Executive Summary

The uprising that began in South-Central Los Angeles on April 29, 1992, was rooted in long-festering resentments, economic deprivation, poor police/community relations, and triggered by a crowning act. The areas most affected by the unrest suffer from severe shortages of well-paying and private-sector jobs. African Americans and Latinos experience double-digit unemployment rates and very high dropout rates from school, while families in poverty in the county have increased 28 percent during the last 10 years. The greater Los Angeles area has become one of the most ethnically-diverse areas in the world. Latinos comprise 37.8 percent of the population, African Americans 10.5 percent, and Asian Pacific Americans 10. 2 percent. Hate crimes and other manifestations of severe ethnic tension are not uncommon in the region. There is an urgent need for financial resources and staff to bring the community together and to link local self-help programs. The civil disturbance resulted in extensive damage to commercial properties, much of which were uninsured or under-insured. Of the billion dollars in damages, approximately one-half of those damages were covered by Insurance. Unfair insurance practices and discrimination have denied many affected merchants and businesses from reliable insurance coverage. There is a real shortage of available land for use as community centers, parks, sites for farmers' markets, and to build affordable housing. Too little attention has been paid to the ethnic make-up of juries, which is needed to establish a trial by community peers. Crime and drugs are the highest concerns of California citizens. Strong but sensible steps must be taken to address these concerns. Legislative Inaction To date, the Legislature and governor have failed to address the needs of the communities victimized by the Los Angeles unrest of 1992. Moreover, both have failed to take the steps necessary to correct the problems underlying the outbreak of violence. The Legislature initially responded to the Los Angeles unrest with dozens of bills, ranging from community redevelopment overhaul to enterprise zones. Of these measures, only a handful were actually approved by the entire Legislature and signed by the governor: two of the bills dealt exclusively with stiffer penalties for urban unrest offences - not with the root causes of the civil unrest. Measures to address police misconduct - an issue brought to the public's attention before the urban unrest - also failed to win the approval of the Legislature and governor. One measure, Senate Bill 1335 (Torres), authored -by the chairman of the special task force, would have required independent special prosecutors to handle felony-level misconduct cases, established excessive-use-of-force guidelines for police officers, and created citizens' advisory boards. to review alleged police misconduct. Despite numerous amendments by the author, unions and lobbyists, representing law enforcement, succeeded in killing the measure. To help avoid a recurrence of this type of unrest, corrective steps - both long- and short-term - must be taken. 'Me Legislature must take a more active role in addressing the issues surrounding the unrest. The Task Force recommends the following steps be undertaken to build a new Los Angeles: Section One: Facilitate New Business / Create New Jobs 1. Establish an Economic Development Financing Authority (EDFA) that would be authorized to issue revenue bonds, and general obligation bonds, and be the repository of other funds for public and private sector economic development activities. 2. Establish and market a local entrepreneurial center or a field office of the Department of Commerce. 3. Require this field office to help establish links between local businesses/entrepreneurial efforts and the many "socially responsible" mutual funds and other investment funds. 4. Enact a Community Reinvestment Act for state chartered financial institutions. 5. Monitor and support the efforts of the Los Angeles Community Reinvestment Committee. 6. Urge the California Congressional Delegation to support additional funding for the Job Corps program. 7. Assist the Efforts of the Los Angeles Aerospace Task Force, the California Council on Science and Technology, and the Factory of the Future project in their efforts to improve California's economy. Section Two: Implement a Multicultural Human-Relations Strategy to Health Community Breaches 8. Support the establishment of a multicultural education and research organization in Los Angeles County to unify divided communities and build multicultural consensus surrounding public issues. 9. Increase local government support for human relations activities via existing human relations commissions. Section Three: Support the Efforts of Community Organizations to Unify / Empower the Community 10. Create an Urban Progress (UP) Program utilizing the California Conservation Corps to work with local community organizations on community improvement projects. 11. Challenge Peter Ueberroth's Rebuild L.A. to set aside a portion of the funds it collects from the private sector, foundations, and charitable organizations to directly support established community based organizations. Section Four: Land for Public Use and Housing 12. Establish a public land bank for housing and commercial ventures. 13. Establish a neighborhood based nonprofit community development entity to plan and implement housing, commercial, and public facility development. 14. Request local governments in the affected areas to modify their zoning and building code. Section Five: Improving Law Enforcement and Police / Community Relations 15. Establish a process of review for proposed changes of venue. 16. Strengthen penalties for looting and arson committed during emergencies. 17. Increase penalties for drug offenses. 18. Assess the impact of new local and state efforts to address the negative impact on children when the children's parents are incarcerated. 19. Implement programs such as community policing to improve law enforcement and police community relations. 20. Urge new Los Angeles Police Chief Williams and Mayor Bradley to implement an innovative program to encourage police officers to move into communities in need of additional policing. Section Six: Utilize Major Long Term Development Projects to Enhance City and Community Economic Development 21. Examine the prospects of transforming the Los Angeles River as an urban revitalization corridor. Strengthen the link between this enterprise and economic development In the riot-affected areas of Los Angeles and other struggling L.A. communities. Section Seven: Improve Insurance Access and Affordability 22. Expand the existing FAIR Insurance Program to cover business interruptions, full property and inventory replacement, and periodic payments to make the insurance more affordable to small businesses. 23. Strengthen the Department of Insurance's Prohibitions on insurance company practices that result in urban areas being denied access to affordable business insurance. 24. Require the Department of Insurance to help small businesses understand the types of coverages that provide realistic protection, by conducting outreach, providing insurance education, and disclosing the risks of insuring with nonadmitted companies. 25. Direct insurance companies to clearly disclose whether the insurance offered provides full replacement coverage for buildings, inventory, and lost income. 26. Increase the safeguards for small businesses purchasing insurance from surplus line brokers and insurance companies by means of a prior authorization requirement from the Department of Insurance and the establishment of a guarantee fund. Section Eight: Other Important Steps 27. Approve legislation that would allow the voters of California to decide whether to change the state constitution to allow local communities the power to approve bonds by a majority vote, rather than a 2/3 vote. 28. Support child care facilities bond acts and housing bond acts similar to those considered by the Legislature in the 1991-92 Legislative Session. 29. Using federal- SLIAG and other available funds, establish a Governor’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. Special Section: Liquor Stores 30. Authorize community based control of siting of liquor license establishments and provide equal input from residents and small businesspersons. 31. Reduce the number of liquor stores in South Central Los Angeles through technical assistance, incentives/compensation for store owners to relocate or convert.

New Inititatives for a New Los Angeles

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