los Angeles, CA
(213) 244-1800
Wednesday, October 26
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
San Diego Regional Water Quality Control
Board
9174 Sky Park Court, Suite 100
Regional Board Meeting Room
San Diego, CA
(858) 467-2952
For more information, contact U.S. EPA
Southern California Brownfields Coordinator
Noemi Emeric at (213) 244-1821. Emeric can
also be reached via e-mail at
emeric.noemi@epa.gov.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get the League’s most useful reference tool. This
comprehensive California directory provides important contact information for mayors,
council members and city department heads. The directory also features the League’s
staff directory, League partners, affiliate organizations and a wide variety of advertisers.
INFORMA TION YOU NEED, RIGHT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
Purchase this publication on-line at www.cacities.org/store or call (916) 658-8257 for an
order form. City officials price $30, non-city official price $65, plus shipping & handling.
THE 2005 CITY HALL DIRECTORY IS NOW AVAILABLEPRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 3 Visit the League’s Official Website--www.cacities.org
Conference sessions will address housing and
infrastructure, telecommunications, city financing,
effective management, leadership and govern-
ment, and much more! Featured speakers will
include National League of Cities President and
Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams; public
health specialist Dr. Richard Jackson of U.C.
Berkeley’s School of Public Health, speaking on
what it takes to create healthy cities; and Dr.
Steven D. Levitt, an economist with the University
of Chicago and author of the bestselling book,
“Freakonomics.”
YOUTH TRACK FOCUSED ON FUTURE CITY
LEADERS
One of the many interesting tracks will cater to
the future leaders of cities – high school students.
Several sessions will introduce high school stu-
dents to the issues city officials encounter on a
daily basis.
If your city is interested in including a youth
delegation with your city officials attending the
conference, please visit the League website at
www.cacities.org/ac for more information on the
youth program.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES HELP EX-
PAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Not all the learning takes place in conference
sessions. The conference will offer many opportu-
nities for attendees to share information and ideas
with officials from other cities, as well as exhibitors
and League sponsors. Networking opportunities
include:
• Host City Welcoming Reception, Wednes-
day, October 5, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Moscone Center West, 3rd Level Lobby
• Exhibitors & League Partners Reception,
Thursday, October 6, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.,
Moscone Center West, Exposition Hall,
First Floor
• Asian Pacific Islander Reception/Karaoke,
Thursday, October 6, 9 p.m. to midnight,
Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, Barcelona
Ballroom
• African-American Caucus Lunch, Friday,
October 7, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.,
Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, Barcelona
Ballroom
• Latino Caucus 15th Annual Gala Award
Reception, Friday, October 7, 6 p.m. to
9 p.m.
• The very popular “Death by Chocolate”
event, featuring a chocolate fountain and
“everything chocolate” sponsored by
several League partners. The event
starts at 9:30 p.m., Friday, October 7, at
the Parc 55 Renaissance Hotel. Buses
will be available to shuttle conference
attendees between conference hotels and
the Parc 55 Renaissance Hotel.
Registration for the Annual Conference is still
available through the League’s website at
www.cacities.org/ac.
LEAGUE ANNUAL CONFERENCE from page 1
Western City magazine’s job
opportunity section is the source for job
seekers looking for positions in local
government. According to our reader
survey, the job opportunity section is the
best read section of our magazine!
When you place an ad in Western City
magazine, it will be posted at no additional
charge on our website, which receives
over 80,000 hits per month.
Call to place your recruitment ad today!
We Have What You Need
(800) 262-1801 or visit our website at
www.westerncity.com
LOOKING FOR CALIFORNIA’S BEST TO
FILL A POSITION IN YOUR CITY?
September 30, 2005
Issue #39-2005
WANT MORE DET AILS
ON BILLS?
Visit the League of
California Cities
website at
www.cacities.org/
billsearch.
U.S. EPA SPONSORS FREE BROWNFIELDS GRANT TRAINING
WORKSHOPS IN OCTOBER
2005 LATINO NEW URBANISM CONFERENCE SET FOR OCTOBER
YOUR CITY’S FRANCHISE FEES ARE AT RISK!
Page 3
Annual Conference,
October 5-8, 2005 -
San Francisco
Priority Focus will
not publish on
Friday, October 7,
due to the League’s
Annual Conference.
Please visit the
League’s website at
www.cacities.org, for
updates from the
conference.
You won’t want to miss this one: the League’s 107th Annual Conference,
Wednesday, October 5, through Saturday, October 8, at the Moscone Center
West in San Francisco! More than 2,300 of your colleagues from among
California mayors, council members and other city officials will gather under
the conference theme, “Stepping It Up,” to spend 3.5 days sharing ideas about
issues important to cities. For more, see Page 2.
107TH LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES ANNUAL
CONFERENCE OPENS NEXT WEEK
The chairpersons of several Assembly and Senate committees are col-
laborating on two interim legislative hearings on redevelopment issues, with
proposals discussed at these hearings likely to be introduced as legislation in
January 2006. For more, see Page 4.
TWO LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS WILL DISCUSS
REDEVELOPMENT REFORMS
The House passed a continuing resolution (CR) that will maintain funding
for the federal government once FY 2005 ends at midnight tonight, September
30. The Senate passed the spending extension measure this morning, with
President Bush expected to sign it into law later in the day. For more, see
Page 4.
FEDERAL UPDATE: CONGRESS MOVES ON
APPROPRIATIONS BILLS, HOMELAND
SECURITY AND TANFVisit the League’s Official Website--www.cacities.org
PAGE 2/PRIORITY FOCUS
Not yet registered? While the deadline for
online registration for the League’s Annual Confer-
ence has passed, you can still register onsite at
the Moscone Center West.
Featured speakers will include:
• State Controller Steve Westly
• National League of Cities President
and Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony
Williams.
• Public Health Specialist Dr. Richard
Jackson of U.C. Berkeley’s School of
Public Health, speaking on the role of
planning in creating healthy cities.
• Dr. Steven D. Levitt, an economist with
the University of Chicago and author of the
bestselling book, “Freakonomics.”
SESSIONS FOCUSED ON KEY ISSUES
Conference sessions will address housing
and infrastructure, telecommunications, city
financing, effective management, leadership and
government, and much more! Here are a few
notable sessions to attend, focused on key
League issues:
• Inclusionary Housing – Thursday,
October 6, 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m., Room 2003.
• Reopening of the Federal Telecommunica-
tions Act: What It Means to Cities – Thurs-
day, October 6, 3:45 to 5 p.m., Room 2008.
• Ethics Best Practices and Tools for Local
Officials – 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m., Room 2014.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES HELP
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Not all the learning takes place in conference
session. The conference will offer many opportu-
nities for attendees to make contact with officials
from other cities, as well as exhibitors and League
sponsors. Networking opportunities include:
• Host City Welcoming Reception, Wednes-
day, October 5, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Moscone Center West, 3rd Level Lobby.
• Exhibitors & League Partners Reception,
Thursday, October 6, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.,
Moscone Center West, Exposition Hall,
First Floor.
• Asian Pacific Islander Reception/Karaoke,
Thursday, October 6, 9 p.m. to midnight,
Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, Barcelona
Ballroom.
• Networking Breakfast to discuss the
potential establishment of a Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender Caucus of the
League of California Cities, Friday,
October 7, 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., Moscone
Center West, Room 2018 Alcove.
• African-American Caucus Lunch, Friday,
October 7, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Renais-
sance Parc 55 Hotel, Barcelona Ballroom.
• Latino Caucus 15th Annual Gala Award
Reception, Friday, October 7, 6 p.m.
to 9 p.m.
‘DEA TH BY CHOCOLA TE’ RETURNS!
You also won’t want to miss the League’s very
popular “Death by Chocolate” event, featuring a
chocolate fountain and “everything chocolate.” The
event starts at 9:30 p.m., October 7, at the Parc 55
Renaissance Hotel. Shuttle buses will be available
between conference hotels and the Parc 55 Re-
naissance Hotel. Thanks to Waste Management,
Kinsell, Newsome, DeDios, Inc., MuniFinancial,
NBS, Public Agency Retirement Service, and
Willdan for underwriting this fun event!
To view a draft of the conference program,
please visit the League’s website at
www.cacities.org/ac. Please note that the final,
most updated version of the program will be
included in your materials when you sign in at
the registration desk at the Moscone Center.
LEAGUE CONFERENCE from page 1
For more information on this and
other League issues, visit
www.cacities.org.PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 3 Visit the League’s Official Website--www.cacities.org
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) will sponsor four free training workshops
across the state next month, to help local govern-
ment and other eligible quasi-governmental agen-
cies learn how to apply for grants to clean up
brownfield contamination.
The workshops will include a discussion of
eligibility criteria for applicants and sites, applica-
tion formatting, scoring criteria, and important
points of emphasis.
The Northern California workshops will be held
October 12 in Visalia, and October 19 in Pleasant
Hill, at the following times and locations:
Wednesday, October 12
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Visalia Convention Center
San Joaquin C
303 East Acequia Ave.
Visalia, Calif.
Wednesday, October 19
9 a.m. - Noon
Pleasant Hill City Hall
100 Gregory Lane Council Chambers
Pleasant Hill, Calif.
The Southern California workshops will be held
October 24 in Los Angeles, and October 26 in San
Diego, at the following times and locations:
Monday, October 24
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
USEPA Southern California Field Office
600 Wilshire Boulevard at Grand, Suite 1460
Mike Schulz Conference Room
Los Angeles, Calif.
Wednesday, October 26
10 a.m. – Noon
San Diego Regional Water Quality Ctrl. Board
9174 Sky Park Court, Suite 100
Regional Board Meeting Room
San Diego, Calif.
U.S. EPA SPONSORS FREE
BROWNFIELDS GRANT TRAINING WORKSHOPS IN OCTOBER
For more information, contact U.S. EPA
Southern California Brownfields Coordinator
Noemi Emeric at (213) 244-1821. Emeric can
also be reached via e-mail at
emeric.noemi@epa.gov.
On Friday, October 21, California State
University, Los Angeles will be home for the 2005
Latino New Urbanism Conference.
Taking place at the Golden Eagle Banquet
Tower, featured speakers include Henry
Cisneros, president and chief executive officer of
American CityVista, and Los Angeles City Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa. California State Assembly-
man Fabian Nunez, speaking on “A Healthy
California for Latino Families and Children,” has
also been invited.
A variety of informative panels on “Architec-
ture & Urban Design,” “Development,” and
“Health and Parks” will be presented at the
conference. For more information, sponsorship
details, and how to register, visit the Latino New
Urbanism website at
www.latinonewurbanism.org.
2005 LATINO NEW URBANISM
CONFERENCE SET FOR OCTOBER
Learn more at “Reopening of the
Federal Telecommunications Act: What it
Means to Cities,” a session in the Trans-
portation and Infrastructure Series at the
League’s Annual Conference. The ses-
sion will take place on Thursday, October
6 from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room 2008
of the Moscone Center West.
Watch for a major story on telecom-
munications in Western City magazine in
November!
YOUR CITY’S FRANCHISE FEES
ARE AT RISK!Visit the League’s Official Website--www.cacities.org
PAGE 4/PRIORITY FOCUS
FEDERAL UPDATE from page 1
The CR will maintain funding for all federal
programs and projects through November 18,
2005. So far, only two of the FY 2006 appropria-
tions bills have been signed into law: the Interior-
Environment measure (PL 109-54) and the
Legislative Branch appropriations (PL 109-55)
bills. A third, the FY 2006 Homeland Security
Appropriations bill, was approved in conference
and is expected to reach the House and Senate
floors for final passage next week.
The 49-day CR would set spending for all
other government programs at the fiscal 2005
rate, the House-passed level for FY 2006 or the
FY 2006 Senate-passed level, whichever was the
lowest. House Appropriations Chairman Jerry
Lewis (Calif.) organized the extension bill in this
fashion in an attempt to encourage the Senate to
finalize and pass its remaining FY 2006 spending
measures individually, rather than combining
them into an omnibus bill.
The House passed its versions of all twelve of
the FY 2006 appropriations bills before the July 4
recess. The Senate, however, has passed only
eight of its FY 2006 appropriations bills, and is
working to complete today the floor debate on a
ninth, the FY 2006 Defense Appropriations bill.
Despite the discrepancy between House- and
Senate-passed FY 2006 spending measures and
the outstanding workload that Congress must
complete before it adjourns, House and Senate
appropriators remain committed to passing all of
the FY 2006 spending bills individually.
The House-passed CR has raised some
issues for some senators, who have expressed
an interest in amending it. One such amendment
raised by Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa) would have
restored a 50 percent cut to the Community
Services Block Grant (CSBG) program. The
amendment failed by a vote of 39-53. The pro-
gram, funded at $673 million in FY 2005, was cut
to $320 million in the House for FY 2006. Pas-
sage of the amendment would have resulted in a
government shutdown, because the House has
LEG HEARINGS from page 1
It appears clear that concerns about the use of
eminent domain raised in recent months have
lead to a broader agenda in the Legislature on the
use of redevelopment.
The first hearing is on the topic “Redevelop-
ment and Blight,” and will be held on Wednesday,
October 26, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the
Weingart City Heights Library, 3795 Fairmount
Ave., San Diego. Witnesses will be asked to
present examples of successful redevelopment
projects and examples of “abuse” of the current
legal definition of blight. Eminent domain issues
are also expected to be raised.
This will be a joint hearing of the Senate Local
Government Committee (Christine Kehoe, chair),
the Senate Transportation and Housing Commit-
tee (Tom Torlakson, chair), and the Assembly
Housing and Community Development Committee
(Gene Mullin, chair).
The second hearing will examine the subject,
“Redevelopment Reforms.” It will be held Thurs-
day, November 17, from 9:30 a.m. to noon in
Room 4203 of the State Capitol. Various propos-
als for changing redevelopment law are expected
to be discussed at this hearing. Eminent domain
issues could also be part of this hearing.
Again, this will be a joint hearing of the same
three committees named above plus the Assem-
bly Local Government Committee (Simon Salinas,
chair) and the Assembly Judiciary Committee
(Dave Jones, chair).
It is likely that most of the witnesses at these
hearings will be invited by the committee chairs.
The California Redevelopment Association will
submit suggestions of persons to testify.
Continued on Page 5Visit the League’s Official Website--www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 5
already adjourned for the week, making it unlikely
that lawmakers could meet to resolve the differ-
ences in time.
Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska) offered an amend-
ment to the FY 2006 Defense Appropriations bill
that restores funding to the Community Services
Block Grant (CSBG) Program. The amendment
was adopted by voice vote. The Senate is unlikely
to conclude debate on the FY 2006 Defense
spending measure today and will renew floor
negotiations on bill next week.
Reconciliation. Congressional leaders still
intend to comply with reconciliation instructions
outlined in the FY 2006 Budget Resolution. While
House and Senate authorizing committees were
originally scheduled to report $34.7 billion in
spending cuts to their respective budget commit-
tees on September 16, that date was pushed back
to the week of October 17 to permit lawmakers
ample time to respond to Hurricane Katrina.
In the wake of providing disaster aid to the Gulf
Coast region, House and Senate leaders have
sought to encourage deeper cuts in federal pro-
grams to offset the high cost of providing relief and
rebuilding the region. Meanwhile House and
Senate moderate Republicans and Democrats
contend that now is not the time to impose cuts to
Medicaid, food stamps, and other programs for
the poor that are likely targets of the reconciliation
instructions.
Homeland Security. House-Senate confer-
ees approved a $31.9 billion FY 2006 Homeland
Security Appropriations bill on Thursday, Septem-
ber 29. The conference report on the bill (H.R.
2360), which was approved by unanimous con-
sent, is expect to come to the House floor some-
time next week.
The bill includes $30.8 billion for the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security (DHS), an increase of
$1.4 billion from the FY 2005 level. In a victory for
high-risk/high-threat states (such as California)
the bill would require that the 60 percent of “basic
formula” funding that to date has been allocated
solely based on population instead be allocated
according to risk factors. The bill will provide $3.3
billion for grant programs directed toward state
and local first responders, including nearly identi-
cal amounts from two pots: $1.155 billion for risk-
and threat-based grants for urban areas, and
$1.135 billion for grants that have historically used
a federal funding formula that has been heavily
skewed to favor small states over large states
(and has provided more than six times as much
money per capita to Wyoming, North Dakota and
Vermont as it has to California, New York, or
Texas).
As a result, California’s current 8 percent
share could increase to as much as 10-13 per-
cent.
The $1.155 billion for “high-density urban
areas” includes $765 million for traditional urban
area grants, which DHS distributes according to
risk and threat information, plus $150 million for
rail security, $175 million for port security, and $65
million for other infrastructure protection activities.
The formula funding portion includes $550
million for basic formula grants, $400 million for
the state and local law enforcement terrorism
prevention program (LETPP), and $185 million for
Emergency Management Performance Grants
(EMPG). However, the conference report includes
a change that could improve California’s share of
these formula funds considerably, by dividing a
portion of funds (after large guarantees for small
states have been extracted), in part according to
risk and threat. In the past, these funds were
distributed solely according to state population,
with risk factors unaccounted for.
Also within the first responder funding account
is $655 million for firefighter grants. Traditionally
focused on rural fire departments, the program
limits any total grant to $750,000, regardless of
whether the recipient is a volunteer fire depart-
ment in a town of 1,200 people, or a large city
department, such as Los Angeles or San Fran-
cisco.
FEDERAL UPDATE from page 4
Continued on Page 6Visit the League’s Official Website -- www.cacities.org
PAGE 6/PRIORITY FOCUS
The bill also provides $6.3 billion for the Transpor-
tation Security Administration (TSA), including $2.5
billion for passenger and baggage screeners, $443 for
in-line explosive detection systems, $1 billion for
aviation direction and enforcement, and $686 million
for air marshals. The majority of the bill’s funding, and
85 percent of the year-over-year increase, will be
used to provide $19.1 billion for border protection,
immigration enforcement, and related activities.
TANF Extension. The Senate voted Thursday to
pass legislation (S. 1778) that would extend the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
program for three months, though the House ad-
journed for the week without acting on the legislation.
In addition to extending the program the bill would
provide funding for six months of medical assistance
to families making the transition from welfare to work.
Under current law (PL 109-68), the TANF program will
expire December 31. The bill, which would create the
12th extension of TANF, would continue the welfare
program until March 31, 2006.
FEDERAL UPDATE from page 5
Don’t miss this opportunity to get the
League’s most useful reference tool.
This comprehensive California directory
provides important contact information
for mayors, council members and city
department heads. The directory also
features the League’s staff directory,
League partners, affiliate organizations
and a wide variety of advertisers.
INFORMATION YOU NEED, RIGHT
A T YOUR FINGERTIPS!
Purchase this publication online at
www.cacities.org/store or call (916) 658-
8257 for an order form. City officials
price $30, non-city official price $65,
plus shipping & handling.
THE 2005 CITY HALL
DIRECTORY IS NOW
AVAILABLE