• Noreen's View: Legislature Takes Lead in Flood Protection
  
• Your Legislator at Work
• An Update on Noreen' s Legislation
• An Eye on Legislation
• An Eye on the Governor
• Craft Your Own Budget for California
• Sonoma County Water Agency Goes Solar
• Noreen Spends Memorial Day with Napa Veterans
• Capitol Honors Historic California Wineries

NOREEN'S VIEW: LEGISLATURE TAKES LEAD IN FLOOD PROTECTION

On May 4, the legislature passed a historic infrastructure bond package to go before the voters this November.  These investments in our freeways, schools, and communities are long overdue.  But their effectiveness depends greatly on the passage of other much needed reforms. 

When it comes to flood protection, the need for reform is dire.

Consider this: If passed by the voters, $3 billion out of $4 billion in flood bond dollars will be directed to the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta which supplies water to most of California.  Since parts of the Delta are below sea level, a stronger and taller levee system is desperately needed.

If these levies fail, many homes will be flooded in a catastrophe rivaling the disaster that befellNew Orleans.  This is because some of the fastest growing communities in our state are building in the Delta.

Such is the alarming disconnect between flood management and floodplain land use decisions.  At stake are billions in potential taxpayer liabilities if these levies fail and homes in Delta communities destroyed.

The liability on taxpayers exists due to the 2003 court ruling Paterno v. the State of California.  It establishes that the state is liable for damages caused by levee failure.  It doesn’t matter if the levees are maintained by local jurisdictions or that the state has no control over local land use decisions adjacent to levees.  Both expose the state to liability.

The Assembly is taking the lead to reform this potentially disastrous gap in law that could bankrupt the state.  At the core of these reform efforts are basic principles of shared accountability and responsibility.

AB 1899 requires cities and counties in the Central Valley to certify that new housing subdivisions in areas prone to flooding have 200 year flood protection.  While that sounds like a lot of protection, it translates into approximately a 13-15 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

Although subject to contentious debates, the Assembly passed both pieces of legislation on May 30^th.  I was proud to support them because the citizens of California should not be left to hold the bag for bad planning decisions of some communities.  That is fair and just.

YOUR LEGISLATOR AT WORK

As the mother of three children, I take very seriously the state's obligation to care for the 80,000 youth in California's foster care system.  These children have been taken from abusive or neglectful parents and are now being provided for by the state.

Unfortunately, the state is failing these children.  As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Human Services, I am striving to reform this broken system.

In order to provide care to foster youth, the state can choose to place them in the homes of foster families, in group care homes, or in homes run by a foster family agency.  But it is more cost effective, and more beneficial for foster children, to place them in a home with a family.

A family provides more than hot meals and a clean bed.  In the very best situations, foster families become second parents for foster youth.  These families really do God’s work in caring for babies that are born addicted to drugs, for sexually abused children, and for teenagers embittered by parents who are either unable or unwilling to care for them.

But California is constantly losing foster parents because they are not adequately supported, and counties have a very difficult time recruiting new families in their place.  The reason for this is simple:  the average monthly support provided to foster parents hasn’t been increased in five years.  If foster parents received cost-of-living adjustments, the average support would have grown from $505 to $796 a month.

Put another way, Californians pay more to kennel their dogs when on vacation than the state pays foster parents to take care of children in need.  Depending on where you live in California, you’d pay $600 to $750 a month – $20 to $25 a day – to provide care for your pet.  That’s more than the state pays foster parents, who on average receive $16.80 per day.

Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to raise foster care support rates and provide much needed respite in an effort to retain foster families.  Just days ago, the bill failed to pass out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  Despite this setback, I am fighting to include this much needed reform within the final state budget package.

AN UPDATE ON NOREEN'S LEGISLATION

The last week of May marked the transition to the second half of the legislative year.  As such, all the bills that I introduced this year faced a vote on the Assembly floor to determine whether they will continue to receive legislative review in the Senate.  Below is a sample of my legislation that was passed by the Assembly to the Senate.

Housing

• AB 2378 will help build the stock of affordable housing by requiring that housing prices remain affordable for a period of 5-10 years on moderate-income homes built using a density-bonus.
• AB 2158 will ensure that local land use policies are considered before regional assignments for new housing construction are given to communities across California.
• AB 3042 provides flexibility for cities to transfer housing obligations to other cities within the same county in the course of building new housing units to meet a housing allocation.  As such, if a city is given an allocation larger than it can build, it has the opportunity to shift some of the burden to a neighboring city that is interested in growing.
• AB 2228 gives prospective home purchasers information concerning the availability of reports detailing environmentally hazardous sites adjacent to a given prospective home property.  It also sets a baseline quality standard for these reports to protect consumers.

Children's Safety

AB 2108 will reduce child deaths through automobile accidents by requiring that children ride in booster seats until age 8, and children 12 years and younger to ride in the back seat of the car.

Initiative Reform

AB 2460 will protect public confidence in the initiative process by specifying that the text of a ballot initiative submitted to the Attorney General in order to launch a signature petition drive must match the text circulated for voter signatures.

Reproductive Health Worker and Patient Protection

AB 2251 protects the patients, providers, employees, and volunteers of reproductive healthcare facilities by helping them keep their home address, home telephone number, and photograph off of the internet.

Customer Data Protection

AB 2291 helps protect customer privacy by protecting personal information held by car dealers.  It prohibits software companies and car manufacturers from claiming access to customer data as a condition of doing business and requires them to obtain express written consent of a car dealer in order to access this information.

I will continue to keep you updated on these bills as they move forward.  Further information about this legislation is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.

AN EYE ON LEGISLATION

The last week of May was a busy time in the Capitol.  In the Assembly alone, we voted on 361 bills.  This pace of work occurred because all of the bills introduced this year in the Assembly were subject to a vote by the end of the month.  Below is a summary of some of the bills I was proud to support which passed onto the Senate for further review.

Improving Nutrition among Low-Income Families

AB 2384, by Assemblymember Mark Leno, directs the Departments of Health Services and Food and Agriculture to design a “Healthy Foods Purchase” pilot program to increase the sale of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income neighborhoods.  This will enhance ongoing efforts to improve nutrition and combat obesity by improving access to fresh fruits and vegetables in small neighborhood grocery stores.

Raising the Minimum Wage

AB 1835, by Assemblymember Sally Lieber, raises the minimum wage from $6.75 per hour to $7.25 per hour as of July 1, 2007 .  This would be followed by an increase to $7.75 on July 1, 2008 .  The idea behind this legislation is to end government subsidies of low wages paid to California 's working families.  Consequently, it will also help move families out of poverty and away from public assistance.

Reducing Cable Television Prices through Competition

AB 2987, by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuňez, creates the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006.  It fundamentally changes how pay television is provided in California through reducing market barriers to competition.  The goal is to reduce prices and provide Californians with more improved product choices through fostering competition in broadband and video services.

Ethical Investment of State Pension Monies

The United States and human rights groups agree that genocide is taking place in Sudan. An estimated 200,000 to 400,000 people have been killed in the Darfur region alone, victims of ethnic cleansing against black African villagers.  Companies with business ties to the government present moral and financial risks to their investors.  AB 2941, by Assemblymember Paul Koretz, prohibits the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System from investing in companies doing business in Sudan.

Gender Pay Equity

Statistics indicate persistent, gender-based pay discrimination in California and the nation.  The U.S. General Accounting Office recently found that there is a gender based wage gap of approximately 20 percent, even after taking into account work experience, education, occupation, industry of current employment, and other demographic and job characteristics.  AB 2555, by Assemblymember Jenny Oropeza, imposes a new civil penalty for violations of state law that prohibits gender-based pay discrimination.

AN EYE ON THE GOVERNOR

ACTIVITIES:

On June 1^st, Governor ordered 1,000 members of the California National Guard to patrol the border between the United States and Mexico.

On May 25^th, the Governor and First Lady welcomed Mexico President Vicente Fox and his wife, Marta Sahagún de Fox, to California.  The Governor and legislative leaders met with the President to discuss various issues surrounding trade and border security.

On May 19^th and 20^th, the Governor signed the flood protection and education infrastructure bond proposals crafted and passed by the Legislature.  These measures will appear on the November ballot.

On May 16^th, Governor Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff indicating concerns about the Bush Administration’s proposal to use the National Guard to reinforce border patrol. The Governor stated, "Securing our borders is a law enforcement function and what we need are more Border Patrol agents, not National Guard troops who are neither trained nor suited for this purpose."

On May 1st, the Governor and the Bush Administration finalized an agreement that provides an expedited process of obtaining the requisite federal permits to allow California to fix the critical levee sites by the end of the year.

APPOINTMENTS:

The Governor appointed Anthony Kane of Fairfield as the warden of the Correctional Training Facility, in Soledad .  Kane has had a longstanding career in California's State Prisons and has served as a warden and chief deputy warden.

For further information about the Governor, please visit www.governor.ca.gov.

CRAFT YOUR OWN BUDGET FOR CALIFORNIA

As the legislature puts the finishing touches on our state’s budget, I encourage you to learn more about this process by participating in the California Budget Challenge.  This nonpartisan, Internet-based education tool gives you the opportunity to say how much money should go to our schools, healthcare, prisons, and other state programs over the next five years.  Then, you make the call on how to pay for them.  It’s an innovative way to learn more about how, in your view, California can better fund your priorities.  Check it out online at http://www.nextten.org/challenge.php#.

SONOMA COUNTY WATER AGENCY GOES SOLAR

As a strong supporter of alternative energy, I was pleased see the Sonoma County Water Agency dedicate Sonoma County's largest solar power project at its administration building on May 31^st. 

This is good for our environment and our pocketbooks as taxpayers.  According to the Agency, the project can generate an estimated 650,737 kilowatt hours of clean electricity each year.  This will save more than $117,000 in energy costs each year.  Over the lifetime of the of the solar panels, approximately thirty years, emissions of carbon dioxide will be reduced by 6,200 tons.  This is the equivalent of planting 1,700 trees or not driving 15 million miles on California's roadways.

The solar panels are located on the roof of the administrative building and over the car port in the parking area.  The produced power will provide enough energy for the entire building and meets more than 90% of the Agency’s peak, summertime power demand for water supply, transmission, sanitation and administrative facilities.

For these reasons, I authored a joint resolution with Assemblymembers Patty Berg and Joe Nation along with Senators Wesley Chesbro and Carole Migden to recognize this achievement.  Further information about this project is available online at http://www.scwa.ca.gov/solar-press.html.

NOREEN SPENDS MEMORIAL DAY WITH NAPA VETERANS

I joined members of our community in Napa to honor those who have given their lives for our country on Memorial Day.  As the proud daughter of a Korean War veteran, I believe strongly that we must reflect on and honor the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy every day of our lives.

This Memorial Day, I had the privilege of speaking to the community gathered at the Veterans’ Home in Yountville and also the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the American Legion Hall in Napa.  My message to those gathered was simple:  standing up for the people and causes that we hold dear in our own lives will reflect more on the sincerity of our thanks to America’s servicemen and women than anything else.

Actions speak louder than words, and we need to do more than say thank you.  As President Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address when speaking about the cost of our freedoms, “from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”

We must also make sure that our veterans have the benefits and services they need.  As soldiers return from lengthy tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, some with missing limbs and many others with post traumatic stress, I'm convinced that we owe them nothing less.

CAPITOL HONORS HISTORIC CALIFORNIA WINERIES

On May 22, Legislators, members of the Administration, and representatives of the wine industry gathered at a reception in the State Capitol that I hosted along with Senator Wesley Chesbro to honor the California wineries that made history 30 years ago in Paris when California wines were judged the best in the world.

The 1976 Paris Tasting changed the world of wine and California's wine industry forever.  It stunned the world and put California's wine industry on the map.  At that time, the conventional wisdom was that French wines were the best.

The famous competition was staged as a publicity stunt for French wines.  A panel of nine French judges, including famous culinary writers and respected sommeliers, tasted red and white wines blindly so that wines could not be recognized by visual characteristics.

The French were shocked with the results.  California wines were judged the best by French judges in France.  This is a classic tale of the underdog coming out on top.

We honored ten California wineries at the reception with a legislative resolution by Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuňez, and Assembly Minority Leader George Plescia recognizing their participation in the Paris Tasting and their contributions toCalifornia's history, culture, and economy.

For further information, please visit my website at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a07/judgement.htm.