L.A. County sues state

Joining other counties in California, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to sue the state of California for deferring hundreds of millions of dollars in payments that fund mandated federal health and social service programs, officials said Wednesday. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Although state lawmakers announced Wednesday they had reached a tentative deal on how to close a $42 billion budget shortfall, the deal has not been approved and the state controller will begin this Friday delaying $106 million a month in payments to the county.

Supervisor Gloria Molina said the deferrals are not within state Controller John Chiang's legal authority.

"We are challenging him on that," Molina said. "He can't prioritize what is important and what's not. He plans to defer these payments very selectively. That's what the lawsuit is about. This is something most counties will be joining up with."