Check Out These Bills to Help Libraries

While we are waiting to see what our local officials can do about building up our county libraries, I think we should all demand some action from the state, whose recall of local tax monies started the libraries’ decline.

There are several bills going forward in Sacramento which attempt to gradually return to the counties and other local governments property tax revenues which had been “appropriated” by the state to cover the state’s obligation to the schools. These funds are annually transferred to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF). With state prosperity restored now, return of some of this money to the counties would seem fair and could help them have enough money to replace some of the funds that used to go to libraries.

The bills are AB 95 Sweeney/Aguiar, ACA 4 Aguiar/Sweeney and SB 880 Craven. Please tell your state assemblyman and state senator how extremely important you feel these bills are to Ventura County--and to our libraries.

There is also an item in the governor’s budget that, if fully funded, could help restore some of the book money for our libraries. This is the Public Library Foundation Program (PLF). Funding for it stands at only $15,870,000. If fully funded, it would be more than $50 million.

Once again this year Ventura County legislators are in key positions to approve added funding for PLF. Sen. Jack O’Connell is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee No. 1 on Education Finance, which will review this budget item, and Sen. Cathie Wright is also on the committee. They both helped recommend an increase last year which was subsequently cut by Gov. Wilson. Please thank them for their help and urge them to fully fund the PLF (Budget Item #6120-221-001) this year. You can remind them of what has happened to the Ventura County Library System and how greatly added PLF funds would help in being able to purchase materials for our libraries. This budget item will be reviewed in early May, so we need to write now. Address them at the State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814.

CATHERINE PENPRASE

Port Hueneme