Wilson Signs 5 Bills to Help Orange County : Bankruptcy: Legislation eases way for bond sales, borrowing against delinquent taxes and sale of assets. He vetoes effort to put state trustee in charge of finances.

Gov. Pete Wilson has signed a slate of bills to help Orange County pull out of bankruptcy, but vetoed a controversial measure that would have given the state unprecedented authority over the county’s fiscal affairs, the governor’s office announced Monday.

Wilson said the five bills he signed “send a strong signal” that state and local politicians can cooperate to help Orange County pull out of the worst municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

The bills were approved by the Legislature last week as urgency measures and became law with the governor’s signature Friday night. Wilson’s press office did not announce the signings until Monday.

Authored by Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange) and Sen. William A. Craven (R-Oceanside), the legislation is designed to help the county speed the sale of assets and make it easier for the county to resume selling bonds on Wall Street, borrow against delinquent property taxes and reap additional revenue by importing trash from other counties.

Orange County officials were delighted by the governor’s actions, saying the bills will form the bedrock on which the county can build a solid recovery after suffering $1.7 billion in investment losses and declaring bankruptcy last year.

“I think today culminates a great deal of work by a lot of people,” said Gaddi H. Vasquez, chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. “This package is an important part of our financial recovery plan.”

Wilson vetoed a measure by Sen. Lucy Killea (I-San Diego) that would have allowed a state trustee to run Orange County’s financial affairs. The proposal drew sharp attacks from supervisors and the county’s legislative delegation in Sacramento.

But the governor warned Orange County officials in a prepared veto statement that if the Board of Supervisors “fails to show the necessary leadership” as it struggles to rebuild the county’s finances, “this issue may need to be revisited.”

Supervisor William G. Steiner and other county officials took the governor’s words to heart.

“I think it’s consistent with the governor’s hope that Orange County control its destiny,” Steiner said of the veto. “By the same token, I’m under no illusions that he would step in with a trustee if we were to default.”

Killea expressed disappointment over the governor’s quick decision. The senator, who was a San Diego City Council colleague of Wilson’s, had hoped to meet with the governor to lobby for her bill.

The measure would have allowed Wilson the option of naming a three-member county assistance authority with the power to appoint an executive officer who would shepherd the county’s recovery efforts.

It also would have allowed the county to tap into the incremental increase in property taxes as a revenue source for the recovery. Killea wanted the measure in place in case county voters reject Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase that is the subject of a June 27 special election.

Killea suggested that Wilson was trying to keep a low profile on the bankruptcy as he gears up to run for President.

Meanwhile, the Assembly on Monday approved and sent to Wilson another Orange County recovery bill. The measure, by Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), would allow county schools to use loans secured by campus property for operating expenses. The measure should be particularly helpful for the five school districts that borrowed money to invest last year and suffered heavy losses when the county pool collapsed.

Other lawmakers, however, suggested that there are alternatives if voters don’t approve Measure R.

Lewis, who opposes the sales tax hike, continued to stress that officials should explore ways to divert funds from a transportation sales tax approved by county voters in 1990, and use county property to pay off cities that invested in the toppled portfolio.

Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), another Measure R opponent, said the county delegation would look for opportunities to push measures that it has introduced that would allow the county to privatize more services and avoid costly state mandates.