• Noreen's View: Special Session Update
• Your Legislator at Work: Noreen Gets Seven Bills Signed into Law
• The Legislative Highs and Lows of 2007
• Help Shape Noreen's Legislation for 2008
• An Eye on the Governor

NOREEN'S VIEW: SPECIAL SESSION UPDATE

On September 11th, the Governor called two special sessions of the legislature to continue negotiations on health care reform and a bond to increase drinking water supply storage.

Initially, the goal was to reach a deal in time to place two packages together for the February 2008 ballot. Soon after declaring the special session, the Governor left the state for an extended time. Although he has since returned and resumed negotiations with the Speaker and the Senate President pro tem, the deadline to place an initiative on the February ballot has passed. So, unless we do a supplemental ballot at additional taxpayer expense, our focus must shift to putting a package together next year for the ballot in either June or November.

Why the delay? Let's consider the Governor's counterproductive actions.

In January of this year, the Governor declared 2007 the year of health care reform. Rather than working with the Legislature to introduce a bill of his own, however, he published a 10-page concept paper. He never released a concrete proposal until October 10th, nearly 30 days into his special session and ten months into a year he had proclaimed as the year of health care reform. Instead, he vetoed AB 8, the bill the Democrats passed to reform health care which has been the subject of open public debate all year.

At the very least, the Governor's timing is confusing. Why would the Governor wait so long to put his proposal out there? The public hasn't yet had the chance to comment on his proposal. Public input is critical on a topic as fundamental and complex as health care.

Shifting to water, let's take a look at the Governor's flawed proposal. It focuses on increasing water supply through building three dams in the Central Valley with the state picking up half of the costs. That is considerably higher than the state's historic share of 5 percent, with the benefiting water users paying the rest. In this context, his proposal amounts to an enormous subsidy for big, Central Valley agribusiness.

The problems don't end there. The Governor's proposal explicitly stipulates that there will be no opportunity for legislative oversight on new dam construction to ensure that his proposed $5.1 billion in bonds for these dams are used properly. That sets the stage for an irresponsible use of public funds.

With this lackluster track record on pivotal issues facing the state, the Governor needs to focus his energies on doing the hard work of developing consensus and negotiating acceptable solutions. Otherwise, the special sessions that he called for on health care and water won't be so special after all. The people of California deserve better than that.

YOUR LEGISLATOR AT WORK: NOREEN GETS 7 BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW

I am proud to report that seven of the 11 bills I sent to the Governor this year were signed into law. They reflect my commitment to fighting for our community, families and children, the environment, legal reform, and California's wine industry.

The Governor signed into law the following bills I authored:

• AB 323 - Expands the kind of vintners who may donate and pour their wines at non-profit fundraisers. Prior to the bill, nearly 1,500 vintners were prohibited from doing so.
• AB 765 - Enacts numerous reforms in California's horse racing industry that will help keep jobs in our community. It will finance facility improvements to the fairs at Santa Rosa and Vallejo and reauthorize horse racing fans' ability to wager on races across the country.
• AB 1331 - Requires county child welfare agencies to screen foster youth for disabilities and help them apply for a federal income supplement program. Without it, they face homelessness, chronic health problems, and unemployment.
• AB 1402 - Helps protect the rights of the developmentally disabled and their families by allowing audio recording of the Individual Program Plan process where care decisions are made. It also requires Department of Social Services, regional centers, and vendors who provide this care to post appeal procedure information on their web sites.
• AB 1663 - Protects California's eligibility for $1.13 billion in federal funding for the provision of special education services to disabled students with special needs.
• AB 1063 - Enables the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to issue bonds to protect agricultural land and open space and, in so doing, exercise the full authority granted by Measure F.
• AB 1248 - Implements various changes in court administration and civil procedure. For instance, it permits plaintiffs who initially fail to pay the full required filing fee to fund the difference via personal check. It also reforms our discovery statutes.

The Governor vetoed the following bills I authored:

• AB 958 - Would have enabled Napa County to appoint, rather than elect, a registrar of voters. It also requires tax clearance certificates on all mobile home transfers in order to improve the tax collection method. It would have also authorized Sonoma County to increase berthing fees and other charges at the Spud Point Marina to generate the revenue needed to repay the loans taken from the state to build the marina back in the early 1980s.
• AB 1192 - Would have established a registry of abusive caregivers to prevent them from moving around the state, from job to job, to continue abusing the developmentally disabled.
• AB 1429 - Would have required that health plans and insurers cover the costs of cervical cancer vaccination if they are currently providing coverage for the treatment or surgery of cervical cancer or annual cervical cancer screening tests.
• AB 1542 - Would have preserved local rent control for mobile homes after conversion of a mobile home park from rental to condominium ownership.

Further information about this and other legislation is available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.

THE LEGISLATIVE HIGHS AND LOWS OF 2007

The Governor's pen has the power to shape the lives of millions of Californians when it comes to acting on legislation. Now that this year's legislative calendar has come to a close, I'd like to give you a run-down on the high and low points of how the Governor wielded this power. Each of the bills discussed below are bills I supported.

Overall, the Governor signed 750 bills and vetoed 214 this year. After the smoke cleared from a frenzied week in mid-October when the Governor acted on most of these bills, one conclusion is clear about the Governor's record: there is something for everyone to like and dislike.

Some of the high points of interest to our community include the Governor's signature of bills to:

• Help Reduce High School Drop Outs - SB 219 will spark stronger accountability among our schools and school districts by monitoring their performance in helping students who may drop out or not graduate. This information will be included within academic performance measures, which have focused largely on test scores.
• Strengthen Gun Control - AB 1471 requires all new semi-automatic handguns to be equipped with microscopic identifying markings that are imprinted on each cartridge case when the gun is fired. This would help law enforcement investigate, arrest, and convict more people who use semiautomatic handguns in crimes.
• Confront Climate Change - AB 118 will reduce the impact our transportation system has on climate change through encouraging the development and use of alternative transportation fuels. With 40% of climate changing emissions coming from cars and trucks, this will really jump start our state's efforts to confront climate change.
• Make Highway 12 Safer - AB 112 establishes a safety enhancement-double fine zone on Highway 12 between Highways 5 and 80. It also establishes criteria for making other stretches of highway double fine zones.
• Improve Flood Protection - AB 162 requires cities and counties to address flood-related matters in the land use, conservation, safety, and housing elements of their general plans.

There are some undeniable low points in the Governor's record given his vetoes of bills to:

• Reunite Foster Youth with Family - AB 149 would have expanded help for foster youth to safely contact and be cared for by extended family relatives. Children in foster care who are placed with relatives develop more successfully than those who are not.
• Strengthen Family Leave - SB 727 would have extended eligibility for temporary disability insurance benefits to employees who are not able to work due to their taking care of a grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law.
• Protect Skyline Park - SB 678 would have enabled Napa County to have the right of first refusal to purchase approximately 850 acres of state surplus property located near the Napa State Hospital.
• Prevent Identify Theft - AB 779 would have protected consumers by strengthening laws that keep credit card information private. In the event of a security breach of computer data bases containing personal information, it would have also required those businesses accepting credit or debit cards to provide notice to consumers.
• Prevent Wage Discrimination - AB 435 would have helped women confront wage discrimination by expanding their legal remedies to sue employers who pay them less and by requiring employers maintain records of wages, wage rates, job classifications, and other conditions of employment for five years.

Further information about this and other legislation is available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.

HELP SHAPE NOREEN'S LEGISLATION FOR 2008

Ever thought to yourself that there ought to be a law? Well, here's your chance to make something happen by helping me put together legislative ideas to carry next year.

In the coming weeks, you will have the chance to share your ideas with my legislative staff who will be holding public office hours at my district offices in Napa, Santa Rosa, and Vallejo. These office hours will occur on the following dates:

• Monday, December 3rd at my Napa District Office, located at 1040 Main Street Suite 205 in Napa;
• Tuesday, December 4th at my Vallejo District Office, located at 1713 Sonoma Boulevard in Vallejo; and
• Wednesday, December 5th at my Santa Rosa District Office, located at 50 D Street Suite 301 Santa Rosa.

To make an appointment, please call Amy Frazier at (916) 319-2007. We look forward to hearing your ideas!

AN EYE ON THE GOVERNOR

Activities:

On October 22nd, the Governor directed 1,500 members of the California National Guard to support firefighting efforts in Southern California.

On October 21st, the Governor declared a disaster area in Southern California due to extensive wildfires that erupted within the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

On October 14th, the Governor concluded all action on pending legislation with a total of 750 bills signed and 214 vetoed in 2007.

On October 9th, nearly a month into the Special Session on Health Care, the Governor released his proposal for health care reform.

Appointments from our Community:

Sharon Bishop, a Vacaville Republican, has been appointed special assistant for estimates in the Department of Finance. She has over 30 years of experience in California state government.

Veronica Vuksich, a Santa Rosa Democrat, has been appointed to the Osteopathic Medical Board. Since 1995, she has served as a clinical preceptor of family practice resident physicians at Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa. She has also taught courses on medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Touro University.

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