Bill to Save O.C. Road Funds Signed

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Pete Wilson has signed a measure that will help save $10 million in state highway funding that had been jeopardized by the Orange County bankruptcy, the governor’s office announced Monday.

The bill, authored by state Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange), gives Orange County an additional year to start work on highway projects without giving up the state money that was supposed to be committed by last Friday.

Orange County’s portion of the funding for $50 million in highway projects was among the victims of the collapse of the county investment portfolio, which suffered a $1.7-billion loss last year, prompting the county to declare bankruptcy Dec. 6.

While the bill will do little to stem the county’s ocean of red ink, it represents one of the few bills to escape the gridlocked Assembly, where a wide variety of measures have been bottled up by partisan bickering.