The bill was pushed through the state Legislature by AssemblySpeaker Bob Hertzberg (D, Sherman Oaks), who says voters have aright to know who's behind efforts to break up the city. "It isalways in the public interest to understand what forces are behindwhatever political efforts are out there," Hertzberg said afterDavis signed the bill.

Residents of the three communities have long complained thatLA--with a population now approaching 4 million--is simply too bigand diverse to be governed by a single mayor and City Council. Theyalso say that too much of their tax money is funneled into otherareas of the city by lawmakers who, in some cases, don't even knowthe area codes of the people they purport to represent.

A majority of the City Council opposes the breakaway efforts,claiming that splitting the city up would only lead to the creationof new layers of bureaucracy and worsen racial tensions. While themajority of the sprawling San Fernando Valley is white, thepopulation of the city's urban core is African-American andLatino.