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Robert Hertzberg

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Preceded by
  
Antonio Villaraigosa

Name
  
Robert Hertzberg

Succeeded by
  
Lloyd Levine


Preceded by
  
Barbara Friedman

Succeeded by
  
Herb Wesson

Role
  
American Politician

Robert Hertzberg wwwglaserweilcomthemessitethemesdefaultsite

Preceded by
  
Alex Padilla (redistricted)

Born
  
November 19, 1954 (age 69) Los Angeles, California (
1954-11-19
)

Alma mater
  
University of Redlands, Hastings College of the Law

Political party
  
California Democratic Party

Residence
  
Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, United States

Education
  
University of California, Hastings College of the Law, University of Redlands

Governing Across the Divide: Keynote - Robert Hertzberg


Robert Myles "Bob" Hertzberg (born November 19, 1954) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Democrat representing the 18th Senate District, encompassing parts of the San Fernando Valley.

Contents

Robert Hertzberg Robert Hertzberg Wikipedia

Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2014, he served as the 64th Speaker of the Assembly, representing the 40th Assembly District. He is just one of six former Speakers in California history to also serve in the State Senate. He is a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.

Robert Hertzberg Senate Spotlight Senator Robert M Hertzberg episode 21 YouTube

Early life

Robert Hertzberg Huggy Bear Bob Hertzberg Eyes State Senate District 18 LA Weekly

Hertzberg was born on November 19 in Los Angeles, California to Harrison W. Hertzberg and Antoinette "Bunny" Taussig Hertzberg. He was a graduate of Palm Springs High School. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Redlands with a Bachelor of Arts double major in History and English in 1976.While in college, he wrote a 400-page handbook, entitled A Commonsense Approach to English. Three years, later Hertzberg earned his Juris Doctor from Hastings College of the Law. He has been an active member of the California State Bar since 1979.

Robert Hertzberg Bob Hertzberg hertzieLA Twitter

After graduating law school in 1979, Hertzberg was an associate at the Beverly Hills law firm of Fulop, Rolston, Burns, & McKittrick. In 1983, he co-authored a manual on real estate law, California Lis Pendens Practice, published by the University of California, with a second edition in 1994. He was then a full partner in several small Los Angeles-area law firms until running for the State Assembly in 1996. In 2007, the Los Angeles Business Journal named Hertzberg in the article "Best of the Bar: Who's Who In L.A. LAW." The Los Angeles Business Journal also named him one of the top ten lawyers in Los Angeles. Hertzberg has been repeatedly listed by the Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California. In 2004, 2006, and 2008-2013, he was listed in Super Lawyers as top lawyer.

Hertzberg's first political job was a driver for Lt. Governor Mervyn Dymallyin 1973 and 1974, which ended in Dymally's election as the first African-American Lt. Governor in California history. He then did a part-time stint as an advance man in the White House under President Jimmy Carter in 1977–80. From the 1970s through the 1990s, he worked for numerous California Democrats, including LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina,U.S Representatives Dennis Cardoza (Campaign Chair), Brad Sherman,Julian Dixon,Xavier Becerra (Campaign Co-chair), Lucy Roybal-Allard & Hilda Solis,LA City Council Members Mike Hernandez(Co-chair) & Herb Wesson (Chair), and also State Assembly members Antonio Villaraigosa (Campaign Treasurer), Hersh Rosenthal, and Richard Alatorre, among many others.

Election to State Assembly

In 1996, Democratic Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman of the 40th Assembly District encompassing North Hollywood, Studio City, Van Nuys and Woodland Hills in the "San Fernando Valley" section of Los Angeles was forced to retire due to term limits. Hertzberg ran for the seat and was opposed in the Democratic primary in March 1996 by Fran Oschin, an aide to Los Angeles Councilman Hal Bernson. According to the California Political Almanac, Hertzberg "racked up a sheaf of endorsements and raised well over $200,000 for the primary." He won the primary by 72–28%. In the November general election, Hertzberg had a 59–31% victory over Republican Ron Culver. Hertzberg's know-how and connections from over 100 local campaigns gave him the edge over the less-experienced Assembly Members who were coming into the Legislature due to the new "term limits" law. In 1998 and 2000, Hertzberg was re-elected by successively greater margins, 69% and 70%, respectively.

Speaker of the Assembly – 2000–2002

On April 13, 2000, Hertzberg was unanimously elected by a voice vote as the 64th Speaker of the California State Assembly. In 1996, when Hertzberg first ran for the Assembly, the Democrats had 38 of 80 seats. By November 2000, when Speaker Hertzberg was directing the Assembly Democratic campaigns, his party was up to 50 seats and he was the last Speaker to gain seats until the Obama landslide of 2008. As Speaker, his principle priorities were:

  • Passing bills on alternative energy and protecting the environment
  • Public safety as with anti-gang efforts such as the CLEAR program
  • Improving the integrity of the legislative process through new ethics rules
  • Enhancing legislative oversight, which helped lead to the investigation that caused the resignation of Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush on misconduct charges
  • Passing bonds, including AB16 in 2002, to spend billions of dollars to rebuild California’s infrastructure, especially elementary schools.
  • Establishing the Capitol Institute to better train legislators and their employees.
  • The non-partisan California Journal rated Hertzberg as the best Member in the Assembly for being a successful coalition-builder, for working the hardest and having "serious brain wattage."

    During his time in the Assembly, Hertzberg helped open up discussion with local business leaders, sponsored legislation to make state government more accessible to the public via the Internet, to make it easier to vote, to create more "Criminal Scene Investigations (CSI) laboratories, to cut $1.5 billion in taxes, and worked with Senate President Pro Tem John Burton & State Senator Deborah Ortiz to increase funds to revamp public education through the "Cal-Grant" Program. The Cal-Grants Program was "hailed by educators as a turning point that will give poor students unprecedented access to California's colleges and universities" and Hertzberg commented upon the bill's passage, "California is back." (Hertzberg believed deeply in community colleges, seeing them as the key to growth in "New Economy"). Under Hertzberg's Speakership, the state also began to rebuild public transportation, and Hertzberg co-sponsored the legislation creating CLEAR, an anti-gang program, which Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley called "the most successful gang prevention program in California history." (More specifics are listed immediately below).

    On the issue of international terrorism, two years before September 11, 2001, Hertzberg was issuing warnings and sponsoring legislation to thwart terrorism. (See AB140 below). After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Hertzberg temporarily shut down the State Assembly and created the Bi-partisan Legislative Task Force on Terrorism to combat potential threats to California's food and water supplies.

    Hertzberg’s strong support was also essential to successful legislation to reduce greenhouse gases from motor vehicles by requiring "Low Carbon" fuels, a bill passed by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley as AB1493.

    His longest-lasting accomplishment was being the architect of a compromise that allowed numerous school bond measures to go forward. His negotiations with State Senator Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach) allowed the State Legislature to break a decade-long legislative logjam and place school bonds on the 1998 and 2000 ballots. In 2002, he sponsored another school bond, AB16, to place an additional $25.35 billion worth of school bonds on the ballot in November 2002 and then successfully campaigned to pass the bond. Using the framework designed by Hertzberg, California was able to pass over $70 billion in school bonds. For nearly two decades, California state government had been deadlocked with a Democratic State Legislature facing Republican Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson. Hertzberg and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton broke the gridlock to pass the most progressive social legislation since the 1960s. (See below).

    Personal style

    Warm and outgoing, Hertzberg has been given the nicknames "Huggy" and "Hugsberg" for his habit of offering embraces to colleagues, employees, voters and even opponents. Staffers also know to be on call whenever the Speaker would get a new idea. Republican consultant Tony Quinn described Hertzberg as the "Energizer Bunny with a 150 I.Q. – always willing to discuss policy." His media outreach while Speaker was largely managed by former L.A. Daily News reporter Paul Hefner, who Hertzberg brought to Sacramento in 2008 as his press secretary, communications director and head speechwriter.

    Legacy as Speaker

    With Republican Assemblyman Bill Leonard, Hertzberg worked to create the Robert M. Hertzberg Capital Institute to train new legislators and employees in state ethics rules and computer systems. After his tenure as Speaker ended, the Legislature under successor Speaker Herb Wesson named the Capitol Institute after Hertzberg. Hertzberg also created the Speaker's Office of International Relations and Protocol, a forward-thinking move in light of the "globalization" economic trends and the fact that if California were a separate nation, it would be among the world's 10 largest economies. The non-partisan magazine California Journal, gave Hertzberg high marks for working hard, being intelligent, having high ethical standards and for being a successful coalition-builder.

    Criticism of Hertzberg as Speaker

    Veteran Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton said of Hertzberg’s tenure as Speaker: "Reviews are mixed. Hertzberg is an intense bundle of energy, an all-night negotiator, an affable, incessant hugger. But critics contend there’s often more motion than forward movement." However, Skelton noted Hertzberg’s string of legislative accomplishments and ended the column with "Hertzberg cared. He tried. And he’s leaving the house in better shape than he found it." In the California Journal, Sherry Jeffe criticized what she called Hertzberg’s "micro-management" and giving Republican "porky bribes" to ensure passage of the budget. She also complained that he was "rolled on redistricting by Senate pro tem John Burton" and commented that "the low point for this speaker – with his penchant for organization, structure and fastidious to detail – came the last night of the 2000 legislative session when, argued one Capitol insider, ‘as a result of disorganization, a great number of bills which would have been enacted fell through the cracks." Conservative Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters said Hertzberg’s promise of legislative oversight of the executive branch "faded, particularly when the subjects were the energy crisis and the performance of his fellow Democrat, Governor Gray Davis."

    Assembly Legislative Accomplishments (1996-2002)

    AB206 – "Citizens' Complaint Act." (1997) Requires state agencies, with web sites, to provide a form on the web site for individuals to register complaints or comments regarding the agency's performance.

    AB513 – Meth Sentence Enhancement (1997) increases criminal penalties for selling methamphetamine.

    AB853 – Gang Prevention Programs (1997) establishes the Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR) Demonstration Project to combat gangs in Los Angeles County.

    AB856 – CA Witness Protection Program (1997) creates a state witness protection program run by the Attorney General.

    AB880 – Elder Financial Abuse (1998) expands criminal penalties for financial abuse of the elderly and dependent populations.

    AB2011 – Gun control (1998) requires that a serial number must be on a non-antique modern gun as a condition for transfer of ownership and requires law enforcement tracing of all seized guns.

    AB2351 – Electronic threats (1998) adds threats made by electric communications, such as the Internet, to the list of prohibitions.

    AB39 – Contraceptives (1999) Requires health care plans to pay for contraceptive services.

    AB140 – Anti-Terrorism (1999) makes illegal the possession, use, manufacture, attempt or threat to use weapons of mass destruction.

    AB185 – San Fernando Valley re-organization (1999) allows the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles to request a citywide vote on secession.

    AB187 – Grant Information (1999) allows state agencies to make available on their web sites a list of all grants administered by that agency.

    AB925 – Conservators (1999) creates a Statewide Registry for conservators and guardians.

    AB1094 – Voter Registration (2000) reduces the deadline for registering to vote from 29 to 14 days before the election.

    AB1391 – Forensic Laboratories (1999) authorizes the construction and remodeling of forensic laboratories. This bill eventually led to the creation of the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center of Los Angeles in 2007.

    AB1473 – Infrastructure plans (1999) requires the Governor to submit annual five-year construction spending plans.

    AB1665 – Cal-OSHA Funding (1999) extends the funding for the California Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration inspection program.

    AB1717 – Gun Control (2000) requires the Department of Justice to evaluate ballistic identification systems and report back to the Legislature.

    ACR181 – California History Month (2000) designates September as "California History Month.

    AB16 – Education Bonds (2002) authorized spending of $25.35 billion in future education bond funds. Voters passed school bonds in 2002 and 2004.

    AB56 – Voting Modernization Bonds (2001) authorizes a $200 million bond to update and repair California's voting equipment.

    AB423 – Farm Labor Contracts (2001) enhances enforcement of farm labor contracts and the payment of back wages owed.

    AB669 – State Non-emergency phone number (2001) authorizes local public agencies to establish a "311" non-emergency phone number.

    AB865 – Credit Cards (2001) requires credit card companies to detail the time and cost of paying off credit card debts by only making the monthly minimum payments.

    AB935 – Public Interest Attorneys (2001) helps lawyers who work in the public interest or indigent defendant field to pay off their student loans.

    AB1657 – LA County Healthcare (2001) requires the State Auditor to evaluate the financial capacity of the LA County Department of Health Services to meet its responsibilities.

    AB1781 – Instructional materials funding (2002) provides funding for school districts to purchase instructional materials.

    AB1838 – Terrorism – W.M.D. (2002) makes use of weapons of mass destruction murder in the first degree and a capital crime.

    AB2321 – Court claims (2002) creates rules for personal injury claims against California State and local courts.

    AB2717 – Water Desalination (2002) requires the Department of Water Resources to report to the Legislature by 2004 on the possibility of seawater desalination in California.

    State Senate (2014-Present)

    In 2014, Bob Hertzberg ran to represent the 18th District in the California State Senate. In the June primary, he won with 63.1% of the vote and went on to the general election where he secured 70.2% of the vote. The 18th District covers the eastern half of the San Fernando Valley, running from Burbank and Sun Valley in the east to Northridge in the west and from Sherman Oaks and Studio City in the south to Sylmar in the north.

    Under the state's term limits, Hertzberg is eligible to run for re-election in 2018 but can serve only one more Senate term.

    After being sworn in, Hertzberg was appointed by Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León to the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance, where he was also made chairman; the Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments; the Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications; the Committee on the Judiciary; and the Committee on Natural Resources and Water.

    For the 2017-18 legislative session, Hertzberg kept the same committee assignments but was appointed chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources and Water and no longer served as chairman of the Committee on Governance and Finance.

    Hertzberg has focused his legislative efforts on criminal justice reform, renewable energy, social justice issues, tax reform and water management.

    State Senate Legislation Signed into Law (2015-2016)

    SB 134 (2015) - Encouraging Lawyers to Practice Public-Interest Law. SB 134 helps attorneys pay off student loans (on average ranging between $85,000 and $125,000 per law school graduate) if they agree to practice in key areas of public-interest law. There is often little incentive to work in public-interest areas of law since the pay often is substantially lower than in private practice. Funding comes from donations to a special fund.

    SB 272 (2015) - Local Government Data. SB 272 requires local government agencies to conduct system-wide inventories of collected data and make the inventories publicly available under the California Public Records Act. Specifically, SB 272 requires California local government agencies at the city and county level to inventory the information they collect and make the inventories accessible to the public. These inventories include who maintains the information and how often that data is collected. The goal for SB 272 is to better harness the power of locally generated data to help spur economic growth, tackle major infrastructure issues and set millions of Californians on a path toward upward mobility. Properly gathered and clearly understood, data could also help empower local agencies and encourage the agencies to work together more effectively and to intelligently allocate resources to better deliver public services.

    SB 405 (2015) - Amnesty for Traffic Fines. This bill helped establish a traffic amnesty program for Californians who owed fines and fees for minor traffic offenses prior to 2013. The program returned suspended driver’s licenses to anyone with debt from prior to 2013 who entered a payment plan and made a commitment to pay agreed-upon fines. The program only applied to minor violations such as expired tags, failure to report a change of address, etc. The amnesty program took effect Oct. 1, 2015 and expired on April 3, 2017. Through the program, more than 205,000 Californians were able to get their fines and fees reduced and more than 190,000 received their suspended driver's licenses back.

    SB 540 (2015) - Taxpayer Advocacy. Created a taxpayer advocate at the state Franchise Tax Board. The advocate ensures that taxpayers who are overcharged or otherwise penalized for administrative mistakes made by the FTB can receive assistance and refunds. The measure became law on Jan. 1, 2016.

    SB 621 (2015) - Providing Care for the Mentally Ill. Allows counties to apply for funds from the Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction (MIOCR) Grant program to be used in diversion programs in an effort to provide a cost-effective strategy to reduce the rate of recidivism and re-incarceration of mentally ill offenders. This grants an alternative treatment option for offenders with a mental illness and it also furthers prison realignment efforts. The measure became law on Jan. 1, 2016.

    SB 380 (2016) - Requiring Testing of the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility. Co-authored with Sen. Fran Pavley, this measure requires all wells to undergo testing before new injections of gas are made into the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility. A gas leak from the facility began on Oct. 23, 2015 and continued for almost four months, sickening thousands of residents of Porter Ranch and surrounding communities.

    SB 450 (2016) - Expanding Voting Periods for Elections. Co-authored with Sen. Ben Allen, this measure requires every voter to be mailed a vote-by-mail ballot, establishes vote centers to replace neighborhood polling places and mandates that voting for an election take place for 10 days, which covers two weekends, preceding the election date.

    SB 494 (2016) - Moving Ahead with Creating an Early Earthquake Warning System. Co-authored with Sen. Jerry Hill, this measure created the California Earthquake Safety Fund to be used for the state to fund seismic safety and the early warning system. Separately, Gov. Jerry Brown directed $10 million to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in 2016 to further expand the state's earthquake early warning system prototype, known as ShakeAlert.

    SB 820 (2016) - Pushing Cleanup of Hazardous Waste Sites. This allows purchasers of contaminated properties to negotiate a cleanup plan with the state in exchange for liability protection from damages due to the original contamination that they had no role in. The legislation is expected to help local governments attract developers willing to take over hazardous waste properties.

    SB 881 (2016) - Speeding Up Traffic Amnesty Claims. Requires courts to respond within 90 days to claims made under the traffic amnesty program established by SB 405 of 2015.

    SB 936 (2016) - Expanding Small Business Loans. Expands loans available through California's Small Business Loan Guarantee Program by adopting the federal standard for leveraging the financing. That means less state money is needed to guarantee the loans which in turn means the state can back more private loans with the money it has.

    SB 1137 (2016) - Punishing Ransomware as a Serious Crime. Clarifies that infecting computers with ransomware is a form of extortion and that a person engaged in the activity could be convicted of a felony and imprisoned up to four years.

    SB 1349 (2016) - Upgrading California’s Website Providing Campaign Finance and Lobbying Information. Overhauls state's online portal providing campaign finance and lobbying information to the public to make it modern and quick and easy to use.

    SB 1476 (2016) - Requiring Greater Accountability and Oversight of Tax Checkoffs. Improves accountability and transparency of tax checkoff contributions. The legislation requires the tax donations to be continuously appropriated to the administering agency and that the administering agency post online the process for awarding the money, how program funds are awarded and how much is spent on administration.

    State Senate Legislation that is Pending (2017)

    For the 2107 legislative session, Hertzberg introduced 24 bills that are making their way through the state Legislature. Those bills include:

    SB 10 - Bail Reform. The measure aims to reform California’s cash bail system, which Hertzberg says favors the rich, with a pre-trial process that releases defendants from custody as long as they are determined not to be a danger to society or a risk of fleeing before a court hearing. The legislation has won widespread praise, with editorials in support written by the Los Angeles Times, Mercury News, Sacramento Bee, San Diego Union-Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle.

    SB 61 - Tax Checkoff for Food Banks. The measure would extend a tax checkoff for food banks, which is scheduled to disappear from state tax returns in 2019, through 2026.

    SB 185 - Traffic Fine Reductions. The measure would stop the automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for people who are unable to pay fines or fees for minor traffic tickets, and it would require courts to determine violators’ ability to pay before setting fine amounts.

    SB 231 - Stormwater Capture. The legislation adds a missing definition of “sewer service” to state law to include stormwater, which was long considered to be part of that definition until a court decision cast doubt on that interpretation 15 years ago. The measure would allow local governments to finance and build projects that capture and clean stormwater just as easily as they can finance and build needed sewer facilities.

    SB 250 - Preventing School Lunch Shaming. The legislation would stop schools from publicly shaming or embarrassing students by denying them lunch or providing a snack instead because their parents haven’t paid lunch fees. The measure would also direct schools to establish a process for notifying their families about unpaid fees and collecting them.

    SB 306 - Whistleblower Protection. The measure would add protections for whistleblowers so they can keep their jobs while retaliation complaints against their employers are being investigated.

    SB 588 - Rigs to Reefs. The legislation makes changes to California’s six-year-old, rigs-to-reefs program. It aims to establishes a clear process for how the program will be funded by oil companies and how the state will decide if a decommissioned oil rig can be converted into an artificial reef instead of fully removing it from the ocean.

    SB 606 - USC Property Tax Exemption Re Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The legislation, as amended on June 22, 2017, would exempt the University of Southern California (USC) from paying property taxes in connection with its use and operation of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and related properties. The legislation does not provide reimbursement to local governments for property tax revenues lost by them as a result of the property tax exemption. This would result in a loss of property tax revenues by local governments that could otherwise have been available for such purposes as public education, public safety, and stormwater capture. As a further result of the property tax exemption, USC would not have to pay other property levies that fund stormwater programs, resulting in a loss of revenues for stormwater programs.

    SCA 4 - Improving Water Management. The constitutional amendment would allow agencies to adjust their water rates to encourage conservation and provide discounts to people struggling to pay their water bills. Presently water agencies are required impose no more and no less than the cost of delivering the water to the customer. However, when Hertzberg was in the California Assembly in 1997, he voted in favor of legislation (SB 448) that shielded the public disclosure of wealthy water wasters in a local community. In an editorial against that "ill-considered" law, the Sacramento Bee stated: "Rich water hogs who live in gated enclaves are protected [from public disclosure]. But suburban homeowners could be identified if they happen to get cited and fined for overwatering." The Sacramento Bee called on the Legislature to end the exemption protecting the identity of wealthy water wasters.

    SB 231 (2017) and Proposition 218 ("Right to Vote on Taxes Act")

    In February 2017, Hertzberg introduced SB 231 which would redefine, by statute, the “sewer service” election exemption under the California Constitution (Proposition 218) as also including stormwater fees. In an op-ed he wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News, Hertzberg said the bill was important because lack of clarity over the legal definition of stormwater had created confusion that has prevented local agencies from pursuing stormwater projects. He said his aim was for stormwater to be treated the same as trash, household water and sewer service. However, a 2002 appellate court decision (the Salinas case) made it clear that stormwater fees are not exempt from the election requirement under Proposition 218 in stating: “We conclude that article XIII D [part of Prop. 218] required the City to subject the proposed storm drainage fee to a vote by the property owners or the voting residents of the affected area.”

    When local government interest groups in 2016 filed a state ballot initiative that would have allowed local governments to impose fees for stormwater and flood control without voter approval, the Legislative Analyst’s Office report on the measure made it clear that under Proposition 218: “Fee increases for flood control and stormwater services are subject to the same vote requirement as most property-related fees, as they are not included in the sewer and water service exemption.”

    "Let me clear: This bill is not an end run around Prop. 13 or an attempt to unfairly increase the tax burden on Californians. My bill simply says stormwater should be treated the same way as trash, household water and sewer service, because that’s the way it has always been," Hertzberg wrote in the op-ed. However, SB 231 is an end run around Proposition 218 (“Right to Vote on Taxes Act”) in that it attempts to rewrite a Prop. 218 constitutional provision with a mere statute to allow for stormwater to be included under the definition of “sewer,” meaning that it would no longer be subject to a Proposition 218 election. Furthermore, an analysis of Proposition 218 in a League of California Cities publication before the Proposition 218 election in 1996 made a clear distinction between storm drainage and sewer systems (and also water systems) in stating: “But, it appears that all fees and charges for water, sanitation, storm drainage, or sewer are included within the scope of the measure.”

    In an op-ed piece, the president of the California Association of Realtors wrote: "SB231 would hurt the very people who can afford it the least: Millennials and first-time home buyers who would be hampered by yet another property tax levy. Existing homeowners, as well as tenants, many of whom have already absorbed additional levies, or 'add-ons,' to their property tax bills, would be at the mercy of local jurisdictions to impose more property taxes on a wide range of storm water-related infrastructure projects."

    The bill passed the Senate on April 27, 2017 on a highly partisan 23-10 vote. According to the most recent legislative analysis, done by the Assembly Local Government Committee, SB 231 has nearly twice as many registered supporters as opponents. Supporters of SB 231 include the California Building Industry Association, representing the interests of real estate developers who have a long history of supporting regressive revenue measures that shift the financial burden from wealthy developers onto the backs of struggling homeowners. For his current term of office, Hertzberg has received more than $11,000 in campaign contributions from California Building Industry Association campaign committees representing the interests of wealthy real estate developers.

    Newspapers editorializing against SB 231 include the Daily News of Los Angeles, the Torrance Daily Breeze, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Pasadena Star-News, the Redlands Daily Facts, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the San Bernardino Sun, the Whittier Daily News, the Riverside Press-Enterprise, the Orange County Register, and the Chico Enterprise-Record.

    In 2002, a California appellate court in the Salinas case interpreted the California Constitution (Proposition 218) to require an election prior to local governments imposing stormwater fees, and that the “sewer service” election exemption does not apply to stormwater fees. That ruling contradicted the opinion of the Legislative Analyst's Office, which wrote in its analysis of Prop. 218 that was included in the 1996 voter guide that the proposition exempted “Assessments where all the funds are used to pay for sidewalks, streets, sewers, water, flood control, drainage systems or, ‘vector control’ (such as mosquito control).” However, the preceding analysis by the Legislative Analyst only related to the exemptions for special assessments on property under Proposition 218 and not to the separate exemptions for property-related fee elections for stormwater fees which were at issue in the Salinas case.

    Furthermore, prior to the Salinas decision, the Attorney General of California previously issued a formal written opinion in 1998 and concluded that storm drainage fees are not subject to the Proposition 218 election exemptions for “sewer” and “water” services. The California Attorney General thus reached the same conclusions concerning stormwater drainage fees under Proposition 218 as the appellate court did in the Salinas case.

    Hertzberg wants to make it easier for local governments to levy fees to pay for stormwater purposes by exempting stormwater fees from the constitutional election requirement under Proposition 218. A major newspaper covering Hertzberg’s current senate district (the Los Angeles Daily News) editorialized against SB 231 noting that it “attempts to override the decision by the Court of Appeal [the Salinas case] so cities can charge the cost of stormwater management to taxpayers without calling it a tax, and without the approval of two-thirds of the voters.” The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, a coalition of 33 cities, said if SB 231 becomes law, stormwater projects could add a potential $1,400 a year to a resident’s property tax bill and people could lose their homes. This would particularly hurt many senior citizens and homeowners on fixed incomes, including the approximate 88,000 homeowner exemption parcels located within Hertzberg’s current senate district.

    When Hertzberg was in the California Assembly, he voted on two occasions in 1997 in support of comprehensive Proposition 218 “implementing” legislation that did not include a definition of “sewer service” for purposes of the election exemption. Hertzberg did not raise any objections in the record about the lack of a “sewer service” definition at that time.

    Although court rules permitted him to do so, Hertzberg also did not file any legal brief in the 2002 Salinas case presenting his arguments to the appellate court concerning the scope of the “sewer services” election exemption provision under Proposition 218, even though he has filed such a legal brief before in other instances.

    When Hertzberg was first elected to the California Assembly in November 1996 in a heavily Democratic district (Assembly District 40), Hertzberg beat his Republican opponent by 28 percentage points, but voters within his district supported Proposition 218 by a 12 percentage point margin. Within Hertzberg’s current Senate district territory (Senate District 18), despite being heavily Democratic, voters supported Proposition 218 by an 11 percentage point margin.

    In 2016, local government groups filed a statewide ballot initiative that would have created an alternate funding method (other than under Proposition 218) for local governments to impose fees for stormwater and flood control without voter approval. The proponents of that initiative declined to move forward after public polling revealed little support for California voters giving up their constitutional right to vote on stormwater and flood control fees under Proposition 218.

    Property owners in the city of Los Angeles, including Hertzberg as a homeowner, already pay additional levies on their property tax bill for stormwater purposes. Property owners in the city of Los Angeles pay on their property tax bill a Stormwater Pollution Abatement Charge imposed by the city of Los Angeles without voter approval before Proposition 218 became law. The Stormwater Pollution Abatement article in the Los Angeles Municipal Code uses the term storm drain or drainage 21 times but not once does it use the term “sewer” in referring to the stormwater levy. Los Angeles property owners also currently pay on their property tax bill a property tax increase imposed to repay $500 million in authorized general obligation bonds for stormwater projects approved by Los Angeles voters during the November 2004 election. Property owners in the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, including Hertzberg as a homeowner, also currently pay on their property tax bill a benefit assessment for flood control and stormwater purposes imposed by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, as approved by voters in 1979. The Los Angeles County Flood Control District has also expressed an intention to pursue a voter approved parcel tax to provide substantial additional funding for stormwater projects and programs.

    Both in 2015 and 2016, Hertzberg received a grade of “F” from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in its annual Legislative Report Card. In 2017, Hertzberg also introduced additional legislation (SCA 4) designed to weaken the cost of service protections under Proposition 218 applicable to local government water service utility charges.

    Hertzberg has also refused to introduce legislation providing for more equitable funding of stormwater projects that do not place a disproportionate burden on low-income families and/or senior citizen homeowners. For example, legislation that would authorize local governments to levy taxes on businesses (especially big wealthy businesses) to finance stormwater projects and programs. Another example, legislation authorizing local governments to levy regulatory fees on water polluting businesses requiring businesses that pollute the water to pay their fair share to clean polluted water resulting from their business activities. This can be done without local voter approval. Another example, requiring developers to pay their fair share of developer fees intended to fully mitigate stormwater project costs associated with their development projects. This can also be done without local voter approval.

    Mayer-Brown Firm

    After retiring from the State Assembly in 2002, Hertzberg joined Mayer Brown LLP, formerly Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw as a full partner. At the firm, Hertzberg has specialized in government affairs, providing strategic advice to companies doing business in California and nationally. He has been particularly interested in the fields of the environment, climate-change, energy, water and Indian related issues.

    Glaser Weil

    In 2014, Hertzberg left Mayer Brown LLP, after being sworn in as a State Senator. He then joined the law firm Glaser Weil.

    Career and Recognitions in the Green Energy Sector

    Besides his law practice, Hertzberg has also been very active in the alternative energy business. During his Speakership in the legislature, Hertzberg was critical in passing the Low Carbon Fuel standards. The Pavley law has now become the law across the nation

    He co-founded Solar Integrated Technology in 2003, which was the first solar manufacturing facility ever in Los Angeles. (He sold his interests to run for Mayor of Los Angeles while the company won the Wall Street Journal Award for Innovation and went on the public market in the United Kingdom).

    After the Mayor’s race, he co-founded Renewable Capital in 2006 to do research and development of electronic vehicle in the U.K. and co-founded G24 Innovations Limited in 2006, an innovative flexible low light solar company in Cardiff, Wales. G24i became a well-regarded award-winning company.

    G24 produces a new type of lightweight and flexible solar cell that generates power in low, ambient and even indoor conditions. G24 has won numerous awards in recent years: in January 2008, CNBC European Business chose the company as one of its "Top 100 Low-Carbon Pioneers and The Guardian (UK) named Hertzberg as one of the "50 People Who Could Save the Planet." G24 is also the recipient of the "NESTA Rushlight Award" (for leading British achievement in the environmental field) as well as winning the World Bank’s "Award for Lighting Africa."

    Most recently, G24 won the prestigious "Business Commitment to the Environment Leadership Award" and Prince Charles invited CEO Hertzberg to join the "Business Leader’s Group on Climate Change." Additional awards include: "Welsh Innovative Company of the Year 2008," and Heidrick & Struggles "Force for Good Pioneers" Award. In 2012, G24 won the "Green Manufacturer of the Year Award" at the Insider Made in Wales Awards.

    On the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric stated in a news profile that Hertzberg knew "the difference between talking about global warming and actually doing something about it."

    Hertzberg traveled the world as a "green-tech" innovator lecturing and working in many countries, all while he often returned to California to pursue his deep interest in public policy. He has been interviewed by the BBC, CNN and CBS on his work in alternative energy.

    Public Policy Activism after Leaving the State Assembly

    He continued to teach each year new members of the California State Legislature, both inside and outside the Hertzberg Institute.

    With the Late Nancy Daly Riordan (the Former First Lady of Los Angeles) and Hollywood Director Rob Reiner, Hertzberg co-chaired for two years the First 5 preschool program to bring pre-school programs to the 150,000 4 year-olds in LA County without pre-school.

    He also currently serves on the Board of Advisors at former Governor Schwarzenegger’s Institute for State and Global at U.S.C. along with former Mexican President Vicente Fox, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, former San Antonio Mayor and Housing & Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, who is the Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

    California Forward

    In 2009, Hertzberg replaced future Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta as the Chair of California Forward whose self-declared mission is "to work with Californians to help create a "smart" government – one that’s small enough to listen, big enough to tackle real problems, smart enough to spend our money wisely in good times and bad, and honest enough to be held accountable for results."

    The web site of California Forward states that they are seeking "A Comprehensive Solution" to California’s problems, including:

    1) Fiscal reforms (performance-based budgeting, a more rational tax system and pay-as-you-go rules.

    2) Structural reforms where more power is returned from Sacramento to local governments, pension reforms and a revitalized education system.

    3) Democracy reforms, including non-partisan redistricting and voting systems.

    While at California Forward, Hertzberg strongly supported the redistricting reforms that assigned the decennial task of re-drawing legislative district lines to an independent Citizen’s Commission and the "Open Primary" initiative (where voters can choose candidates regardless of partisan registration), all of which California voters passed via the ballot box in 2008 and 2010.

    In conjunction with Chairing California Forward, Hertzberg has also been a member of the Think Long Committee of California since 2009. This Committee is a non-partisan civic group focused on fixing California’s dysfunctional state and local government structures. The Think Long Committee promotes a vision of 21st Century government in California that is more efficient and "user-friendly" to ordinary California citizens.

    Hertzberg completed his service at California Forward in October 2012.

    Think Long Committee of California

    In 2009, Hertzberg joined the Think Long Committee of California, a bi-partisan collection of public and private sector leaders, including former Secretaries of State George Schultz & Condi Rice, former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, businessmen Eli Broad & David Bonderman, and former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George. The Committee describes its mission to "Advocate a comprehensive approach to repairing California’s broken system of governance while proposing policies and institutions vital for the state’s long-term future."

    The Think Long Committee’s platform to "Re-boot California’s Democracy" includes:

  • Tax Reform to reduce the income while extending the sales tax to services.
  • Creating a "Rainy Day" fund for the state budget.
  • Full public transparency on initiative funding.
  • Creating a two-year legislative session where one year is dedicated to oversight of previous laws and programs to ensure effective government.
  • Aligning the skills and educational outcomes of California’s master plan institutions with the needs of our cutting edge industry
  • Speeding up regulatory approvals to spur job creation.
  • Realigning, where appropriate, government functions from Sacramento to regional and local governments, thus saving money and increasing accountability.
  • Creating a non-partisan Citizens Council for Government Accountability, which would be empowered to place initiatives directly on the ballot for public approval, will ensure that the public’s priorities are protected.
  • Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation

    Hertzberg has twice served as Chair of the L.A.E.D.C., in 2004 and 2011, the largest economic development agency in the country. As Chair, Hertzberg lead successful trade missions to China, Japan, and Korea among other nations, helping to create bi-lateral investments and trade.

    During his first term as LAEDC Chair, he co-founded the Southern California Leadership Council, which includes former California Governors Deukmejian, Wilson and Davis, to work on consumer goods movement and infrastructure, among other issues.

    2005 Campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles

    Hertzberg retired from the Assembly in 2002. At the time, he said he had no plans to run for any other office, expressing a desire to "take care of my kids."

    But a steady series of fundraising scandals where members of Mayor James Hahn's Administration were investigated by a grand jury for allegedly awarding city contracts to campaign contributors and the general drift of Hahn (some critics called him "Mayor Yawn") created an opening. In a LA Times poll, only 48% of voters considered Hahn honest.

    Antonio Villaraigosa, who lost to Mayor Hahn in 2001, had been elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2003 while promising not to run for mayor, something he quickly reconsidered when Hahn proved vulnerable. Bernard Parks, the African-American City Councilman who had not been rehired as Police Chief by Hahn and State Senator Richard Alarcon also jumped in, as did a number of minor candidates. Hertzberg's allies convinced him to run, and in 2004, he started a web site ChangeLA.com to promote his candidacy.

    Hertzberg advocated a "boroughs" system to make city government smaller, more efficient and more accountable to the grassroots, plus giving the Mayor's office more power, especially over the school system. He also opposed raising taxes, while favoring synchronizing traffic lights to ease congestion. Hertzberg's campaign platform consisted of four main planks:

  • Break up the Los Angeles Unified School District to make it smaller, more responsive and more efficient. (Hertzberg called the District's 50% dropout rate the biggest threat to the city's future).
  • A "Commuters' Bill of Rights" to help ease traffic woes.
  • Using 25% of new revenue to upgrade the Los Angeles Police Department.
  • Using revenue bond money to build "green" infrastructure immediately.
  • He told the LA Times that it was more than ambition that caused him to run, but a sense of duty as well:

    "Could I go out and make a ton of money in my businesses and law firm? Sure. But when I'm 70 years old, I look in the mirror and I watched this place crumble

    and knew I could have done something about it. I just couldn't let that happen. Believe me; otherwise I wouldn't have done it. The sacrifices to me and to my

    family are extraordinary."

    Over half of LA city voters did not know much about Hertzberg. To boost his public standing, he launched a TV campaign that featured a giant image of him towering over a city full of problems. He also unveiled an endorsement from former Mayor Richard Riordan. The LA Times expressed a preference for a Villaraigosa-Hertzberg run-off, while the Los Angeles Daily News endorsed Hertzberg. The African-American newspaper, The Los Angeles Sentinel, also endorsed Hertzberg, the first time they had ever endorsed a white candidate against a serious black candidate.

    Hertzberg’s efforts paid off as a second LA Times poll found the primary too close to call. Meanwhile, Hahn's supporters fought back with a hardball negative campaign through the mail.

    Analysis by the LA Times showed that Hertzberg ran best in the San Fernando Valley and West LA, among white middle class voters and Jews. Hertzberg also won twice as many precincts as Hahn, but fell short when Hahn's negative ads decreased his support in the Valley. A switch of just 3,278 votes would have put Hertzberg in the run-off with Villaraigosa. A lead editorial after the primary election in the LA Times, "Paging Bob Hertzberg," claimed a dull debate between Hahn and Villaraigosa made them "miss Bob Hertzberg and his outsized ideas."

    After just missing the run-off, Hertzberg endorsed the eventual winner Villaraigosa, helping the first Latino Mayor in the San Fernando Valley, plus the Jewish and business communities where Hertzberg had run particularly strong in the primary. Villaraigosa ended up winning the run-off by 59–41%.

    Political advisory roles

    Since Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as California Governor in the 2003 recall election, Hertzberg has served as both a formal and informal advisor to the "Governator." In 2003, Schwarzenegger appointed him to his Transition Committee and Hertzberg helped guide the passage of the new Governor's "Economic Recovery Package" through the Legislature that allowed the state to weather the financial crisis of 2003–04. According to The People's Machine by Joe Matthews, Schwarzenegger then offered Hertzberg the position of Chief of Staff, nicknaming him "Hertzie." Hertzberg chose to stay in the private sector, but did advise Arnold to "build a thoroughly bipartisan government." Hertzberg wrote in the LA Daily News that his advice was: "Take the initiative to go and meet with members of the Legislature, Democrats and Republicans alike. Sit in their offices, meet with them as human beings, and learn to work with them."

    Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg commented on Hertzberg’s role as a link between Governor Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature, saying that Hertzberg would report "what the Democratic legislative line was -- where we couldn't go and where we were willing to go. And he had the trust of the principals on both sides, which helped quite a bit."

    After finishing a close third in the 2005 Mayoral Election, Hertzberg also served as the Chair of Mayor-elect Villaraigosa's Transition Team. In 2009, Hertzberg also served as the co-chair of the Transition Team for newly elected Los Angeles City Attorney, Carmen Trutanich. Despite being out of office for a decade, the journal Capitol Weekly has repeatedly named him one of the Top 100 influential people in Sacramento, writing in 2011: "Bob Hertzberg is one of those hyper-kinetic, Type-A personalities who love politics for its own sake. He’s a former Assembly speaker, an L.A. lawyer and a go-to guy for his ideas on political reform. Amazingly, he was a sort of adviser to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he continues to be an insider Democrat with his fingers in lots of pies."

    Civic affairs/public policy activism

    Hertzberg has stayed involved in policy debates and formulation through his service on numerous boards of public policy committees and several universities, including:

  • Board Member, 2005 to 2011, Town Hall Los Angeles
  • Member, University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Board on History and Culture, 2005 to 2009.
  • Fellow, USC Keston Institute for Infrastructure
  • USC Price School of Public Policy, Board of Councilors
  • Board of Visitors for Pepperdine School of Public Policy, Member
  • California Historical Society, Trustee to 2007
  • National Speaker's Conference, Honorary Member, Executive Committee
  • Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA), Board of Directors to 2007
  • Board Member, Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College
  • Century Housing Corporation, Board of Directors, 2003–2008
  • Member, Executive Committee, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Member, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Center for Governmental Studies, Board Member
  • Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), Board Member to 2008
  • Southern California Leadership Council, Board Member.
  • California Center For Regional Leadership, Board Member, 2005 to 2009.
  • Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Chairman 2004 and 2011.
  • Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Board Member 2008 to 2011.
  • California Forward, Leadership Council co-chair 2009 to 2012 (see above).
  • Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), Board Member
  • Nominated by Governor Schwarzenegger to serve on Climate Change Strategy Panel 2010.
  • Metropolitan Water Committee, Blue Ribbon Committee, 2010-2011.
  • Member, Think Long Committee of California, 2010 to present (see above).
  • Elected member of the Board of Directors to The China-US Energy Efficiency Alliance, a nonprofit organization working to combat global climate change by promoting industrial energy efficiency in China, 2012 to present.
  • Board of Advisors, Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy at the University of Southern California.
  • Political vision/ideals

    Hertzberg calls himself a "New Democrat" in the mold of Bill Clinton, who is both pro-business and pro-labor. He told the Los Angeles Business Journal that education is the key to the future and "we're trying to pave the way for what's coming next in California; intellectual property, not low-wage jobs." And Hertzberg told the Speaker's Commission on Regional Government: "The winners in the New Economy will be the regions that learn to work together to relieve traffic congestion, build affordable housing, preserve open space and promote economic development. If government is going to be effective in this new age, it is going to have to start thinking regionally. This Commission is an important first step."

    In his autobiography Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger relates how he went to meet with Speaker Hertzberg in 2002 to seek support for his successful "After-school" initiative:

    "One of my first stops was Bob Hertzberg, the Speaker of the Assembly. Bob is a smart, ebullient from the San Fernando Valley, about the same age as Maria.

    He’s so friendly that his nickname is Huggy. Within two minutes, we were swapping jokes. ‘What’s not to like?’ he said about our ballot proposition. But he

    warned me not to expect support from the Democratic Party itself. ‘God forbid we should endorse a Republican initiative,’ he wisecracked."

    When he was running for Mayor, Hertzberg told the LA Weekly: "Get it done or get the heck out of the way is my philosophy. I start out as a holistic thinker. I'm the big picture, holistic thinker... It really boils down to the issue of getting the work done. I am sick and tired of the noise. Sick and tired of the empty promises."

    References

    Robert Hertzberg Wikipedia