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Santa Clarita Valley State Representatives Announce Bills Move Foward

Two Santa Clarita Valley representatives, Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, and Senator Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, announced two of their bills have moved forward.


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The following is a news release courtesy of the office of Senator Sharon Runner.

Senator Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, today announced that her legislation to save taxpayer dollars when a special election proves to be unnecessary has cleared the Senate Floor with unanimous, bipartisan support.Former state Sen. Sharon Runner defeated a last-minute challenge from six write-in candidates Tuesday to win the 21st Senate District seat

Senate Bill 49 would permit the Governor, at his or her discretion, to cancel a special election when only one candidate qualifies to appear on the ballot.

“Elections are a vital part of our democratic process, but it is not always necessary to spend millions of dollars on an election when only one qualified candidate appears on the ballot,” said Runner.

Runner was elected to the Senate in March 2015 in a special election to replace then-Senator Steve Knight after he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the only candidate to appear on the ballot. Los Angeles County spent $1.4 million on the election while San Bernardino County spent $221,000.

“While the circumstances of my election were unusual, they were not unique,” said Runner. “Given the recent increase in special elections, a single candidate primary is likely to occur again sooner rather than later.”

Since 1975, there have been three instances where a special election was conducted with only one candidate officially listed on the ballot. In each case, the candidate won with at least 94% of the vote.

SB 49 is supported by the California State Association of Counties, the County of San Bernardino and the County of Sacramento.

Elected in March 2015, Sharon Runner represents portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties as Senator for the 21st District. Her district includes the Antelope Valley, Victor Valley and portions of the Santa Clarita Valley.

For more information, visit the website.

The following is a news release provided by the office of Assemblyman Scott Wilk.

Assemblyman Scott Wilk’s, R-Santa Clarita, Assembly Bill 951, which would require the Santa Clarita Sanitation District (SCVSD) Assemblyman Scott Wilkto hold its Board meetings within the boundaries of the district when policy decisions are being made relating to Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), passed unanimously out of the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

AB 951 will provide the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley with better government by creating greater transparency and public oversight on the actions of Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District Board of Directors as it relates to addressing TMDLs,” Wilk said. “Ratepayers ought to be able to testify in their hometown and not drive to Whittier when the Board is making important decisions that ultimately affect their pocket books.”

Currently the SCVSD holds their meetings in the city of Whittier, 50 miles from the community they have jurisdiction over. Naturally, this discourages public testimony from ratepayers and hinders their ability from staying informed on issues that directly affect their home values and water rates.

AB 951 is a step in the right direction and provides much needed transparency and accountability to the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley.

The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations committee.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

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Santa Clarita Valley State Representatives Announce Bills Move Foward

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