Governor's Inaction Prompts Board Proposal

By City News Service:

RIVERSIDE, CA - Gov. Jerry Brown's months-long delay in responding to a Riverside County emergency declaration warrants a change in state law to make the executive branch move faster, according to a proposal that the Board of Supervisors will review Tuesday.

The board will consider an Executive Office request to direct the county's state lobbyists to seek -- or express the county's support for -- legislation mandating that the governor act within a 60-day window in approving or denying disaster relief funding for localities.

County Legislative Affairs Director Brian Nestande wrote in documents posted to the board's policy agenda that Brown took nearly five months to unofficially respond to a county request for California Disaster Assistance Act funding for storm-related damage, and took six months to send the county an official denial statement.

"The amount of time that a response took to be received for emergency funds, or even the status of the application, can be seen as a failure within the bureaucratic system, which is meant to protect the people of the United States," Nestande said.

The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

According to county officials, after thunderstorm cells toppled power poles and damaged lines over a 14-square-mile area near Thermal last August, Chief Executive Officer Jay Orr signed and submitted an emergency proclamation to the California Office of Emergency Services, seeking CDAA money.

The board formally ratified the proclamation six days later, on Aug. 18.

Nestande said infrastructure damage from the storm event was initially estimated to be $13 million, but that figure ballooned to $18 million after the Imperial Irrigation District began making repairs, which were needed to restore power to more than 250 homes. Most of the damage was concentrated along Avenue 66, between state Route 86 and Pierce Street.

According to Executive Office documents, "multiple calls" were made to the Office of Emergency Services between September and January to ascertain the status of the county's proclamation and whether the governor intended to act on it.

On Jan. 12, the OES administrator for Southern California informed the county via telephone that Brown had denied recognition of a local state of emergency and any release of disaster relief funds, county officials said.

An official letter stating the governor's position was sent via email on Feb. 24, according to the Executive Office.

"In the case of a much more urgent matter, a response of this nature could put the lives of countless people at risk," Nestande said. "Furthermore, response times of this nature make it especially difficult for affected communities, as they are thrown into a state of flux, not knowing whether they will receive funding or not."