Legislators Criticize Proposition 51

"I'm frankly at the point where I'm just kind of disgusted," said Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City) at the end of a three-hour legislative hearing about the ballot measure. "I hope the people of the state of California find it disgusting also."

Planning and Conservation League Executive Director Jerry Meral, the target of lawmakers, did not appear at the hearing. But he said afterward that there is nothing illegal about Proposition 51, which is on the November ballot.

"If those guys were not acting in the role of legislators today, they would be subject to slander suits," Meral said. "They are objecting to the fact that we are allowing citizens to decide budget priorities, and they find that outrageous."

Proposition 51 would not raise additional money for transportation projects, but instead transfer 30% of the state's sales tax receipts on used and new vehicles into a new fund loosely aimed at easing traffic congestion, building bike paths and replacing old school buses. Experts testified that the measure could shift nearly $1 billion from the general fund next year, forcing lawmakers to cut spending on public safety, health care and other services.

Written largely by Meral and others at the Sacramento-based environmental group, Proposition 51 would dedicate money to many narrowly tailored projects that benefit some financial backers of the initiative. For example, it includes a $120-million rail line near a casino in Palm Springs. The casino owners, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, donated $125,000 to the Yes on 51 campaign.

In another example of what lawmakers called possibly criminal quid pro quo in the crafting of Proposition 51, Hillwood Development LLC, a Texas company trying to develop an industrial site in San Bernardino, donated $120,000 to the initiative. Proposition 51 earmarks $30 million over four years to separate railways and roads leading to the company's property.

Such a project doesn't even rank as a priority with San Bernardino traffic planners, said Norm King, executive director of San Bernardino Associated Governments. He called Proposition 51 "a sweet little treat for a handful of PCL favorites."