Legislative Accomplishments

Legislative Accomplishments

Los Angeles County Issues:

Arts and Culture

Representing the Supervisorial District that includes the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the George C. Page Museum of Fossil Discoveries, the Getty Center, the UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum of Art, and major performing arts venues such as the Universal Amphitheater, the Greek Theatre, the Wiltern, Pantages, James A. Doolittle and Henry Fonda Theatres, and many smaller houses, Yaroslavsky is a leader in supporting and promoting arts and culture in Los Angeles. A member of the Walt Disney Concert Hall Steering Committee, Yaroslavsky plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the $220 million, Frank Gehry-designed project - a world-class facility adjoining the downtown Los Angeles Music Center intended as the permanent home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra - remains on track for its scheduled Fall, 2001 debut season.

Campaign Reform

In November 1996, Yaroslavsky won voter approval for Proposition B, the first Countywide campaign reform measure ever enacted, which limits contributions and overall spending. Although a U.S. District Court Judge in Sacramento has since invalidated the state voter-approved Prop. 208 campaign-finance measure, similar in some respects to Proposition B, the County Counsel has opined that “All provisions of Proposition B remain in full force and effect.”

Children's Services

In a series of motions and initiatives, Yaroslavsky has fought to improve the County’s provision of services to children.

At his urging, the County has undertaken a full-scale management audit of the Department of Children and Family Services to examine issues of caseload management, excessive paperwork, and overtime expenditures.
He has instigated reforms in the County's group home program, in which troubled, abused or neglected children are placed.
He pushed for a top-down review of the mental-health services provided to youngsters in the County’s MacLaren Children’s Center - a short-term shelter for children awaiting permanent placement or adoption.
He has called for changes in the Dependency Court system to improve the quality, consistency and cost-effectiveness of specialized legal representation for abused or neglected children entrusted to County care.
He won Board approval to declare 1998 "The Year of Healthy Children," and launched an ambitious series of initiatives and public education campaigns aimed at expanding the availability of medical care for the County’s children, including school-based health programs, aggressive Medi-Cal enrollment outreach, and other programs.
To assist divorced parents (usually mothers) in collecting their court-ordered child support payments, Yaroslavsky initiated a major public information effort, which includes hot-links to the District Attorney’s "Most Wanted Delinquent Parents" page on County Web pages, public service announcements during televised airings of Board meetings, and posters for all County buildings and County contractors' offices.

Community Issues

Yaroslavsky has worked to mediate and resolve disputes between local communities and the County, such as successfully negotiating an agreement between the City of Malibu and the County to assemble the necessary funding to repair Kanan Dume Road, a crucial commuter traffic artery linking the West San Fernando Valley to Pacific Coast Highway which was closed by a slope failure in September 1996 and successfully reopened in March 1998.

Disaster Preparedness and Recovery

In January 1995, within weeks of assuming office, Yaroslavsky intervened personally with Gov. Pete Wilson to expedite repair and reopening of flood-damaged Topanga Canyon Boulevard, thus restoring a vital commuter traffic artery between the San Fernando Valley and Pacific Coast Highway.
In October 1995, Yaroslavsky authorized a $20,000 grant from Third District office funds to the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness (TCEP) for capital start-up and first-year operating costs of a new local Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Staffed by trained volunteers working closely with the Sheriff’s Department and the County Fire Department, the EOC will provide reliable information and useful public education services year-round, not just in times of crisis.
Yaroslavsky led the demand for full FEMA reimbursement and settlement of outstanding insurance claims to secure the funding to repair or rebuild quake-damaged County facilities in the San Fernando Valley. In January 1998, Yaroslavsky was joined by court and city officials to formally reopen the formerly red-tagged San Fernando Courthouse, and plans are proceeding to repair the Van Nuys Courthouse as well as to complete the interim quarters for the demolished Mid-Valley Comprehensive Health Center and finalize the design of a permanent replacement facility.

Fiscal Reform

Building on expertise gained as longstanding Chair of the Los Angeles City Council's Budget and Finance Committee, Yaroslavsky moved quickly in 1994-95 to stabilize the County's fiscal situation by curbing new hiring and cutting spending on services and supplies, limiting and scrutinizing use of debt financing, and instituting regular audits and better oversight - all of which has contributed to the County's first bond-rating upgrades in several years and saved taxpayers millions in interest-financing charges.

Gun Control

Frustrated by state inaction, Yaroslavsky won approval of a package of gun-control motions aimed at cracking down on unlicensed "kitchen-table" gun dealers (see press release announcing successful reduction); banning the manufacture and sale of new "Saturday Night Special" handguns in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County; analyzing the connection between guns, substance abuse and domestic violence; and seeking greater gun-control authority from the state.

Health Care Reform

In the midst of the near-collapse of the County's health care system in August, 1995, Yaroslavsky co-sponsored a motion to establish, and appointed former Assemblyman Burt Margolin to head, the Health Crisis Task Force, which in 30 days developed a rescue plan yielding several hundred million dollars in federal aid that saved County hospitals and clinics from threatened closure. This Medicaid Waiver Demonstration Project has been helping transform County health-care delivery into a network of public-private partnerships serving as a national model for change and innovation. In the Fall of 1997, Yaroslavsky moved forward on several other health-related initiatives:

forging a consensus to rebuild the venerable County-USC Medical Center at an affordable and appropriate 600-bed configuration;
instigating a comprehensive study of the County’s Public Health programs which led to adoption of a $20 million reform package;
moving to expand health-care coverage for the County’s medically uninsured children;
pushing for reforms in the County’s restaurant inspection program which will increase oversight, require posted grades, toughen penalties for violators and permit public review of inspection reports.

In July 2000, after personal lobbying of President Clinton by Yaroslavsky and others, the County won a five-year renewal of the Medicaid Waiver Demonstration Project, worth at least $1.2 billion in new federal and state funding, to assist the County in its continuing efforts to increase outpatient services and restructure its massive health-care delivery system.

In-Home Services to the Elderly and Disabled

In a successful effort to improve the delivery of government-funded caregiver services (“In-Home Supportive Services”) to elderly and disabled people unable to care for themselves without assistance, Yaroslavsky won approval for his motion to establish a Public Authority, one of the nation’s first, to oversee the program and ensure provision of a stable, high-quality pool of qualified attendants.

Los Angeles River

Yaroslavsky has taken a special interest in efforts to protect and enhance the Los Angeles River wherever possible. Examples include:

As the County prepared in Fall 1997 for the onslaught of El Nino-related storms, Yaroslavsky insisted that native vegetation in soft-bottom Los Angeles River channels be preserved as much as possible while accommodating stormwater outflow to the ocean. As a result, the river environment was protected, taxpayers saved the cost of indiscriminate clear-cutting, and successful preparations were completed well in advance of the first storms.
He insisted that Public Works officials, in their efforts to enhance the River system’s flood-control capacity, consider a range of alternative strategies in addition to simply raising the height of the concrete channel walls.
He included $12 million in capital project funding in Proposition A, the $319 million Countywide park and open-space assessment measure, to enhance scenic and recreational opportunities along the Los Angeles River and its tributaries.
He insisted that a proposed expansion of Universal Studios and its theme park include funding to add landscaping and create a pedestrian and bike path along the stretch of Los Angeles River bordering the property.

Open Space Preservation

Among his many initiatives in this area, in November 1996, Yaroslavsky won voter approval for Proposition A, a $319 million park and open space assessment measure (and successor to a $540 million 1992 measure) to fund wilderness preservation as well as improvements at dozens of local and regional park and recreational facilities.
In the Santa Monica Mountains, Yaroslavsky won permanent protection for Mission Canyon by removing it from the County’s roster of potential landfill sites, and helped facilitate the joint purchase by several public agencies of the 700-acre Micor property, a prime wilderness parcel previously slated for development that extends northeast from the Mulholland Highway-Las Virgenes Road junction into the City of Calabasas. He has consistently supported federal funding and legislation to acquire and preserve the wilderness properties needed to complete the 70-mile Backbone Trial along the spine of the Santa Monica Mountains between Will Rogers State Park and Point Mugu State Park.

Openness in Government

Within weeks of joining the Board of Supervisors, Yaroslavsky provided the crucial third vote to authorize Countywide broadcasts of Board of Supervisors weekly meetings.
He was the first Los Angeles County Supervisor and one of the first local elected officials in California to establish a World Wide Web site to provide constituents information and facilitate e-mail communication, and has led the way in computerizing his office operations for greater efficiency. At his urging, the County now publishes detailed quarterly reports on County-registered lobbyists on its Website.

Planning and Land Use Issues

Yaroslavsky has continued his leadership as an "honest broker" working with both development and environmental advocates to resolve disputes and forge workable compromises balancing responsible growth with strong environmental protections and mitigation's; his efforts include settlement of the longstanding Soka University expansion dispute, and a plan to reduce by nearly 50% the proposed expansion of the Universal Studios complex, along with stringent environmental and traffic mitigation's to protect surrounding residents.

Public Safety/Criminal Justice

Yaroslavsky assumed office in December 1994 with a vow that securing the tools and resources for law enforcement would be his highest priority. Since that time, Yaroslavsky has moved forward on several fronts:

he pushed successfully to develop a funding strategy to open the long-dormant Twin Towers Jail, which expanded jail bed capacity and helped extend incarceration times for inmates otherwise slated for "early release" from overcrowded County jail facilities
he led the effort to contract with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and lease out the County’s Mira Loma Custody Facility for detention of illegal criminal aliens slated for deportation, increasing public safety and generating new revenue for law enforcement
he helped secure a $43.1 million federal Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, which over two years will support operations at the County’s jails and courts; fund new anti-gang strategies coupling tough enforcement with programs to keep kids out of gangs; and institute a new Superior Court-based Drug Court program which will combine intensive drug treatment services with rigorous court monitoring, drug testing, probation supervision and graduated sanctionshe oversaw the expansion of the County’s highly successful existing Municipal Court-based Drug Court Program from its downtown pilot location into Van Nuys and Santa Monica Municipal Courts

he has actively supported anti-gang efforts within his District and Countywide, and helped underwrite the cost of securing and enforcing a court injunction against the notorious East Hollywood-based "Mara Salvatrucha" gang’s 40 most active and dangerous members.

Tobacco Control

In April 1996, Yaroslavsky - an ex-smoker - sponsored the motion that initiated one of the first, and largest, local government lawsuits against the tobacco industry. On December 1, 1998, the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted Yaroslavsky’s motion to settle the suit in return for sharing the proceeds of a $206 billion, 46-state global settlement of all outstanding litigation by states and localities (four states had earlier settled their cases individually). As a result, Los Angeles County will receive as much as $3.3 billion in new revenue through the year 2025, and roughly $100 million annually in perpetuity thereafter, to expand the County’s outpatient and indigent health care services, improve treatment of smoking-related diseases, and augment anti-smoking public education programs.

Transportation Issues

In joining the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the same time he joined the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Yaroslavsky quickly became one of the MTA’s leading advocates for reform. In November, 1998, he won overwhelming voter approval (68%-32%) for Proposition A, "The MTA Reform and Accountability Act of 1998," which he wrote and sponsored. The measure prohibits the use of any local transit sales tax funds for future subway construction after completion of the North Hollywood line, and includes provisions for an independent audit, appointment of members to the Independent Citizens’ Advisory and Oversight Committee, and other required changes. Click here for further information on the MTA initiative.

Among Other Accomplishments

He helped strengthen internal oversight of the agency by supporting creation of an office of Inspector-General to root out waste, fraud, mismanagement and corruption
He introduced more stringent ethics and lobbyist restrictions which were incorporated into MTA’s Ethics Policy and Code of Conduct
He won MTA Board approval for development of a new debt policy and debt limit, comparable to those found in other transit agencies, to safeguard the MTA’s credit rating
He aggressively sought to maximize benefits and minimize negative impacts of rail construction in the Third District. Yaroslavsky won Board approval to eliminate two unnecessary crossover tunnels underneath Runyon Canyon Park west of the Hollywood Bowl, saving $27 million in construction costs and slashing by half the blasting required underneath the park and homes in the Hollywood Hills. He also negotiated a cost-sharing agreement with Kaiser Permanente that facilitated construction of a subway entrance for the Kaiser hospital at Vermont and Sunset, and won beautification and landscaping improvements from the MTA for the right-of-way along Chandler Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.

Welfare Reform

Yaroslavsky pledged in his December 1994 swearing-in speech to support a compassionate welfare system that nevertheless demands self-reliance and personal accountability, one that moves people “from welfare rolls to payrolls.” In August 1996, Yaroslavsky led local efforts, ultimately successful on the national level, to soften the harshest impacts on legal immigrants of the federal welfare reform bill. In June 1997, he sponsored a “welfare-to-work” summit meeting in the San Fernando Valley that was attended by business and employment leaders, aimed at assessing welfare reform’s local impacts, sharing information about the County’s nationally acclaimed GAIN program to assist welfare recipients in finding jobs, and providing tips on job training opportunities.

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