• Noreen's View: Of Wine and Non-Profits
• Your Legislator at Work: Focused on Foster Care Reform
• Advocates Praise Noreen's Voting Record
• Ms. Evans Goes to Washington
• An Eye on the Governor

NOREEN'S VIEW: OF WINE AND NON-PROFITS

Contributions from the wine industry play a significant role in helping fund the work of non-profit organizations in our community. But current law excludes and even penalizes some vintners if they help out. Depending on the type of state alcohol license held, a vintner may be prohibited from donating and or pouring his/her wines at non-profit fundraisers.

This is extremely confusing for non-profits trying to organize fundraising events whose good work relies on contributions from the wine industry. That is why I introduced Assembly Bill 323. It will enable all vintners to donate and pour their wine at events benefiting non-profits.

The confusion associated with current law begins with the legal definition of a winery. Contrary to what most people think, a winery isn't simply any business that makes and sells wine.

A winery holds a specific license issued by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control called an "02." Vintners with this license are able to donate and pour their wines at charitable events.

But an increasing number of vintners make and sell wine under different licenses. This is where the confusion begins. More and more winemakers are operating under the license combination of "17" (beer and wine wholesaler) and "20" (off-sale beer and wine retailer). These licensees can donate their wine to some charitable events but they cannot pour at any of them.

To end the confusion and the cancellation of non-profit fundraisers, I have been crafting legislation to enable 17/20 vintners to donate and pour their wines alongside 02s. Over the past few months, I have been meeting with representatives of the wine industry and non-profit community to receive input and make this bill the best it can be.

In tandem with this legislation, I have conducted two public forums to educate the non-profit community about what current law allows so that they can continue organizing these events until my legislation is passed.

No one should be prevented from or penalized for donating to charity. Righting this wrong is what my bill is all about.

If you'd like to register your support for this legislation, please write to me at assemblymember.evans@asm.ca.gov or by regular mail to State Capitol, Room 3152, Sacramento, CA 95814.

YOUR LEGISLATOR AT WORK: FOCUSED ON FOSTER CARE REFORM

Foster care reform is an extremely important issue for me. I have heard heart wrenching stories from foster youth who have fallen through the cracks of our broken child welfare system. So, I am pleased to be working with other legislators in a bipartisan effort to help these children.

Nationwide, more than 500,000 children live in foster care. In California, we have nearly 80,000 children in foster care. This is the largest foster care population in the nation and it has tripled in the past 20 years.

As wards of the state, taking care of these children is our responsibility. To help improve our track record, I am authoring two important pieces of legislation on foster care this year.

Assembly Bill 1330 requires the state to track the use of psychotropic drugs by foster youth. Currently, there is no way for the state to know how many foster kids are taking these powerful medications that have very strong side effects when taken by children. We need to protect these children from potential abuses. I have heard from youth that they were offered a pill instead of counseling. That’s not right.

Assembly Bill 1331 will help foster youth with serious disabilities to make a safe, supported transition from foster care by having access to federal disability benefits and a transition savings account prior to their emancipation from foster care. Because some 15 percent of foster youth live with a serious physical or mental disability, this bill could really reverse the trend of children exiting foster care without these benefits.

Together, these two pieces of legislation will help California’s foster youth and ensure that they are receiving the appropriate services from the state. Further information about these bills is available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.

If you’d like to register your support for this legislation, please write to me at assemblymember.evans@asm.ca.gov or by regular mail to State Capitol, Room 3152, Sacramento, CA 95814.

ADVOCATES PRAISE NOREEN'S VOTING RECORD

I became a legislator so that I could fight for the environment, seniors, consumer protections, and civil rights. So, it is an honor to receive high marks by the advocates of these causes for doing what I think is right.

Advocates for these causes have recently released scorecards evaluating legislators for votes cast last year. My scores are as follows:

• 100% from the California League of Conservation Voters for supporting legislation to improve air and water quality, improve renewable energy supplies, protect our natural resources, and promote smart growth. Further information online at http://www.ecovote.org.
  
  
• 100% from CALPIRG, the Public Interest Advocate, for championing pro-consumer legislation that protects personal privacy, provides universal healthcare, reforms hospital billing practices, and creates clean money elections. Further information online at http://www.calpirg.org.
  
  
• 100% from the California Alliance for Retired Americans for supporting legislation addressing Medi-Cal Part D emergency coverage, single payer health coverage, and broadened access to clinical trial data for pharmaceuticals. Further information online at http://www.californiaalliance.org.
  
  
• 100% from the Allied Research Center for supporting legislation furthering racial equality. Further information online at http://www.arc.org.
  
  
• 100% from the California Park and Recreation Society for supporting legislation addressing playground safety, after school programs, and urban parks. Further information online at http://www.cprs.org.

MS. EVANS GOES TO WASHINGTON

From March 19-21, I joined over 30 of my colleagues in the State Assembly on a trip to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress and the Bush Administration on critical issues facing California.

Led by Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines (R-Clovis), our delegation was a bipartisan effort.

Our overarching goal was to secure more federal funds for California. For years, California has received only 79 cents for every dollar sent to Washington. Our message was simple: We have paid the bills long enough. It’s time to give California its fair share. Other items on our agenda included healthcare reform, climate change, foster youth reform, affordable housing, and education.

We discussed these issues with White House officials; our Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer; our Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Chair of the California Congressional Delegation; and even former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I feel optimistic about the results of our trip. I think everyone agrees that we can get a lot accomplished for California if state and federal officials work together. Identifying more opportunities to work together is exactly what this trip was all about.

AN EYE ON THE GOVERNOR

ACTIVITIES:

On March 15, the Governor signed Senate Bill 113 that will move California’s presidential primary election day from June to February starting in 2008.

On March 14, the Governor signed Executive Order S-06-07 that requires the state to develop by the end of the year a basis to measure the performance of health care services provided by public and private health care organizations.

APPOINTMENTS:

On March 28, the Governor announced the appointment of David Long of Riverside as Secretary of Education. Long has more than 40 years of experience in the field of education and for 21 of those years he taught in a classroom.

On March 27, the Governor appointed Katherine Dargan of Napa as the state’s first female State Fire Marshal. Dargan has over 30 years of experience with CDF. Since 2005, she has served as the assistant state fire marshal. From 2002 to 2005, Dargan served as the Napa County Fire Marshal.

On March 19, the Governor reappointed Carol Hart of Sebastopol to the State Park and Recreation Commission. Hart has served on the Board since 1999 and served as chair from 2003 to 2004.

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