Vernon Wants $200K From Assembly Speaker For Records Request

VERNON (AP) — Leaders of the industrial city of Vernon want a $200,000 deposit from the California Assembly speaker to provide records he wants in a move to disband the charter city.

Speaker John Perez, who is sponsoring legislation to disband Vernon, wants a massive amount of city files dating back to 1980.

Leaders of the city south of downtown Los Angeles say it will cost Vernon, which has 96 residents, more than $1 million and take six months to comply with the demand.

Perez sponsored AB46, which would revoke incorporation from cities with fewer than 150 residents, because the size of Vernon has allowed rampant corruption, including exorbitant salaries.

Perez spokeswoman Shannon Murphy tells the Los Angeles Times that the speaker won't pay the $200,000 deposit and he plans to send his own staff to copy and collect the records.

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