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Prop. 22 aims to protect local dollars from state encroachment
California's local
governments will be making a stand against the state's appropriation of
their transit and transportation dollars on the November 2, 2010 ballot.
Late last month, the California Secretary of State approved the Local
Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act of 2010,
labeling it Proposition 22.
"California voters have overwhelmingly passed measures in previous
elections to restrict state raids of local government funds, as well as
to dedicate gasoline taxes to transportation and public transit
improvements and services," said a League of California Cities press
release following the announcement. "Despite this, state politicians
have exploited loopholes in the law and used legally questionable
tactics to borrow and raid approximately $5 billion in local government
transit and redevelopment funds in the FY 2009-10 budget cycle and
billions more in past years."
If approved, Proposition 22 would:
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Bar the state from
taking or borrowing local transit and transportation money,
including 2002's Proposition 42 gas taxes and the HUTA gas tax;
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Prohibit the state
from taking or borrowing local government property tax funds vital
for public
safety and other local services; and
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Obligate revenue
derived from locally imposed taxes to local governments
The proposition would
also add constitutional protections preventing the state from
accessing redevelopment dollars.
A myriad of groups and cities have joined a coalition in favor of the
measure, and they are launching a campaign to persuade voters.
"More than 1 million California voters signed the petition to stop State
raids of local government and transportation funds," said Chris
McKenzie, Executive Director of the League of California Cities and
co-Chair of Californians to Protect Local Taxpayers and Vital Services.
"We will now turn our attention to educating the voters to support this
initiative to protect funding for the vital local services that they
rely upon."
Propositions approved by voters in 2004 and 2006 authorized the state to
borrow local funds during fiscal emergencies.
To learn more about
the coalition supporting Proposition 22, visit:
www.savelocalservices.com
ARRA bond reimbursement for
DBEs
Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) are not taking advantaged of
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) bond reimbursement
dollars, says the US Department of Transportation (US DOT).
"It is surprising that a large number of DBEs at [outreach] meetings were not
aware of the reimbursement program," wrote Allen Masuda, US DOT's
Associate Administrator for Civil Rights, in an email circulated to DBE
program officials. "For DBEs that are working on or have worked on
Recovery Act projects, this could mean missing out on receiving several
thousands of dollars."
To date, only $250,000 of the $20 million allocated by the ARRA has been
paid out to the Bonding Assistance Reimbursable Fee Program (BAP).
Under the BAP, which is administered by the US DOT's Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization, DBEs are eligible to be reimbursed
for bonding premiums and fees incurred when competing for, or performing
on, transportation infrastructure projects funded by ARRA as a
subcontractor or prime contractor. Only premiums paid to the surety
company for performance, payment or bid/proposal bonds issued on or
after August 28, 2009 will be reimbursed.
In the event that the DBE also obtains a bond guarantee from Small
Business Administration's Surety Bond Guarantee Program, the US DOT will
also reimburse the DBE for the small business concern fee of .729% of
the contract price.
Without Congressional approval, BAP is scheduled to expire on September
8, 2010.
To learn more or apply for
reimbursement, visit:
www.dot.gov/recovery/ost/osdbu/
Let us help with your 'GFE'
Since its start in
2005, DBE GoodFaith Inc. has become a leader in disadvantaged business outreach,
having helped over 1,110 firms meet contracts'
outreach requirements on more than 6,000 contract bids.
With DBE
GoodFaith's intuitive outreach service, disadvantaged businesses (DBEs,
M/WBEs, DVBEs, SBEs, etc.) can be targeted to receive subcontracting and
supplier opportunities for your contract. Our system allows
users to:
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Place DBE outreach ads
online;
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Automatically
fax and email invitations to bid to DBE subcontractors of the users choice;
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Complete initial
phone call solicitations with the help of DBE GoodFaith's call center;
and
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Automatically
document all outreach performed.
For more information
on how DBE GoodFaith can help your
business, contact a representative at (877) 802-3394 or visit
www.dbegoodfaith.com.
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