The New Legislative Session

Appeared in Good Times Newsweekly

--by John Laird

A fall rite-of-passage in Sacramento is the madness known as “end of session.” As the legislature faces adjournment until the first of the year, any bill that does not pass to the Governor carries over to the next year – with marathon sessions the last two weeks leading to legislative action on hundreds of bills.

The good news from my perspective is that I sent seventeen bills to the governor that will make a positive difference in California. A partial list includes the Civil Rights Act of 2007 (AB 14), Clean Needle Exchange Funding (AB 110), Flood Control Planning (AB 156), High-efficiency Toilets (AB 715), Stormwater Runoff Management (AB 739), Aquatic Invasive Species Management (AB 740), Resident Green Buildings (AB 1058), Fisheries Management (AB1280), Coastal Trail (AB1396), Urban and Agricultural Water Use Measurement (AB 1404), Urban Water Conservation (AB 1420), and the Yield-to-Bus Safety Program (AB 1492).  AB 1283 (First-time Homebuyer Program) was already signed by the governor.

While I was personally successful, the legislature was immediately called back into special session to continue working toward a solution on health care and water issues.

I am in the thick of both issues.  My AB1, which would extend health coverage to all of California’s kids, passed both houses.  But at the request of the governor—who wishes to address the issue as part of a larger special session health care reform—I held the bill. But we sent the message that the legislature is ready to go when it comes to covering all kids.

Speaker Núñez has appointed me to lead the Assembly working group that will focus on the special session water issues. The governor wants a bond to go to voters next year for surface storage—and many of us have a broader view.  With water exports limited from the Delta, Central Valley water cut by a federal court settlement, and climate change at the door—we have to look at broad and diverse strategies, rather than just new dams.

We might have ended our official session, but we’re going to keep going and try to address two of California’s biggest issues in the coming weeks.