When summer turns to fall in Sacramento, you know it's "Bill Signing Season", a month-long period of anxiety and suspense, when advocates and opponents do their best to persuade the governor to either sign or veto any of the hundreds of bills on his desk.

I'm happy to say Bill Signing Season has come and gone, and I'm pleased to note that the governor has signed into law five of my bills and four resolutions. I emerged without a single veto, and I am pleased about that, but the reality is several of my priority bills remain stalled in the Legislature and they won't be able to move until next year. More about my bill package a little further down.

Bill Signing Season coincides with the Interim, the weeks between the end of one year's legislative business and the beginning of the next.

This year is a little different because the governor has called the Legislature into "Special Session," which means we may consider legislation, on a very narrowly defined subject, without regard to the normal legislative calendar. It means, in effect, that interim has been cancelled this year.

There is a Special Session on Healthcare Reform, and a Special Session on Water. The Senate has held committee meetings and a floor session to consider a multibillion-dollar water bond. Sadly, though, no consensus was reached.

Here in the Assembly, I am a member of the healthcare reform working group. We are advising the Speaker of the Assembly in his negotiations with the Governor, which seems to have reached an impasse. The Governor recently introduced his own plan, after vetoing the Democrat’s Healthcare plan, AB 8. The Health Committee, on which I serve, will be holding an informational hearing on October 31 on the Governor's revised healthcare proposal, so stay tuned.

Special Sessions are a tool that some governors use more than others. In the years since I've been in Sacramento, this Governor has called a total of seven special sessions. Back in November of 2003, he called for a Special Session to deal with the budget shortfall. Our deficit is once again growing. Whether we'll see another Special Session on the budget next year remains to be seen.

As always, there is a lot of work to be done. Thank you for being a part of the solution.

Sincerely,

Patty Berg
Assemblywoman, 1st District

Laws for the New Year

Among the five of my bills signed by the governor, one is AB 682, which health experts are saying is the most important advance in AIDS policy since the 1980s. Under this new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2008, HIV testing will become a routine part of your annual physical.

No one will be required to receive an HIV test, but by removing the requirement for patients to sign a special consent form, doctors say they'll be able to test a much larger percentage of the population. And that's important because we have learned that nearly 40,000 people in California are unaware that they have been infected by the virus that causes AIDS.

Meanwhile, folks in Healdsburg are celebrating the governor's signature on my Assembly Bill 1123, which ends years of frustration over an abandoned National Guard armory that has fallen into disrepair and is a blight on the community. Under this law, the state will enter into a long-term lease and the city will be able to use the property as a community center.

Helping me help you

I recently hired Roseanne Ibarra as an Office Assistant for my Ukiah office. She is a recent Sonoma State University graduate. Before she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Ibarra was an intern at a Legal Help Center. I am so pleased to have her join my office.

Welcome aboard, Roseanne!

Budget

This was my first year as Chair of the Budget Subcommittee that oversees health and human services spending. Most of the Governor's big cut proposals affected programs under my purview. I stood up to the Governor and rejected the proposal to punish poor children for the failings of their parents. But ultimately, the Governor cut an additional $700 million to balance the budget. In a move that disappointed me personally, the Governor withdrew $12 million that I had earmarked to expand Adult Protective Services, a program that helps protects seniors from physical and financial abuse.

Town Hall Meeting on August 24

A couple months ago, I organized a town hall meeting in Santa Rosa with members of the Legislative Women's Caucus and Representative Lynn Woolsey. We brought together a wonderful group of women to discuss the need for better policies to balance work and family. We invited Joan Blades, co-author of The Motherhood Manifesto and co-founder of Momsrising.org, an Internet-based advocacy group, to highlight family-friendly policies that California should consider implementing next year. At the town hall meeting, Congresswoman Woolsey discussed House Resolution 2392, an act that would enact California-style paid family leave and family-friendly policies at the federal level.

I want to thank everyone who participated in the town hall meeting. As Chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus, I hope to replicate these town hall meetings throughout California this fall. Even as I write this now, women are working on similar gatherings in San Diego and Sacramento - so we're well on our way!

Hospital to Home Transition Hearing

Earlier this month, my Aging and Long-Term Care Committee joined with the Assembly Committee on Health to examine state policies that oversee the way elderly patients and people with disabilities are prepared for their discharge from a hospital.

Hospitals provide patients with discharge plans, but these plans often leave out details that seniors need to return to their homes. Even worse, the state has Medi-Cal reimbursement policies that make it easier to send a patient to a nursing home than to help them return to their own home.

Research has shown that care transitions are an increasingly critical health and social problem for older adults, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers. Hospitalization can often be a turning point in the lives of some of our more vulnerable residents, whose physical and mental health often deteriorate after discharge.

Proper planning and care management before a patient is discharged from the hospital can mean the difference between staying independent in one's own home, and premature institutionalization. If given the option, most patients would choose to recover at home. Unfortunately the odds are stacked against that happening.

My committee will be returning to this subject, looking for ways and legislative solutions to better enable people to stay in their own homes.

Your Chance to Expand Broadband

I want to let you know about a fantastic project happening in the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity. The region has received one of the first grants awarded by the California Emerging Technology Fund to look at the supply and demand opportunities to expand broadband.

The project is called Redwood Coast Connect. Over the next six months, Humboldt State University will be gathering input throughout the region from local government and tribal leaders, business and service sectors, seniors, disabled, and low income community members.

Please go to the Web site http://redwoodcoastconnect.humboldt.edu and sign up to receive a survey. The survey can be delivered by e-mail or US mail. If you get a survey, please fill it out and return it to help with the effort to gauge demand for broadband. If you get a telephone call to participate in the survey, please take the time to answer the questions.

Working together we can make the region's economy stronger and quality of life better with broadband.

Low-income auto insurance program

The California Department of Insurance has launched a low cost automobile insurance program. Currently the program is offered for Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma County residents, and will be expanded to other counties in my district. It is only offered in 42 California counties. To qualify for the program, you must meet a few requirements. A single adult, 19 or over, making $25,525; or a couple making $34,225 can qualify for the program. You must meet the good driver standard, which means you should have no more than one at-fault property damage-only accident or no more than one point for a moving violation in the past three years. Your vehicle must be valued at less than $20,000. And you must have been continuously licensed to drive for the past three years.

If you meet all of these requirements, please call 1-866-602-8861 for more information or visit the website at http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0100-consumers/0060-information-guides/0010-automobile/lca/index.cfm. You can also call my Ukiah and Santa Rosa offices for more information.

Homeowner & Renter Assistance Program Helping & Growing!

I am so pleased that my Humboldt County staff assisted more than 30 Eureka-area homeowners and renters who have received more than $10,425 in tax credits through the State's 2007 Homeowner and Renter Assistance Program. HRA claim forms are still available and I encourage you to find out if you qualify for this once-a-year payment.

Any California resident qualifies for the program that has been blind, disabled, or at least 62 years old on December 31, 2006, with a household income of $42,770 or less.

If you are a homeowner, you can receive a payment of up to $472.60 if you lived in the home for all of 2006. Renters can receive up to $347.50 if you pay $50 or more in rent per month for the year.

The claim form is also available online at: www.ftb.ca.gov. For free help with completing the claim form or to receive the 2007 claim booklet in the mail, contact Nancy Starck in the Eureka District Office at nancy.starck@asm.ca.gov or call her at (707) 445-7014. You can also call your local Senior Center for assistance.
Processing claims may take up to 15 weeks.

Water Conservation

Way to go, Sonoma County residents for helping conserve water and reducing water usage. The Sonoma County Water Agency supplies most of the water to Sonoma County cities. The agency is under a state order to reduce water from the Russian River by 15 percent until October 28. The state order is intended to protect the fall salmon run in Lake Mendocino.

I am proud to see all of you pitching in to reduce water and protect the fall salmon run.

World Osteoporosis Day on October 20

Often called a silent disease, osteoporosis affects women and men age 50 and older. Osteoporosis, a degenerative disorder that weakens bone, puts older adults at great risk of losing their mobility. Any bone is affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. While women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease, men can also suffer from osteoporosis. The National Osteoporosis Foundation suggests a few simple steps to prevent osteoporosis. Get your daily recommended amount of calcium and vitamin D. Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol. Most importantly, talk with your health provider about bone health and schedule a bone density test. Engage in regular weight-bearing exercises.

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is around the corner. We can never be too careful on Halloween, a time when children are so excited to dress in a costume and go "trick or treat" around the neighborhood. By being safe, we are giving our children wonderful memories that will last a lifetime

Here are some tips for buying a Halloween costume. Buy a costume made from flame retardant and bright material. The costume should have reflector strips on them so the child can be seen in the dark. Carry a flashlight, and use the buddy system on your rounds. Stay in familiar neighborhoods and never go inside anyone's house. Be aware of your surroundings, including cars backing into or out of driveways.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!