Just after the ceremonial signing of a new climate change bill at the Griffith Observatory on Wednesday, Governor Jerry Brown turned to Assemblymember Das Williams and said he has been talking to a lot of people about AB 3, the unique bill to establish self-governance in Isla Vista. “And I’m inclined to sign it,” Williams recalled Brown said to him.
Later Wednesday afternoon, Brown signed AB 3, the unprecedented and controversial bill Williams drafted late last year in an effort to give Isla Vista residents a voice and a governing mechanism. Since last December, a group of students and long term residents met about 50 times to fill in the specifics of the bill, which was initially vague, spelling out few details about what kind of services a modestly funded community services district could support.
Brown’s stance on the bill was largely unclear. But during a meeting earlier this summer, State Senator Bob Hertzberg noted Brown might dislike the bill on the grounds it could clutter government (by adding a district separate from the Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District) and levy additional taxes (in the form of a utility user tax). But Williams expressed confidence in the measure, citing the uniqueness of Isla Vista.