Posted on 06/19/2005 5:31:08 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The State of California may be going into the business of building and operating stadiums, arenas, theaters, concert halls and other public performance facilities
A bill quietly moving through the Legislature would create a nine-member California Public Performance Facilities Authority that would have the power to buy, build and operate facilities for sports, concerts, plays, conventions and other events.
The measure, by Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, passed the Senate earlier this month and it's scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee.
Murray says the authority would fill a hole created by the increasing inability, or reluctance, of local governments to pay for such facilities.
California, he contends, has a shortage of first-class stadiums, arenas, performing arts and convention facilities and that hurts the economy in terms of lost jobs and business.
"While I don't disagree with the decisions local governments have made, we all do suffer when there is not a first-class place," he said.
The authority, which would be appointed by the governor and the Legislature's leaders, could issue bonds that would be paid off with revenues generated by the facilities, including the sale of naming rights and fees added to ticket prices.
The authority's activities could aid professional sports franchises and other business interests, but Murray said he sees nothing wrong with that.
State activities help businesses in other ways, including publicly funded university research, he said. "I think it's the legitimate place of government."
Here are some of the other things going on this week at the Capitol:
BUDGET DEADLOCK:
Lawmakers failed, for the 19th straight year, to pass a new state budget by the June 15 constitutional deadline, but talks continue. The state could be left without the ability to make some payments if it goes into a new fiscal year July 1 without a budget in place, which has happened 19 times since 1977.
STOPPING SMOKING:
Sen. Debra Ortiz, D-Sacramento, has a bill that would require health insurance plans to pay for the people they cover to take part in smoking cessation programs, a step she predicts would save the health plans money while helping 2 million people give up tobacco over the next decade.
It's scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Assembly Health Committee.
LOCKED OUT WORKERS:
Workers who are locked out of their jobs by employers as part of a labor dispute could collect unemployment benefits under a bill by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood.
The bill, which is set for a hearing Wednesday by the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, was triggered by the strike and lockout that hit many Southern California grocery stores in October 2003.
GHOST TOWN BATTLE REVISITED:
Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, has a bill that would put to rest California's great ghost town fight. The measure would designate Calico, a former boom town in the Southern California desert, as the state's official silver rush ghost town.
Back in 2002, Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, introduced a bill that would have named Bodie, a state historic park on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, as California's official ghost town.
But the measure ran into opposition in the Senate from supporters of Calico. A compromise allowed Leslie's bill to become law after it was amended to designate Bodie as the state's official gold rush ghost town.
The other half of the agreement provided for Ashburn's bill to give Calico an official designation.
It's before the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee on Wednesday.
---
On the Net: www.assembly.ca.gov and www.senate.ca.gov
-----
State government in the business of running businesses, even if they say it is for the children... or subsidizing fat cat owners and arena wannebee owners.
Naaah!
Shades of Oil For Food.
This is nothing more than a ruse to get the NFL to put a team in Los Angeles again.
Red
Not only no but Hell No!
I think the GUbinor said not so long ago, after we borrowed 15 bilion and such,, that California was Open for Business again.. ;-)
And of course all of the building will be done by Uncle Ned's construction company.
and just think of all the new job opportunities that this will create for illegals. ;-)
NOOOOOOOOOOOO! We don't need this. We don't WANT this. No. No. No!
Let me give you an "Amen!" on your "Hell no!"
It never ends. Lots of the owners of these facilities are big California campaign donors. I guess they are looking for their payoff.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Amen and Amen!!
This is the definition of socialism.
This is the definition of fascism.
Clearly the state constitution is just as useless as the federal constitution.
You think wrong. But you are in cozy company, GWB agrees with you.
what the hell is wrong with these idiots? We need an initiative to give them a few years off.
"Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." ...HL Menchen (1880-1956)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.