Senate Passes Bill for Transit Merger
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The state Senate on Monday narrowly passed a revived proposal to merge the troubled Southern California Rapid Transit District with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.
The measure by Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana) advanced to the Assembly on a 21-13 vote, the bare majority required in the 40-member house.
Republican Gov. George Deukmejian vetoed a similar Democrat-sponsored measure in 1987 to reorganize the bus system, stating that the bill froze existing labor contracts and strengthened the unions’ position.
His bill would create a 12-member Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles to take over and operate the RTD, the nation’s largest bus-only transit system. The new panel also would direct the design and construction of rail lines now handled by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.
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