The unincorporated community of East Los Angeles was one step closer this week to becoming a full-fledged city: The state Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that will pave the way for the designation, East L.A. state Sen. Gloria Romero announced Tuesday.

The bill, AB 711, advanced out of committee on a 7-2 vote, said Romero, a co-author of the legislation. The legislation would provide a $45,000 state loan from the “California Main Street Program” to help pay for a financial analysis required before cityhood can proceed. Another $90,000 $135,000 needed for the study has already been raised by East L.A. backers of the proposal.

“Cityhood has been a long time coming for East Los Angeles and this study is critical to moving forward,” said Romero. “East Los Angeles is recognized across the United States as the corazon of the Latino community. It's time for it to have the power to determine its own future.”

She states that the area of 100,000 would be the tenth-largest city in Los Angeles County. About a third of registered voters in the community have signed petitions supporting cityhood. Proponents have until the end of the month to pay for the financial analysis and keep the bill alive.

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