Two Wolk district bills move ahead in Capitol

Bills give West Sac governance of Port of Sacramento, allows Solano County to test "vote centers"

SACRAMENTO– Two district bills by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis), one to expand the Port of Sacramento’s business prospects by creating a new governance structure, and another to allow Solano County to test more efficient voting centers, moved forward today.

Assembly Bill 2939, which the Assembly passed on a bipartisan 72-0 vote, creates a new governance structure for the Port of Sacramento whereby the management of the port will be transferred to the City of West Sacramento and Yolo County, its host jurisdiction. Specifically, the bill would reduce the number of Port Commissioners from 7 to 5, with one of the five members being appointed from Yolo County, the other four from the City of West Sacramento.

“I’m authoring this bill to ensure that the Port of Sacramento continues to play a key role in the transportation of goods throughout California,” said Wolk. “The Sacramento-Yolo Port District is the only Port District on the West Coast not managed by its host jurisdiction. For the port to maintain its presence in the industry and continue to provide jobs in the region, its management structure needs to change.”

Assembly Bill 3024, which was approved by the Senate today on a 21-12 vote, allows Solano County to establish “vote centers” in lieu of precinct polling places as a one-year pilot project during the 2009 local elections. These centers are polling places where any registered voter in the county holding the election may vote, regardless of the precinct in which the voter lives.

“These vote centers have a number of advantages,” said Wolk. “They would enable a voter that lives in Fairfield and works in Vacaville to vote on their lunch break or on their way home from work, and that’s just one of many advantages. They would provide greater access to polling places for the disabled, faster turnaround and more accessible parking.”

Other advantages to vote centers are more permanent, well-known locations with more specialized and better-trained poll workers, greater accessibility for disabled voters, faster and more accurate voter check-in, and better oversight by election officials.

AB 2939, which now moves to the Governor, is supported by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Solano County Board of Supervisors, the California Association of Port Authorities, City of West Sacramento, Sacramento Area Council of Governments, and Port of Oakland. AB 3024, which now moves back to the Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments, is supported by the Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, Solano County, and the California Council for the Blind.