(Sacramento) – On a strong bipartisan vote the California State Assembly today approved AB 46, legislation by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), which would establish a process for disincorporating any city with a population of fewer than 150 people.

“When a city’s population becomes so small, the burden of monitoring government activities falls on the few, and no real protections or accountability exist,” Pérez said. “That’s certainly the case in Vernon, where 60 years of corruption have eaten away at the city’s foundation, creating a real threat to the stability of the jobs and businesses that have located there,” Pérez said.  “AB 46 not only remedies corruption among the ruling clique in Vernon, it prevents similar fiefdoms from occurring in other extremely small cities as well.”

AB 46 establishes a process whereby any city with fewer than 150 residents is disincorporated, unless the Board of Supervisors in the corresponding County votes to allow the city to continue.  One city affected by the measure is the City of Vernon, which has a decades-long history of corruption allegations, indictments and convictions for offenses including voter fraud. See the Speaker’s presentation of AB 46 on the floor of the California State Assembly on this Assembly Access video.