HAYDEN AMENDS VALLEY TRANSIT BILL.

Byline: Paul Hefner Daily News Sacramento Bureau

After scaling back his proposal to keep it from dying in committee, state Sen. Tom Hayden's effort to give the San Fernando Valley more control over local transportation projects survived a key vote Tuesday.

Abandoning his initial plan to set up a Valley Transportation Authority to replace the MTA, Hayden revised his legislation to create a 15-member Valley board that would set the MTA's priorities for the area.

``It gives a voice to an area that has never been able to get its voice heard,'' Hayden, D-Los Angeles, told the Senate Transportation Committee. ``This board would determine how money is spent in the Valley.''

Hayden had proposed establishing a separate Valley authority in response to widespread criticism of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has seen long delays and huge cost overruns while trying to build a regional mass-transit system.

Anger at the MTA has been particularly pronounced in the Valley, where residents have seen little return on their public transportation tax dollars.

``Our Valley has no mass-transit system,'' said Nate Brogin, vice chair of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

Hayden's initial measure, SB 1886, drew opposition from several quarters, including the MTA itself and representatives for transit worker unions. He said he rewrote the bill to alleviate the concerns of unions, whose contracts with the MTA would be preserved.

The revised measure was approved by the committee on a vote of 7-0. But it was unclear how the new Valley board would work with the MTA, which would be responsible for carrying out the local board's plans. Hayden said the MTA would have to negotiate with the board if its plans were not financially feasible.

``What we have is sort of a partial divorce,'' said Barry Broad, an attorney representing the Amalgamated Transit Union. ``The MTA could still starve the Valley for resources because it still has authority over how the money is allocated.''

MTA representatives said they hadn't seen Hayden's new proposal, though Claudette Moody, an agency lobbyist, said she was concerned that it might undermine the MTA's regional view of transit issues.

And private bus operators - who are backing legislation introduced by Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, D-Sylmar, to create a Valley Transit Zone to oversee local bus service - said Hayden's measure might not give the Valley the clout it needs over the MTA.

Separate legislation that would order the MTA to share 10 percent to 25 percent of its state transportation funds with city governments was approved by an Assembly committee late Monday.

Assembly Bill 1759, written by Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, received 11 yes votes, the minimum necessary to pass out of the 21-member Assembly Transportation Committee, sending it on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

``We just want to get our fair share of transportation dollars,'' Runner said. ``This measure will ensure state transportation funds benefit all residents of L.A. County, including the cities in the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita Valley.''

The committee's vote came on the heels of a MTA board decision April 7 to support Runner's bill after it was amended to guarantee the cities between 10 percent and 25 percent of the state money, rather than the 50 percent they had demanded earlier.

Daily News Staff Writer Charles F. Bostwick contributed to this story.