February is the shortest month, but here in the Legislature it is filled with busy days, long meetings, frequent gatherings and the deadline to finalize the list of bills we're going to carry.

This is always an exciting time, filled with possibility and promise. I believe the bills I'm carrying have the potential to do a lot of good, for our district and for the state as a whole. But I've been here long enough to know the daunting challenges of our deliberative process.

The way we do things in the Legislature takes time, and that's frustrating when you are convinced you have the solution to a problem. But the process is thorough and exacting for a reason. California is a big and diverse state, and easy solutions are seldom the answer to complex problems. In fact, they rarely look quite so easy once they are examined in the open air.

That certainly is the case when we talk about the governor's proposed package of infrastructure bonds. At first, it sounds so easy, so good: We'll take advantage of the current low cost of money to borrow many billions of dollars and we'll fix up our roads and institutions so we're ready for an ever more populous tomorrow. But we have to ask some questions: How many billions? How many years in the future should we be selling bonds? Which roads will we fix? What will we do for schools and hospitals, communities and the environment? That's why we're beginning to see competing ideas, from the governor, from the Senate, from the Assembly. It may be frustrating, but it's the best way to get things done right. That's certainly my goal.

Patty Berg
Assemblywoman, 1st District

Women in Lead

A few weeks ago, I was elected vice chair of the Women's Caucus. I'm very proud of this, very grateful to the trust placed in me by my fellow women legislators, and very eager to the coming year.

Over the next two years, I hope to make the Women's Caucus and more focused and more unified force in the Capitol. As women, I believe we can speak with authority on a whole host of issues - from healthcare to education - that have broad appeal to Californians regardless of gender. And I believe that by finding our common goals and working toward them, women in elected office can be a powerful force for positive change.

My election as vice chair means that I will serve as chairwoman next year. This year, that post is held by my dear friend Senator Christine Kehoe.

Preventing the Brain Drain

West Nile Virus has become a fact of life. We are careful to cover up in the evening and to make sure our children are protected as much as possible from this mosquito-borne disease. Now, health experts are also keeping their eyes on another far-off disease, the avian flu, which is rapidly spreading in bird populations overseas.

In both cases, and many others, we rely on the expertise of scientists who work tirelessly to provide us with as much protection as possible.

Close to home, it is the public health lab directors who scan the environment for dangers. These men and women are a crucial piece of our health defenses. Unfortunately, many of these well-trained individuals are approaching retirement, and it looks like we haven t trained enough people to replace them.

That's why I've introduced a bill that would help recruit and maintain this crucial workforce by establishing and supporting training programs. We can not afford to take public health for granted.

Let the Hostages Go

Last year, the Legislature did a pretty good job of adopting a spending plan. It was only a few days late. That's good, and that's how it ought to be. Typically, it's very late. So late that the state stops writing checks.

That means a lot of people and institutions have to wait until Republicans and Democrats agree on the budget before they get their money.

Sadly, this can include some of our most vulnerable residents. In particular, our senior citizens, who rely on the services provided through the local Area Agencies on Aging. So, in a way, these people can be held hostage to the system by which California adopts its budget. I'd like to change that system, but in the meantime, I've introduced a bill that would allow the local Area Agencies on Aging to go on receiving their money even when the Legislature is locked in a budget stalemate.

Like everything else dealing with the budget, this will not be an easy bill to enact. I know, because I've tried before and it wasn't long before the bill died in committee. But I think it's an important issue, so I'm going to try again.

Thank You

Thank you once again for taking the time to read my little newsletter. It's important that we stay connected while I represent you in Sacramento. And thank you, also, to all of you who have offered so much feedback about how best to transmit this information. At first, we sent you a cumbersome PDF file that many of you were wary of downloading. Then we sent a link to my website, but some of you didn't find that very convenient. Now, we're sending it just like any other e-mail, and so far that seems to be the most efficient and easiest way to do so. And, perhaps best of all, we're able to save a lot of paper.