LOCKYER DETAILS NEW SELF-DETERMINATION BILL : CHANGES WELL-RECEIVED BY VALLEY VOTE LEADERS DESPITE CITYWIDE BALLOT REQUIREMENT.

Byline: Paul Hefner Daily News Sacramento Bureau

State Sen. President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer unveiled Wednesday a revised version of his legislation to allow the San Fernando Valley to break away from Los Angeles without the threat of a City Council veto.

The new bill by Lockyer, D-Hayward, still would require a citywide vote on any move to separate the Valley from the city. But it reinstates the county's Local Agency Formation Commission role overseeing any secession proceeding.

SB 176, which Lockyer introduced last month, would have given jurisdiction over Valley secession to a new state commission. Lockyer agreed to change the bill after the provisions raised concerns among leaders of a Valley self-determination effort.

``When we last met on Jan. 15, I indicated that my bill contained some drafting errors that needed to be corrected immediately,'' Lockyer wrote in a letter Tuesday to Richard Close, co-chairman of Valley Vote and president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.

``I expect my bill to be amended and reprinted before the end of the week, and I hope this summary clarifies my intentions,'' Lockyer said.

Valley Vote leaders said they still were going over the fine points of Lockyer's amendments, but that their initial reading of the proposal showed he had kept his word.

``We do feel that there's an earnest effort on his part to work with us,'' said Valley Vote co-chairman Jeff Brain. ``We're very encouraged.''

Brain and Close both said they still favor AB 62, by Assemblyman Tom McClintock, R-Granada Hills. McClintock's bill, first introduced last year by former Assemblywoman Paula Boland, would lift the council veto without imposing a citywide vote on secession. Boland's bill passed the Assembly but died in a Senate committee, a defeat Lockyer orchestrated.

``Our preference remains the pure bill, which is what McClintock introduced,'' Brain said. ``That's the only bill that we've endorsed.''

Lockyer's amended bill also drops sunset clauses that would have effectively put the veto back in place after two years.

As in his original proposal, Lockyer's bill would create two new commissions. The first, a 15-member Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century, would conduct public hearings on the procedures for changing city boundaries and report back to the Legislature and governor by June 30, 1999.

The second panel would be an eight-member Special Commission on Los Angeles Boundaries. Four members would be appointed by the City Council. The governor would choose the rest from lists of nominees from Valley community groups, including one editor of a daily newspaper published in the Valley.

The special commission also would prepare a report, focusing on financial and tax questions arising from any detachment involving the Valley. The report, to be issued by Oct. 1, 1998, would make recommendations to a variety of local and state agencies and officials.

But the bill makes clear that LAFCO could complete work on a secession drive by the Valley before either panel completes its work.

McClintock said the studies proposed by Lockyer are unnecessary since LAFCO would conduct its own analysis.

``The issue of Valley detachment is not new,'' he said. ``It has been debated and discussed for many, many years now.''

He said that since LAFCO would have to make sure that the remaining city would be unaffected financially by secession, no citywide vote is needed.

``If we are going to go through that process, I think a citywide vote is not only unnecessary, but an infringement on the rights of the people living in the San Fernando Valley,'' McClintock said.

Two other Valley legislators also have signaled an interest in the issue. Assemblymen Robert Hertzberg, D-Sherman Oaks, and Tony Cardenas, D-Mission Hills, have submitted draft proposals to the Office of Legislative Counsel.