When Orange County declared bankruptcy in 1994, their eventual recovery was partly driven by a deal with Sacramento that allowed them to keep some of the vehicle license fees collected. But in 2004, the county refinanced their debt and accidentally revoked that privilege.

For the last seven years, the county has continued to receive their set aside, mainly due to the fact that Sacramento just missed the change. But now that Governor Brown’s staff discovered the oversight, the county is $48M poorer than expected.

Now, officials are heading to Sacramento to see if there is a deal to cut, and retain some (if not all) of the $48M they’d been receiving.

From the Voice of Orange County:

Top Orange County political leaders scrambled to Sacramento this week in a bid to persuade state lawmakers to reverse a last-minute tax grab by Gov. Jerry Brown that translates to $48 million less in the county treasury.

The 2011-2012 budget signed by Brown last week, eliminates a special set aside enacted after the 1994 bankruptcy that had allowed Orange County to keep a portion of proceeds from vehicle license fees paid by county residents.

However, when Orange County supervisors refinanced the bankruptcy debt package in 2005, they also inadvertently terminated the legislative authorization for the special funding set aside.

Read the full article here.