WHEREAS, The heinous terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, have deeply impacted the fabric of American life, provided a wakeup call to every American’s awareness of the nation’s vulnerability to terrorists attacks, and changed Americans’ lives forever; and

WHEREAS, Californians are gravely concerned about the continued threat of violence and their own personal safety; and

WHEREAS, The takeover of airplane flights by unconscionable terrorists has increased the need for security by state and local governments at all airports and public facilities, including water systems, hospitals, bridges, and dams; and

WHEREAS, Recent horrific incidents of sending anthrax through the mail, other threats of bioterrorism, and hoaxes have increased demands upon public services, including public health departments and laboratories, public safety and fire protection agencies, hospitals, and emergency rooms, and state and local emergency response agencies; and

WHEREAS, City and county governments have experienced an increased awareness and demand from the general public for more public services in the area of public health and safety; and

WHEREAS, Cities and counties have appropriated millions of dollars for increased response and preparedness for potential terrorist threats and anticipate the need for additional funds to continue these efforts; and

WHEREAS, In this period of economic uncertainty and unprecedented need for enhanced local public safety and health services, cities and counties cannot afford these increased costs of security without additional funding; and

WHEREAS, There may be continued terrorism activities in California. For example, in San Diego County investigations revealed that some of the hijackers of September 11, 2001, were training in San Diego training facilities in preparation for the attacks; and

WHEREAS, Public safety officials require specialized training at all levels and local governments have seen increased demand for additional personnel to effectively protect and serve citizens in the event of a major local incident; and

WHEREAS, Hazardous material teams lack the specialized equipment and protective gear to deal with bioterrorism and new public health threats; and

WHEREAS, Due to the continued bioterrorism threats and hoaxes, public health departments need additional staff to increase their surveillance activities for the identification of biological and chemical threats at the earliest possible stage; and

WHEREAS, Local health departments are the early warning system in the defense against bioterrorism; local health departments rely on strong linkages with other county agencies including emergency medical services, hospitals, county outpatient services, laboratories, mental health departments, and environmental health agencies in preparing for and responding to disasters; and

WHEREAS, The budgets of many public health departments have been neglected for several years, and in order to ensure an adequate response, if necessary, to any potential bioterrorism threat, public health infrastructure needs significant investment of state and federal resources. For example, Orange County has identified the need for $2.1 million for public health infrastructure and training in order for their public health system to respond to a public health crisis; and

WHEREAS, Local governments have already encountered budget overruns of 13 percent in public safety, with the City of Los Angeles alone incurring security costs in excess of $11 million in the first two and one-half months following September 11, 2001; and

WHEREAS, Santa Clara County alone has already appropriated $5 million for additional public safety services since September 11, 2001, and expects to spend an additional $7 million by June 30, 2002; and

WHEREAS, Cities and counties estimate over $1 billion in additional one-time and ongoing funding needs and the State of California anticipates expenditures of at least $500 million in 2002; and

WHEREAS, Local governments and the state are financially suffering from an economic recession and lack the funds to provide the required additional services and equipment; and

WHEREAS, Congress has approved a total of $8.3 billion for homeland defense in the emergency supplemental allocation sent to the President for his signature; and

WHEREAS, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York have together proposed supplemental federal funding to assist state and local governments in security, prevention, and preparedness; now, therefore, be it