SACRAMENTO - Assembly Member Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) will hold an oversight hearing to examine the handling of the homeland security and bioterrorism funds. The hearing will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, February 28, 2005 in State Capitol, Room 447.

"Homeland security is a national priority and we are all concerned about the threat of a bioterrorist attack, particularly in urban areas such as Los Angeles County. However, there seems to be an absence of leadership and coordination in California to protect our residents," said Assembly Member De La Torre. "It is hard to believe that the federal government has provided the State with hundreds of millions of dollars since the September 11th attacks, yet our state agencies have only spent 31 percent of these funds."

Background:

In June, the RAND Corporation released a thorough analysis stating: "Strong central leadership and coordination of public health appears to be lacking. Few jurisdictions believe they can count on the Department of Health Services in an emergency." Additionally, the non-partisan Trust of America's Health stated that only five states scored worst than California on a report that graded the state's ability to respond to a terrorist attack.

In a letter in January, Assembly Member De La Torre requested a detailed analysis by the Legislative Analyst's Office of the federal bioterrorism funds received by the State since September 11, 2001. The LAO released their analysis today as part of their 2005-2006 Budget Analysis and made 8 recommendations to address the many inadequacies in bioterrorism preparedness.