As we stated a couple hours ago, Assemblymember Das Williams (representing the 37th California Assembly District, which includes Isla Vista) today introduced Assembly Bill 3, with the purpose of establishing a special legislative district for Isla Vista. In that post, I said I would try to get a copy of the text of this bill from Das Williams to post here tomorrow. However, Jonathan Abboud (one of the people backing this idea, along with Cameron James Schunk) just posted a link to the full bill as it currently exists (from the California Legislative Information website)! It is now very clear that the information in our previous post—that this bill is nothing more than an early draft to make certain this issue is on the agenda, which is what we had heard from Cameron at the public forum two weeks ago put on by the League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara—was correct: all this bill currently states are the underlying reasons that a Community Services District is being considered along with a few examples of a CSD having been backed by other entities (in particular, the Santa Barbara Grand Jury in 2003, and the UCSB Trustees this month). The bill ends with a statement that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that will clarify and establish the necessary authority for the creation of the Isla Vista Community Services District within the unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County. As it stands, none of the important details have been established, including what this new Community Services District would provide, or how it would be funded. It seems to be the intention of Das Williams (along with Cameron and Jonathan) to work out these details in a new series of public meetings.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 07:40:10 +0000