Governor Gets State Facility Sites Bill

SACRAMENTO — The Assembly has approved and sent to Gov. George Deukmejian legislation triggered by the City of El Cajon’s anger over the state’s decision to place a parole office in that city’s downtown area.

The bill, by Assemblyman Larry Stirling (R-San Diego), would require state agencies to notify local elected officials and provide them with a period for comment on the leasing, expansion or construction of facilities in their cities.

The bill’s critics claimed that few state leases pose any problem to local elected officials or their constituents, and that the delay and cost of implementing the new rules would not be outweighed by its benefits.

The Assembly approved the measure Monday by a vote of 72-1. It was previously adopted by a vote of 29-2 in the Senate.

Stirling said earlier that “this is not Soviet Russia or Communist China, where the central government can walk into your neighborhood and do whatever it damn well pleases.”