Welcome

Welcome to my legislative website.  I am thrilled to be serving you as your state assemblymember.  At this site you will be able to find useful information about my legislative agenda and how my office can be of assistance to you.  Please feel free to call my office or email me.

Bob Blumenfield
Representing the 40th District

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Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield invites you to a Cash for College Workshop
 
January 30, 2010
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Canoga Park High School
6850 Topanga Canyon
Canoga Park, CA 91303

For more information, contact:  Suzette Rosso, (818) 673-1355

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Sacramento Bee

Caltrans ripped for idle vehicles

 

amcintosh@sacbee.com

Published Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009

More than 12 percent of the 2,667 new vehicles that Caltrans has bought since 2007 are sitting unused and gathering dust on state lots, according to newly released data confirmed by the department.

Caltrans officials say that after they buy new vehicles and trucks, their department takes up to three years to assemble various components for their custom-designed light- and heavy-duty trucks in Sacramento before they actually hit the road.

The department also says state-mandated furloughs have cut the staff's ability to complete orders at the Sacramento assembly plant by 15 percent.

The new data, which emerged during a legislative hearing this week, stunned some lawmakers.

"It's insanity. It's all cost and no benefit," said Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-San Fernando Valley, whose Assembly budget committee on transportation unearthed the information.

Blumenfield's Assembly Budget subcommittee on transportation looked into how Caltrans buys and manages its large fleet of cars, trucks and accessories after a Bee investigative report this fall.

The Bee told how Caltrans had spent more than $4 million on vehicles that were parked and undeployed for months, and in some cases, years, while lawmakers slashed state workers' pay and eliminated key public services to erase deficits after tax revenue plunged.

Blumenfield cited taxpayer outrage as the reason his committee decided to dig further into the Caltrans deals, saying it's part of a new push by legislators to increase their oversight of key state departments, programs and spending of public money.

He and Republican legislators used the vehicle data to grill Caltrans Director Randell Iwasaki about his department's vehicle purchases – and conference spending at glamorous resorts – at a Wednesday hearing.

"The broad image is that Caltrans is a bit schizophrenic when it comes to fleet management," Blumenfield told Iwasaki. "It just seems like sometimes you're in this auto consumption mode."

A report prepared by Blumenfield's committee revealed that 319 of the 2,667 vehicles Caltrans has bought since 2007 are waiting to be assembled. Another 5 percent are assembled and waiting to be deployed.

Caltrans media relations manager Matt Rocco said the figures are accurate. He declined to comment further.

Iwasaki described a multiyear delay in assembling big Caltrans tow trucks that work on Bay Area bridges, saying the delays were now "resolved."

The Bee probe found that the problems went well beyond tow trucks, however.

Using Caltrans purchasing and vehicle registration records, The Bee found three new Ford pickup trucks sitting on a Caltrans lot that were delivered in April 2008. Three more identical trucks were bought in May 2009, while the 2008 vehicles sat unused.

Blumenfield said he was outraged, vowing legislators will address such spending in the next state budget.

"How does that jibe with the realities of today's economy and how do you sit there (at the committee meeting) with a straight face? Yet they did," he added.

Blumenfield told Iwasaki that the report about millions of dollars' worth of parked trucks, which was picked up by ABC News, and a separate CBS News 13 exposé about $82,000 spent on a conference at a desert golf resort, have left taxpayers with legitimate questions about oversight of the department's budget.

Caltrans is unique in state government because it has authority to purchase vehicles for its own fleet, which includes more than 13,000 vehicles and other pieces of equipment. Other departments must buy their cars through the Department of General Services.

Iwasaki – a veteran engineer who took Caltrans' top job on Aug. 1 – said his department has faced several challenges on the fleet management front, including the furloughs and new state Air Resources Board emissions regulations for trucks that carry a Dec. 31 deadline.

Iwasaki said vehicle assembly work has been delayed while the department rushes to retrofit trucks with pollution-control devices to comply with the new air regulations or risk fines of $1,000 a day.

"We're racing to meet the deadline," Iwasaki said.

Under questioning by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, vice chairman of the Assembly's Transportation Committee, Iwasaki acknowledged that Caltrans' budget had been boosted by the Schwarzenegger administration to help meet the new air requirements.

But Mike Miles, Caltrans deputy director of maintenance and operations, told legislators that while his budget was larger, his work force wasn't. An attempt by Caltrans to use that cash to contract out work was blocked by union objections, Miles said.

Iwasaki also was pressed to explain why, given the state's terrible finances, Caltrans paid $82,000 to send 52 staff members to a transportation conference at a desert resort.

Blumenfield said Caltrans gets taxpayer dollars to maintain and fix the state's highway network, not to host or attend conferences at resorts.

Iwasaki defended the expense, saying Caltrans agreed to host the event three years ago and it cut the cost with private sponsorships. Iwasaki added that Caltrans used half the number of state workers that Connecticut and Wisconsin used to host the same conference in prior years. He said state workers learn much and make good contacts at the event.

Still, he accepted the criticism. "Would we do it again? Maybe not," he said, adding that the department has a new system to better screen participation in conferences.

Call The Bee Capitol Bureau's Andrew McIntosh at (916) 321-1215.

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TechAmerica Recognizes Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield as California High Tech Legislator of the Year

Sacramento, CA - TechAmerica today announced that Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D- San Fernando Valley) has been awarded its California High Tech Legislator of the Year Award for 2009.  This esteemed award recognizes significant contributions to support the recovery of the high-tech industry in California during the 2009 Legislative Session. Read More...

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California Legislators Propose Sweeping New Legislation as Iran Nuclear Energy Talks Stall

October 20, 2009 (Los Angeles) – Assembly members Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley) announced today they will introduce legislation prohibiting contracts between the state of California and companies with significant business in Iran’s energy sector.  Read More...

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Blumenfield Legislation Approved by Governor

New laws will save $$ billions, conserve water, promote solar, and move education into the 21st century

Sacramento, CA - Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D - San Fernando Valley) today announced Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law five bills he authored yesterday evening. “By signing my bills the governor will save the state billions of dollars, millions of acre feet of water and many megawatts of energy. His signature on these bills will also help push education into the 21st century by making digital textbooks a viable option for school districts,” Blumenfield said. Read More...

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Sacramento Bee endorses Blumenfield apartment recycling bill

California's beverage container recycling program - the "bottle bill" - is due for a tuneup. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, by signing two bills lawmakers sent to his desk, can improve and expand a successful program. Read More...

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Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield on Local Edition

In a May 8, 2009, interview on Time Warner Cable’s “Local Edition” program, Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield discussed the 405 carpool lane groundbreaking, a trip to Washington, DC advocating for federal assistance to California, and other issues. 

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Assemblymember Blumenfield Honors Holocaust Survivors

(Sacramento) –Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland) honored the lives and memories of the victims and survivors of the holocaust during a special ceremony on the floor of the California State Assembly by calling for the passage of ACR 45, a resolution proclaiming April 20 to 26, 2009 to be California Holocaust Memorial Week.  Hear his remarks on this Assembly Access video.

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Cable TV Interview

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Federal Stimulus Funds for Transportation Projects

(Sacramento) – California needs to move quickly to secure millions of dollars earmarked for transportation projects from the federal stimulus package. That was the message Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills) delivered to his fellow lawmakers as they considered Assembly Bill 20xxx. Assemblymember Blumenfield pointed out AB 20xxx would appropriate about $2.6 billion in federal economic stimulus funds for transportation. About $1.6 billion would be directed to regional transportation agencies and cities and counties. The measure passed the Assembly. Here’s more in this Assembly Access video.  

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Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield Names Connie Lapin "Woman of the Year"

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills, named Ms. Connie Lapin of Northridge, as Woman of the Year for the 40th Assembly District.  Ms. Lapin is an internationally known lecturer and advocate for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Read More...

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Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield Introduces Solar Stimulus Package

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills, announced today that he has introduced a Solar Stimulus Package consisting of seven bills that will promote the use of solar and renewable energy systems by schools, universities, nonprofit entities, public agencies and homeowners.  Read More...

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Assemblymember Blumenfield Marks 15th Anniversary of Northridge Earthquake, Forms Task Force

(Northridge, Calif.) – On the 15th anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake, Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills) announced formation of a public task force to assist in preparedness planning for the unique needs in the San Fernando Valley. Blumenfield announced the task force at the Northridge Fashion Center Mall, where a department store and three parking lots collapsed into rubble in seconds in 1994. Read More...