Governor Brown Signs Prevailing Wage Bill*

THROWN BACK INTO THE BATTLES
This morning I planned to ease back into discussions of Costa Mesa issues that happened while I was on my little vacation, but the rising sun brought news that flung me back into the saddle a little more abruptly than I anticipated.

GOVERNOR SIGNS PREVAILING WAGE BILL
According to news this morning, yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 7 into law and most likely sent hundreds of local politicians into a collective frenzy.  Certainly some of our local elected leaders will begin frothing on this issue as soon as they finish their granola this morning.

BI-PARTISAN BILL
SB7 - a bi-partisan bill co-authored by by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D- Sacramento) and Senator Anthony Cannella (R- Ceres), limits charter cities authority on the use of prevailing wage by imposing financial penalties on them.

A FEW OF MANY LINKS
As you can imagine, this has been a polarizing bill, with the 51 Charter Cities specifically targeted fighting hard against its passage and labor organizations lobbying in support of its passage.  I expect the news media will be full of comments today by parties on both sides.  In the meantime, here are a few links for you to consider for background;

Senate Bill 7 - HERE
Capitol Week announcing the signing today, HERE.
California League of Cities view, HERE.
Public CEO on SB7, HERE
Construction Law Firm Bowles & Verna on the bill, HERE
Association of California Cities, Orange County on the bill, HERE
*This is from Public CEO this morning, HERE.

WAITING FOR THE RHETORIC
A couple things are certain.  In short order this morning we will likely hear from Mayor Jim Righeimer on this issue, either as a solitary observer or as a member of a panel of elected officials decrying its passage.  And, the Costa Mesa Charter Committee will now have to revisit the hard-fought language they finally agreed upon at their last meeting that would have precluded Costa Mesa from being bound by the prevailing wage rules.

A NEW BALL GAME
This is no small development, since Righeimer made the prevailing wage issue the cornerstone of his failed Charter attempt last year and, through his surrogates on the current committee, this effort, as well.  All along his mantra has been that Costa Mesa should be a Charter City to save "millions" on projects.  The passage of SB 7 kicks that argument squarely in the teeth.  Without the prevailing wage issue on which to build a new Charter scheme it's likely the voters will - AGAIN - find little to attract them to changing the foundational form of government in this city.

THE FAT LADY IS ONLY HUMMING RIGHT NOW
This battle is probably not over yet.  Through many of the opinions found via a Google search it's clear that some factions seem poised to challenge the constitutionality of SB 7.  We'll see.