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Transportation
As
Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Transportation,
in an extremely challenging fiscal year, I have been exploring
innovative funding options to alleviate congestion and improve
air quality in Los
Angeles.
As everyone knows, we experience some of the worst traffic in
the nation, and with projected population growth of an
additional 3 million people over the next 30 years, it will
only get worse, unless we take action now. Meanwhile, there is
a $16 billion deficit in the state's budget, and getting funds
from the federal government is uncertain. As a result of these
factors, I have proposed legislation that would give local
communities control of their own transportation futures. I am
very pleased that the transportation bills below are supported
by the MTA, as well as the Cities of Los Angeles,
Beverly
Hills
and West
Hollywood.
A snapshot of these bills follows:
· AB 2321 (Sales Tax to
Transform Los Angeles' Transportation System) This bill would
amend SB 314 (Murray 2003). SB 314 authorized the Los Angeles
Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) to place an
additional 0.5% sales tax on a countywide ballot for voter
approval. This bill would extend the tax up to 30 years, and
allow additional revenue to be used for projects in MTA's Long
Range Transportation Plan. Such a tax is estimated to generate
$30 billion over 30 years. This legislation was approved
by the Assembly Transportation Committee and will be heard
next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
·
AB 2558 (Carbon
Fee to Mitigate Climate Change and Expand Los Angeles'
Transportation System) This bill would authorize the MTA to
place a countywide carbon emissions fee on an upcoming
county-wide ballot. The MTA would decide whether the fee would
be assessed at the pump or through the Vehicle Registration
Fee. This fee would generate $400 to $600 million a year to
pay for air pollution and congestion management
programs. This legislation was approved by the Assembly
Transportation Committee and will be heard next in the
Assembly Local Government Committee.
· ACA 10 (Reducing Voter
Threshold for Transportation Bonds) This bill would lower the
vote threshold for the approval of bonds (and any tax increase
associated with these bonds) for local transportation projects
from a two-thirds vote of the people to a 55% vote of the
people. Lowering the bond threshold would need to be
approved by the voters.
· AB 1836 (Districts to
Finance Transportation Infrastructure) Local governments may
create Infrastructure Finance Districts (IFDs) to fund
infrastructure like public transit. This bill would
remove a procedural hurdle that has prevented IFDs from being
frequently used in California.
This legislation was approved by the Assembly Local Government
Committee and will be considered next by the full Assembly.
Public
Safety
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AB 2784 Press
Conference |
· AB 2784 (Innovative
Technology to Prevent Drunk Driving) This bill is the most
important legislation in the nation for Mothers Against Drunk
Driving this year. AB 2784 would require an ignition
interlock device (IID) be installed on any vehicle owned or
operated by a person convicted of a driving under the
influence (DUI) offense. Once installed, the IID prevents the
car from starting if alcohol is present in the driver's
system. This legislation has been approved by the
Assembly Public Safety Committee, and will soon be heard in
Assembly Appropriations Committee. I was recently joined
by California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow and
Mothers Against Drunk Driving National CEO Chuck Hurley at a
press conference in support of this bill. Learn more
about the press conference by clicking here.
· AB
2590 (Felony Prosecutions of Gang Members/Guns)
This bill would clarify existing law to make it easier to
bring a felony prosecution against an active member of a
criminal street gang carrying a concealed or loaded firearm.
This legislation was approved by the Assembly Public Safety
Committee, and next will be heard in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
· AB 2670 (Criminalizing
Dangerous New Weapons) This bill would prohibit the sale,
manufacture, or possession of "artificial knuckles." These
artificial knuckles, made out of artificial polymers, are
quickly replacing metal knuckles as a weapon since they can
easily go through security at courthouses, jails and airports.
This legislation was approved by the Assembly Public Safety
Committee, and will be heard next in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
· AB 2737 (Protecting Peace
Officer Health and Safety) This bill would improve the medical
and psychological treatment of peace officers, firefighters,
and emergency medical personnel who suffer a blood borne
pathogen exposure while acting within the normal scope of
their duties by permitting a court ordered blood test of
arrestees. AB 2737 is supported by the Los Angeles
Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Protective League
and the City of Los
Angeles.
This legislation was approved by the Assembly Public Safety
and Appropriations Committees and will be considered by the
full Assembly this week.
Education
·
AB 1656
(Tracking and Assessing Student Performance)
This bill would establish an ongoing grant program to provide
local educational agencies the funding necessary to ensure
that student-level data is being collected, maintained, and
submitted accurately to properly track and assess student
academic performance and dropout and graduation rates.
This legislation has been approved by the Assembly and is
pending in the Senate.
· AB 2302 (Expanding Pool
of Teachers of Autistic Children) This measure would
implement a temporary revision to the Education Specialist
credential requirement, allowing more special education
teachers to instruct students with mild and to moderate
autism. This bill is jointly authored with Speaker-elect Karen
Bass.
Consumer Protection:
Healthcare
· AB 2146 (Eliminating
Billing for Medical Errors) This bill would prohibit hospitals
and other healthcare providers from billing patients for
medical mistakes. Such mistakes include amputation of the
wrong leg, leaving medical equipment in a patient after
surgery, or improper administration of drugs. This
legislation was approved by the Assembly Health Committee and
will be heard next in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Environment: Toxics/Consumer
Safety
· AB 1879 (Protecting
Public from Toxic Consumer Products) This bill would authorize
the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the
sale of products containing chemicals known to be hazardous to
health and the environment. This legislation has been
approved by the Assembly Environmental Safety &Toxic
Materials Committee and the Assembly Health Committee; it will
be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
· AB
2286 (Streamlining Reporting of Hazardous Materials
Data) This measure would modernize the Certified Unified
Program Agencies (CUPAs), which are responsible for managing
six critical environmental health and public safety programs.
Specifically, the bill would temporarily increase a reporting
surcharge for users of hazardous materials to fund an
electronic reporting system that would streamline the process
by which state regulators, firefighters, and other
environmental and public health officials gain access to
information on hazardous chemicals. This legislation has been
approved by the Assembly Environmental Safety & Toxic
Materials Committee and will be heard next in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
Water
· AB 2270 (Promoting Water
Recycling) This bill aims to increase the use of recycled
water and to develop better mechanisms to track the use of
recycled water throughout California.
This bill is authored jointly with Assemblymember John
Laird. This legislation was approved by the Assembly
Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee and will be heard next
in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
· AB 2175 (Dramatic Steps
to Conserve Water) This measure would establish a system of
incentives and requirements to conserve 3 million acre feet of
water by 2030. Local water agencies would be responsible for
implementing all locally cost-effective measures, and if the
statewide savings from those measures do not add up to 3
million acre feet, the state would fund the measures necessary
to achieve the balance of the water savings. This bill is
authored jointly with Assemblymember John Laird. This
legislation was approved by the Assembly Water, Parks &
Wildlife Committee and will be heard next in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
Waste Reduction
·
AB 904 (Reducing
Marine Debris) This bill is aimed at reducing the amount of
food packaging material that ends up in our river, streams and
marine environment or landfills. AB 904 requires take-out food
providers, by 2012, to use food packaging that is either
recyclable or compostable. This legislation has been
approved by the Assembly and is pending in the Senate.
Renewable
& Clean Sources of Energy
· AB 2988 (Advancing
Renewable Energy) This bill would eliminate impediments that
make it difficult for municipal utility agencies (such as the
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power) to sign contracts
for renewable and clean sources of energy. This legislation
has been approved by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee
and will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
Domestic
Partnerships
· AB 2673 (Extending
Domestic Partners' Retirement Benefits) This bill would
remove a section of the County Service Retirement Act of 1937
which has the effect of leaving three counties (including Los
Angeles county) in non-compliance with the historic
"California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act
of 2003" (Assembly Bill 205 by Jackie Goldberg). AB 205,
among other things, requires that domestic partner survivor
benefits go to the surviving partner just as survivor benefits
in a marriage go to the surviving spouse. Three counties
adopted an optional section of law that allowed them to extend
survivor benefits to the child of a domestic partnership, but
not the partner. This legislation will be heard in the
Assembly Public Employees Retirement and Social Security
Committee.
Access to
Justice
· AB 2448 (Assuring Access
to the Courts for Indigent Parties) This measure would
replace the current statute containing procedures for granting
filing fee waivers for a litigant who cannot afford to pay
court fees with a fairer, clearer and more comprehensive
procedure. This legislation was approved by the Assembly
Judiciary and Appropriations Committees and will be considered
next by the full Assembly.
· AB 2846 (Protecting
Condominium Owners' Interests) would provide a legal route for
condominium owners to protest assessments imposed upon them by
their homeowners associations. This legislation will by
heard next week in the Assembly Housing and Community
Development Committee.
Political/Electoral
Reform
· AB 2506 (Requiring Key
Disclosures in Political Advertising) This bill would extend
the same advertising disclosure requirements that exist for
ballot measure ads and candidate ads to ads seeking to
influence the outcome of legislation and administrative
actions. AB 2506 is based on the simple premise that democracy
works best with a well-informed electorate. This
legislation was approved by the Assembly Elections &
Reapportionment, Judiciary, and Appropriations Committees, and
will be considered next by the full Assembly.
·
AB 2953
(Protecting Voters' Rights) This bill would ensure that, upon
entering a polling place, "decline to state" (DTS) voters, are
informed that they may vote in partisan races. For
example, in the recent presidential primary, decline-to-state
voters had the option of choosing a non-partisan
decline-to-state ballot (which would not have had any choices
for president), a Democratic ballot, or an American
Independent Party ballot. In the upcoming June election, the
DTS voter could choose a DTS ballot, a Democratic ballot, a
Republican ballot, or various other party ballots. However,
there is currently no requirement that DTS voters (unless they
are permanent absentee voters) be informed about these
options. This legislation, sponsored by the Secretary of
State, was approved by the Assembly Elections &
Reapportionment and Appropriations Committees, and will be
considered next by the full Assembly.
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