GETTING OUR SHARE : IT'S TIME FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO THROW ITS CONSIDERABLE WEIGHT BEHIND ITS OWN INTERESTS.

Byline: Hal Bernson Special to the Daily News

Politically speaking, in the state Legislature, Southern California is treated like a 100-pound weakling, instead of the 800-pound gorilla we should be. Consider: from the Tehachapis to San Diego, nearly 16 million people in 190 local municipalities live and work, producing one of the world's strongest, most diverse economies.

Our region elects a major portion of the state Legislature; we have the votes, financial clout and influential media markets. We are the political, social and business tail that wags California.

For too long, Southern California has been victimized by political bickering, which produces legislative gridlock. And, too often, we have received the short end of the stick in the endless north-vs.-south competition for the limited goodies state government has to offer.

At long last, the region is mad as hell and isn't taking it anymore. Led by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), state and local lawmakers holding an unprecedented California First Legislative Leadership Summit at USC today to devise strategies for political cooperation and a sizable increase in the funding we need and deserve, especially since we send the bulk of state tax revenue up there.

More than 20 state senators and Assembly members will join dozens of local government officials from throughout SCAG's diverse territory - Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties - in developing strong, pro-active policies and a blueprint for political action, which will help the region obtain its rightful ``place at the table.''

The summit will focus on four crucial regional topics:

Transportation infrastructure: The seismic retrofit of Bay Area toll bridges has become a north-south issue. The north wants to finance bridge retrofitting with gasoline taxes. But gasoline taxes are collected statewide (most from guess where), so why should a disproportionate amount of our money fund their repairs? Let local toll increases be the primary funding source for retrofitting the Bay Area bridges.

Recently, SCAG developed an innovative plan for bringing more federal dollars into this region to fund transportation improvements: the freight facilities program. This provides additional funding to states based on the amount of freight moved. The program is intended to be part of a complicated federal transportation bill, known as Intermodel Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).

SCAG's formula would mete out proportionate funds to reflect states's relative costs (upgrades, repairs and retrofitting), involved in transporting freight. Since one-third of the nation's imports enter through California and 60 percent of the goods move through here on truck or train, we must improve our region's transportation infrastructure. In SCAG country, truck traffic will likely double within 20 years.

Our state legislators must demonstrate leadership and lobby their federal counterparts. There's nothing to lose but congestion, unsafe freeways and dirty air.

Water: The classic north-south debate arises because 75 percent of California's water is up north, while 75 percent of the people are in the south. Proposition 204 rightly provided relief for the Northern-Central California water system because it is a vital asset. But Southern California, its growing population and economy, heavily depends on the Colorado River. Today, we face increasing demands for water from neighboring states, which must provide for their own booming populations.

The region's state and local legislators must unite in order to preserve our long-term access to this vital lifeblood. We must receive - and keep receiving - our rightful share of water. Any alternative would literally make this region unlivable.

Local government finance: Whenever the state faces a budgetary crisis - which, recently, has been annually - it increasingly turns toward local governments to help bail itself out. Local government's essential task: taking care of its people's everyday needs. Without enough local revenue, there's no way to stop the erosion of budgetary allotments to fight crime, trim trees or fill potholes. Summit participants must stabilize or, better, increase - local revenue stream.

Regional implications of welfare reform: The 1996 Welfare Reform Bill replaces many assistance programs with block grants to the states, which must continue to spend 80 percent of what they spent on welfare in 1994. California's welfare situation is more serious than that of most states: More people receive assistance, for a longer period.

It's a new world in welfare. Recipients now must work; but the logic is valid only if there are available jobs. SCAG estimates that 390,000 jobs will have to be found over the next five years, along with adequate means of getting people who can't afford cars to these new jobs. This will be a monumental task that will require creativity, perseverance and a sense that we're all on the same team, trying to solve this problem.

SCAG's Legislative Summit is a milestone along the political road to state, regional and local cooperation. The people, economy and future of nearly 16 million residents will not survive without the best effort, vision and teamwork on the part of these officials. Southern California, a long-sleeping giant, is waking up. Watch out.