AB 155
Government by State Employees is Not Government by the People
June 16, 2010 Filed in: Legislation | Unions
K. Lloyd Billingsley, Pacific Research
Institute From
Susanville to San Diego, California cities are struggling
financially but now face more bad news. Assembly Bill 155, by Tony
Mendoza, Artesia Democrat, would prevent California cities from
filing for federal bankruptcy protection. The union-backed bill
would allow a union-friendly state agency, the California Debt and
Investment Advisory Commission, to deny any municipal bankruptcy
filing and keep intact all labor contracts. This measure invites a
look at the power of government employee unions…
Municipal bankruptcy bill slogs forward
Column: Dan Walters, The Orange County
Register To
appease unions looking to make it tougher for cities to go
bankrupt, the bill was laden with amendments that could still leave
cities exposed to creditors ... So far, just one California city,
Vallejo, has declared bankruptcy, but nearby Antioch is considering
it. If the recession persists and revenues continue to stagnate,
others may follow. That's why municipal employee unions are making
a big-time push for legislation that would make bankruptcy more
difficult. The unions' underlying motives are crystal clear. They
fear a bankruptcy judge might rule that a city's labor contracts,
or even pension obligations, could be abrogated. They want to make
municipal bankruptcy more difficult to discourage troubled local
governments from resorting to it…