SUCCESSFUL ANNUAL DINNER

The Annual Dinner, April 21st at the DoubleTree Hotel, celebrating the 44th year of the League's continued service to the taxpayers of Sacramento County was very successful. The success, in a great measure, was made possible by the following enterprises and people who sponsored the event:

• John O. Bronson Company, Inc.
• E. A. Grebitus & Sons, Inc.
• Joseph Mohamed Sr.
• Petigrew & Sons Casket Company
• A. Teichert & Son, Inc.
• Winter Volvo Lincoln Mercury
• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
• Ken Payne
• Senator Ford
• Suburban Ford

The evening's highlight was an excellent presentation by the Keynote Speaker Assemblyman Roger Niello who presented a series of stories, many humorous, with relation to his new position as an Assemblyman. Assemblyman Niello, without question, provides California's taxpayers a skilled conservative representative. His great advantage is that he is both a successful businessman, and, as a former county supervisor, is close to local community issues and needs. The combination places a true representative of the people in the Legislature.

The Dinner also provided Members the opportunity to review events of the past year, and to honor one in the community who is identified as a statewide advocate for fiscal responsibility. The League's "Taxpayer of the Year" award was presented to Ted Costa, Chief Executive Officer of the People's Advocate. Among events celebrated were his historic success in recalling Governor Gray Davis, his work to fix campaign finance rules, registering new voters, and his Initiative to change the way lawmakers carve up their political turf, supported by the Governor, and now gathering signatures.

KING'S ARENA STAGGERS ON

Last month, the April Perspective article, "KINGS' ARENA, ANOTHER TALE" was inadvertently severed in the electronic transmittal to the printer. We have reprinted the article, and added to this month's Perspective as part of the insert. In the article we told of the possible collapse of landowners' so-called "Blanas Plan" to fund a new Kings' Arena in return for permitting sale and development of farmland north of the city. We also related that last January Mike McCarthy of the Sacramento Business Journal, broke the story that six other landowners, owning land in the same area, not involved in the deal, intend to fight the move because their land would become a permanent undeveloped buffer to offset the planned development, significantly reducing their land's value. In essence, the "Blanas Plan" effectively condemns the land. And worse, they weren't extended the courtesy to participate in any planning discussions regarding the plan.

The League looked into the issue, and decided it appears to be a "taking" of personal property. The owners' representative is to detail the problem at the League's Board meeting on May 19th, hoping to gain League support in challenging the "Blanas" plan.

SMUD/ YOLO COUNTY ANNEXATION

The League Board has directed that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) be advised that we will oppose any attempt at annex West Sacramento, Davis, Woodland and the unincorporated areas between the three cities, if the process does not include an authorizing vote by existing SMUD customers in Sacramento and Placer Counties, the true owners of SMUD. SMUD's annexation would require the purchase of the existing Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) facilities presently supplying those customers being annexed.

League Director Paul Carr, a former SMUD Board Member, has attended a number of meetings of the SMUD Committee assigned the task of making recommendations to the SMUD Board on the annexation, and the Board meeting at which the staff made the recommendation to the Board to make the next step in the annexation process.

Paul has prepared a number of questions for SMUD that he believes must be answered for the residents of Sacramento County before SMUD turns the issue over to LAFCO for consideration. For example, among the questions are: have the elected officials of Yolo County informed their residents where the million dollar loss of property tax revenue will come from that is currently paid by PG&E annually? SMUD is considering a considerable rate surcharge to Yolo County residents, which may be a greater cost than they pay to PG&E. How long will this go on, and shouldn't Yolo County voters be fully informed of this possibility before they vote?

It will be interesting for the League to see SMUD's answers to these and many other questions as this process moves forward.

NO REIMPORTATION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FROM CANADA

By Henry A. Hough

The 60 Plus Association opposes proposed legislation to reimport prescription drugs from Canada in order to protect the health of California seniors. I understand that Canadian prescription drug prices are enticing to consumers, but Canadian authorities cannot guarantee the safety of drugs highlighted by the fact that 11 of the 12 present and former FDA commissioners oppose reimportation of prescription drugs.

Recent news articles demonstrate that all that glitters is not gold. FDA blitzes have disclosed an abundance of counterfeit and unapproved drugs. The FDA has stated that drugs imported from Canada are often manufactured in distant corners of the world. We learned last week that an overseas Internet site was distributing counterfeit versions of the Johnson & Johnson birth control patch that were void of active ingredients.

Drug pricing is a complex issue. Other countries, including Canada, are piggybacking on U.S. pharmaceutical research. How many miracle drugs have come out of Canada? Where do they think these miracle drugs come from - Pulled out of a magician’s hat? This is a world trade issue that must be worked out. Sure, we want seniors and all Californians to have effective drugs with the same drugs their doctors prescribe at the least possible price, but we don’t want to sacrifice safety for short term gain.

Another problem with the proposed legislation is that it would export California jobs to Canada at a critical time when we need all the jobs we can get to sustain economic recovery and to climb out of a fiscal crisis

INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATION

Last August a League Member related a story concerning demands from Federal, State, and local Environmental Agencies concerning toxic cleanup of a piece of rental property in the City of Sacramento which he owns. In the League's judgment, the Agencies requests are misdirected and unreasonable. Our Member did not create the problem. He inherited them when he purchased the property, long after the contamination occurred. And it appears a number of other property owners in the same area are also confronted with the same problem. The property was surrounded by numerous plants and factories engaged in manufacturing military equipment during World War I and II. The contamination resulted from the degreasing of steel plate using Trichloroethylene (TCE) which leached into the shallow groundwater.

Following League practice, a point paper was prepared with a Recommendation to the Leagues Board of Directors that we attempt to aid those in the contaminated area by seeking federal and state grants for the City to achieve the requested cleanup of the industrial site. The Board elected to proceed.

Director Joe Sullivan met with the Member, his attorney, and his consulting engineers to determine actual conditions encountered, the legal aspects, and Sullivan warned that if the League undertakes mediation of the damage, the problem may elevate and take on a life of its own. The Member understood the danger, but asked us to proceed.. As the investigation began we were surprised to learn how the Federal Government assigns responsibility for the contamination. The simple term is that they have decreed the responsibility "runs with the land." However the convoluted way that decision was reached bears examination and defines the work necessary for a solution.

The next step is to advise the City of the Leagues strategy to get the industrial complex recognized as a superfund site by the federal government, in somewhat the same manner as Aerojet General's approach used to get federal aid to clean up its rocket fuel contamination.

The underlying federal theory is that polluters should pay for pollution. However for sites which no responsible group is available, the feds created a trust "super" fund to fund those situations. We believe that is the case in this instance, and intend to pursue a solution.

SIGNATURES SUBMITTED

Lew Uhuler, President of the National Tax Limitation Committee has submitted qualifying signatures for an Initiative that will force public employee's unions to get individual employee's consent before using their union dues in a political campaign. As a result, Uhler and his backers are taking on the 59 public employee unions in the state. Lew was sponsor of Proposition 140 in 1990, which established term limits of state elected Legislative officials. You can bet a flood of union money will flow to fight this Initiative.

THE HYDROGEN HIGHWAY

Director Joe Sullivan

The President and Governor, along with many others are touting hydrogen as the fuel of the future. However, as Zach Zorich, in his article "Don't Hold Your Breath for Hydrogen", Discover magazine, July, 2004, wrote, "the future may be a long time coming." Vast improvements in hydrogen production, storage and use are needed to meet President Bush's goal of having commercially viable hydrogen cars on the road by 2020.

As Deputy Division Chief of the Corps of Engineers - Engineer Research and Development Laboratories Petroleum Division at Ft. Belvoir, VA, I was responsible essentially for military fuels and fuel handling equipment, and worked on fuels for the future. The scope of investigations included hydrocarbon fuel cells, and, of course, hydrogen for propulsion.

Zorich points out that hydrogen produced by converting coal, or by splitting water with electricity, cost four times as much as gasoline. He also rightly pointed out that the coal process will require better catalysts to purify the hydrogen, and technologies to capture the carbon dioxide released during processing. Further, electrolysis will require cheaper electricity and a more efficient way to separate hydrogen from water.

A practical automotive hydrogen fuel tank should power a vehicle for 300 miles. Current technology does not come close. Pressurized gas tanks do not hold enough hydrogen fuel. Tanks that contain liquefied hydrogen must be cooled and maintained at minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which eats up energy. Solid tanks and related piping are still in the early stages of development, and leakage presents a problem. In the pumping of pressurized hydrogen through high-pressure cross-country pipelines, we estimated that the lines would have to be over four to five times the diameter of today's high-pressure natural gas lines.

The harnessing of hydrogen to power the number of automobiles in the United States is going to require a massive related increase in hydro and atomic electric power production, more massive then anything we presently visualize or are planning for.

LETTERS TO THE LEAGUE

We seek “Letters to the League” from Members concerning projects and issues on which we are working, along with recommendations on those we should look at. Letters may be edited and republished in any format, primarily in the interest of available space. Send letters, faxes, or e-mail to the Sacramento County Taxpayers League. Our e-mail is sactaxleague@prodigy.net; our telephone number is (916) 921-5991. Our fax number is (916) 567-1279. And our address is:
Sacramento County Taxpayers League
1804 Tribute Road, Suite 207
Sacramento, CA 95815.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

The Taxpayers League Annual Dinner on Thursday, April 21st was a delightful success. It was great to see so many familiar faces, as well as many new ones too. The DoubleTree Hotel went to extra effort to make the event go smoothly and it turned out to be an excellent venue.

Particular thanks goes to our keynote speaker Assemblyman Roger Niello (former Sacramento County Supervisor). Roger made an excellent presentation on life in the State Capitol today and pressing issues facing the State Legislature.

On another, sadder note, Kay Sullivan, wife of Joe Sullivan (current Secretary of the League and long-time League leader) has recently suffered from congestive heart failure which kept her in the hospital for several days. Home now, Kay is being cared for by Joe, which is almost a full-time duty.

Please keep Kay and Joe in your thoughts and prayers as she recuperates and regains her strength. They are a wonderful couple and a great resource to the League.

Bruce Lee, Executive Director

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