A companion measure to SB 69 is making its way through the State Legislature to help cities that, like Jurupa Valley, were hit by the 2011 budget cuts just when they had agreed to serve new areas, though with respect to annexations rather than incorporations.

    AB 1521, sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Fox (D-Palmdale), would benefit cities that, as of 2011, had recently completed annexations of inhabited county lands and had been expecting state support for their increased service levels. It would commit state General Fund money to reinstate fee allocations that previously came from vehicle license fee (VLF) funds.

    Lobbyist Jason Gonsalves, who represents several Riverside County cities, said the new legislation would provide $4 million a year to cities to pay for service costs in those recently annexed areas.

    AB 1521 differs from SB 69 in offering a future source of revenue for ongoing costs, as opposed to SB's 69 narrow focus on making up for past cuts to four Riverside County cities.

    "It's not to restore funding lost, but to give them a way to cover services in areas they annexed," Gonsalves said.

    VLF funds were taken from the cities in 2011 when the state sought new sources of revenue to pay for prison realignment. At the time, many of the affected cities responded by cutting public safety costs. A legislative analysis of the new bill said $4 million in cuts affected a number of cities, including Chico, San Ramon, Santa Clarita, Temecula, Fontana, San Jose, Porterville, Tulare and Visalia, that had annexed inhabited areas.

    The measure might also encourage other cities to do infill annexations, Gonsalves said.

    Although it would raise funding for cities throughout the state, AB 1521 hasn't won the support of the influential California State Association of Counties. According to legislative summaries it does have support from several city governments and county LAFCOs, and from the League of California Cities. AB 1521 passed the Assembly in May and goes to a State Senate Governance and Finance Committee hearing on June 25.