Vernon Vote Moves City Closer to Disbanding
The Southern California city of Vernon took one step closer to becoming an unincorporated community within Los Angeles when the state Senate Governance and Finance Committee voted in favor of Assembly Bill 781 on July 6.
The bill, sponsored by Assembly Speaker John Perez (D–Los Angeles), is an effort to create protective tax and business regulations for the city of Vernon if the city is dissolved following passage of its controversial companion bill, AB 46, which states that cities with a population of fewer than 150 people should be incorporated into their respective county. AB46 is also sponsored by Perez.
Perez and others have accused Vernon city officials of corruption in the past, but during the July 6 hearing, the Assembly speaker described Vernon as “a regional engine for jobs in the community” because it is home to many industries and apparel companies, including True Religion, James Perse and BCBG Max Azria Group.
The vote in favor of AB 781 is considered significant because many politicians vowed not to approve AB 46 unless AB 781 passed first. Many lawmakers cited concerns over job losses and the negative economic implications if Vernon were to be disbanded.
The city is known for offering numerous perks to businesses, and some local politicians and business owners have said disbanding the city will drive industry away.
“As a property owner in Vernon and having been here for going on 20 years, I truly understand the concerns with corruption in city government, and I think there’s a lot of ways to resolve that other than disincorporating the city of Vernon—because to punish a few politicians, they are punishing the businesspeople who operate in the city of Vernon,” Lonnie Kane, president of Vernon-based Karen Kane Inc., said in a phone interview. “We have the best police, the best fire department, the lowest water rate and electrical rate. There is a concern for business in Vernon which you do not find in Los Angeles.”
The two bills have faced strong opposition from labor unions and local businesses, but AB 781 was approved in a 5–3 vote.
State Sen. Carol Liu (D–Glendale) abstained from the vote, voicing concerns over economic viability for Vernon and citing wariness over “the solution of L.A. County as the governing body.”
“I would feel more comfortable if we waited to see what more solutions are,” Liu said during the hearing.
The next step is for the bill to head to Senate Appropriations for a vote, but it was not certain if it would be heard before or after the legislative break beginning on July 15, according to a public-relations official for the city of Vernon.
