Richard Roth isn't giving up on this effort to help Inland cities
/ STAFF WRITER
It’s a new legislative session in Sacramento, which means it’s time for state Sen. Richard Roth’s annual quest to help four Riverside County cities.
Once again, Roth, D-Riverside, has filed a bill to restore vehicle license fee funding to Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Wildomar and Menifee. The four relatively new cities lost that money 2011, when state lawmakers diverted the fees in the face a budget shortfall.
More than once, similar bills offered by Roth have sailed through the Legislature, only to be vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, who cities the need to keep money in the state’s general fund.
A previous state budget forgave a Riverside County fire debt to provide financial relief for the four cities. But local officials still want their vehicle license fees, and Roth is determined to deliver.
“This is an issue I have been fighting for since before I was elected to the state Senate, and one I will continue to fight for until we have secured a victory,” said Roth, a senator since 2012 who was re-elected last month.
“These cities, through no fault of their own, lost this funding which every other city in California has received. I am proud to have a strong partner in Assemblymember (Sabrina Cervantes, D-Eastvale), and I am confident that together we will secure this long overdue funding for our cities.”
Cervantes, who unseated Assemblyman Eric Linder, R-Corona in November, is a co-author of the latest bill.
Roth also filed legislation to pay for more judges in underserved areas such as the Inland Empire. As with vehicle license fees, Roth managed to get similar legislation through the Legislature, only to see Brown veto it.
“The delivery of justice in a timely and equitable manner is a critical issue, not only for Inland Southern California, but for the entire state,” Roth said.
“As California weathered the global economic crisis, it was forced to make drastic cuts to the court system, resulting in costly delays and courtroom closures. Funding these judgeships will begin to reverse the substantial loss incurred by our justice system.”