2007 - 2008 Legislation

Dear Neighbor,

It is important to let you know about the legislation introduced by my office. Below are details on legislation that emphasize the values of the community: improving children’s education, increasing access to quality healthcare, protecting California’s environment, preparing for a disaster, and support for working families in California.

It is a pleasure to serve the constituents of the 35th Assembly District. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me.

Thank you.

Pedro Nava
Chair, Banking and Finance
Chair, Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security

 

ANIMALS

 

AB 2281 – FELONY DOGFIGHTING SPECTATORSHIP
(Sponsor: The Humane Society of the United States)
Elevates spectatorship at a dogfight in California from a misdemeanor to a felony.

AJR 49 – PROTECTION FOR THE EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC GRAY WHALE
(Sponsor: California Gray Whale Coalition)
Memorializes Congress and the President of the United States to call upon the National Marine Fisheries Service to undertake an immediate comprehensive stock assessment of the California Gray Whale and to make the results available to the public. The measure also encourages the California Fish and Game Commission to upgrade the status of the Gray Whale from ‘recovered’ to ‘endangered.’

 

EDUCATION

 

AB 1885 – HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS
(Sponsor: California School Boards Association)
Specifies that pupils who participate in California High School Exit Exam tutoring and assistance programs provided by last year’s AB 347 (Nava, 2007) are not counted as high school dropouts for the purposes of data collection.

 

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS/DISASTER RELIEF

 

AB 38 – DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES AND HOMELAND SECURITY
(Sponsor: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Administration)
Consolidates the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (OHS), by creating a new cabinet-level Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security.  The new department will incorporate the duties of emergency preparedness, response, and homeland security.

AB 2796 – DISASTER LIABILITY INDEMNIFICATION
(Sponsors: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department & California Association of Nonprofits)
Provides limited immunity from liability for businesses and nonprofit organizations that voluntarily, without compensation or expectation of compensation, provide resources, facilities and services in response to a declared emergency at the request of public emergency responders.

ENVIRONMENT

 

AB 1851 – CARBON EMISSIONS OFFSETS
Calls for the creation of a process to certify projects that generate carbon offsets from voluntary emission reductions at the retail level in California ensuring that they meet clear standards, consistent protocols as well as have a recognizable stamp of approval by an authorized authority.

AB 1946 – HAZARDOUS MATERIAL AND WATER CODE ENFORCEMENT
(Sponsor: California District Attorneys Association)
Permits environmental prosecutors to file civil actions to enforce the water pollution provisions of the Water Code at the request of an Executive Director of a Regional Water Quality Control Board.  The measure also extends the statute of limitations for violations of Hazardous Material Release Response Plans and Inventory related violations from 1 to 5 years to bring it into accordance with other hazardous material and hazardous waste laws in the same Division of the Health and Safety Code.

AB 1960 – INCREASED OIL SPILL FINES
Sets new standards and provides new abilities to the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources in the effort to enhance oil spill response in California.

AJR 51B – OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING
Voices opposition to the damaging coastal provisions of proposed federal energy policies, including, but not limited to the adoption of HR 2784. AJR 51 also asks that Congress continue the federal Offshore Leasing Moratorium for Fiscal Year 2009 and beyond.

 

HEALTH

 

AB 1900B –MADDY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FUND
(Sponsor: California Medical Association)
Funds emergency room and trauma services in Santa Barbara County (home to the only Level II Trauma Center between Los Angeles and San Jose), by maintaining the county’s Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund fine enhancement for driving under the influence (DUI) and DUI-related offenses.

 

HOUSING

 

AB 762 –FARMWORKER HOUSING
(Sponsor: California Department of Housing and Community Development)
Makes improvements to the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program by including agricultural employers as potential grantees, allowing for the reduction or waiver of the matching requirement; permitting the set aside of funds specific for migrant farmworker housing; and specifying the target population for Serna loans.

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

 

AB 1933 – PUBLIC GUARDIANS/PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS
(Sponsor: County of Ventura)
Allows the County of Ventura to combine its Public Guardian and Public Administrator positions into one office appointed by the County Board of Supervisors.

AB 1974 – CITY OF VENTURA LAND SWAP
(Sponsor: City of Ventura)
Allows the City of Ventura to exchange a small piece of land for another piece of land in an adjacent parcel. This will both improve the city’s coastal park and allow a specified developer to build a hotel on a site that is currently a brownfield (formerly the site of several oil tanks).

AB 2686 – SANTA YNEZ VALLEY WATER DISTRICT
(Sponsor: Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District #1)
Elevates the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District #1 to the Santa Ynez Valley Water District.

 

PUBLIC SAFETY

 

AB 376 – AIRPORT PATROL OFFICERS
(Sponsors: Santa Barbara Municipal Airport Patrol, SEIU Local 620, and PORAC)
Changes the classification of specified airport law enforcement under the Public Employees’ Retirement Law from “local miscellaneous” members to “local safety” members.

AB 2408 – DEFERRED ENTRY OF JUDGEMENT
(Sponsor: Police Officers research association of California)
Will keep juvenile’s sex crimes on their records even past the age of 18.

AB 2409 – JUVENILE RECORDS FOR CIVIL COMMITMENTS
(Sponsor: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
Would unseal juvenile records of past sex crimes when assessing an individual’s eligibility for a civil commitment program.

AB 2410 – DISCOVERY FOR SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR CIVIL CASES
(Sponsor: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
Protects victim witnesses who testify in civil sexual violent predator proceedings.

ACR 106 – INTERNET VIOLENCE
Asks user-generated content websites (social networking sites) to develop tools to make the internet safer for minors by working with advocacy groups, law enforcement, parents and others.

SENIORS

 

AB 1900A – HEALTHY SENIORS ACT OF 2008
Allows a county board of supervisors, upon making declarations and findings supporting the need for senior services in the county, to authorize an increase in fees for certified copies of death records, for the purposes of supporting senior services, by up to $3.  The measure also increases the fines for elder abuse in California by 10%.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

AB 995 –PROPOSITION 1B IMPLEMENTATION: GOODS MOVEMENT/AIR QUALITY
Spot bill.  Addresses Prop. 1B implementation issues for the Goods Movement/ Air Quality portion of the bond.

AB 1993 – SPLIT TELEVISION SCREENS IN AUTOMOBILES
Spot bill. Would authorize new split-screen technologies to be used in GPS/navigation screens in the front seat of automobiles.

AB 2074 – CALTRANS ENCROACHMENT PERMITS
(Sponsor: Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California)
Requires Caltrans to review an encroachment permit application for completeness within 30 days of receipt and to notify the applicant of this determination.

AB 3021 – CALIFORNIA TRANSPORTATION FINANCING AUTHORITY
(Sponsor: California State Treasurer’s Office)
Creates the California Transportation Financing Authority and allows the Authority to issue revenue bonds in support of local transportation projects and toll roads.

AJR 51A – REAL ID
Requests the federal government either to repeal the REAL ID Act of 2005, or to scale it back so that it is less onerous and intrusive and to provide federal funding to offset its costs to the states.