Assemblywoman Parra Secures Passage Of Bill To Keep Partnership For San Joaquin Valley Alive

SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Nicole M. Parra (D-Hanford), today, announced the passage of AB 31 from the Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee by a vote of 3-1. AB 31 would place the Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley in statute for a minimum of five years and provide access for the Partnership to a budgeted funding source of $5 million.

“This is a monumental victory for the people of the Central Valley,” said Assemblywoman Parra. “The extension of the Partnership and these additional monies will allow the critical work of this group to continue. Already, the Partnership has proven its worth and validity, when its members played an instrumental role in helping to secure the $1 billion dedication in the transportation bond for Highway 99.”

Earlier this year, a Senate subcommittee cut the initially proposed $5 million for the Partnership, in the May Revision, to $1.25 million. However, at a subsequent hearing of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 4, Assemblywoman Parra, along with Assemblymen Juan Arambula and Michael Villines, voted to reinstate the proposed funding. Assemblywoman Parra also co-signed a letter urging the committee to re-consider the decision to keep these critical monies from the Partnership. As a result, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee later included specifically earmarked funding for the Partnership in the budget. However, the approved budget control language stipulates that this funding cannot be drawn down until the Partnership adopts a strategic action proposal and has a continued governance and organizational structure in place. AB 31 would place this governance structure in statute and, due to its urgency clause, allow for the Partnership to immediately begin accessing these funds and would also extend its existence to January 1, 2012.

“The issues facing the Valley did not develop overnight, and they certainly will not be solved in a short time,” Assemblywoman Parra said. “AB 31 gives us the time and the financial support we need to continue fighting for the Valley. It will be important for the members of Partnership to really come together over the long haul, and put in a concerted and sustained effort to address these problems.”

Following Assemblywoman Parra’s initial introduction of AB 31, on December 6, 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-5-05, which launched the Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley on June 24, 2005. That executive order ends the Partnership on November 1, 2006. The Partnership is a working group of state agency secretaries and Central Valley business and civic representatives, who serve as a group of advisors, offering recommendations to the Governor about proposals aimed at improving the economic health of the Valley and the quality of life issues facing its residents.