Burbank Leader, CA
Oct 20 2007
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
Bills are in for Schwarzenegger
The state Legislature sent 964 bills to the governor this year. Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed 780 bills and vetoed 214. Here’s a
review of how bills backed by area legislators fared in Sacramento.
Bills that were approved or vetoed before the Sept. 12 legislative
deadline are not listed.
Signed:
SB 52, Career Technical Education, simplifies and streamlines the
teacher- credentialing process for career technical education.
SB 193, Paraprofessional Teachers, increases funding for the
California Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program, which brings
classroom aides into the teaching profession through a plan of
financial and instructional support. advertisement
SB 859, College Faculty for High School Classrooms, makes it easier
for school districts to hire qualified, experienced college faculty
from the University of California, California State University and
California community college systems, when they are unable to recruit
certified teachers to fill vacant teaching positions.
SB 139, Nursing Education, exempts students pursuing a nursing career
who have already earned a bachelor’s degree from completing
non-nursing courses.
SB 339, Mutual Funds, updates a statute in the Insurance Code by
allowing insurers to invest their funds in a wider variety of
investments than allowed under current law.
SB 718, Inmate Welfare Fund, authorizes the county sheriff to use
money from the existing Inmate Welfare Fund to provide inmates with
transitional assistance services, including housing and job
placement.
SB 910, Rosemead Boulevard, authorizes the state to relinquish a part
of Rosemead Boulevard to Temple City.
SB 280, Omnibus Education, streamlines various bills dealing with
teaching credentials and restores the ability of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington, which has offices in Pasadena, to issue
revenue bonds. The bill would allow Carnegie to issue bonds through
the California Educational Facilities Authority to support the
institution’s effort to build a large telescope in northern Chile.
Vetoed:
SB 515, Armenian Trade Office, would have extended the statutory
sunset for the privately funded California trade office in Armenia
until Jan. 1, 2010.
Signed:
SB 161, Public Contracts, requires public agencies that accept bids
and supplemental materials online to provide a receipt to the sender.
SB 354, Contractors State Licensing Board, provides that a licensed
contractor who has aided or abetted an unlicensed contractor in
evading state requirements shall be subject to an order to pay for
injuries.
SB 425, Public Safety Omnibus, makes numerous technical,
non-substantive changes to code sections relating to public safety.
SB 539, Trial Court Trust Fund, revises the mandate that requires
entities to remit payments to the State Trial Court Trust Fund and
revise the penalty assessment for delinquent payments.
SB 655, Inmates Tobacco and Cell Phones, criminalizes the possession
of tobacco products and electronic devices within a county jail.
Vetoed:
SB 789, Surplus Property, would have authorized the transfer of a
specified property from the Chino Valley Unified School District to
the city of Chino Hills.
Signed:
AB 258, Marine Debris, requires manufacturers of pre-production
plastic pellets known as `nurdles’ to use proper housekeeping
procedures for handling and disposal of the pellets to avoid spillage
and release to the environment. The bill calls for significant
penalties against businesses that fail to take precautions against
allowing pellets to enter the storm water system.
AB 921, Public Social Services Hearings, extends the time frame
during which recipients of public social services can file a
complaint regarding the services to secure a hearing. Existing law
requires complaints to be filed within 90 days of the incident.
AB 949, Burbank Gardens/Nursing Home Reform, requires a licensed
residential care facility for the elderly – prior to transferring a
resident to another facility or to an independent living arrangement
as a result of the forfeiture of a license, or a change of use of the
facility – to take all reasonable steps to transfer affected
residents safely and minimize possible trauma by taking specified
actions relating to resident notification, transfer and relocation
planning.
AB 1013, Weapons/Nuisance Eviction, authorizes prosecutors to bring
eviction actions against gang members who use their residences to
stockpile illegal weapons and ammunition.
AB 1307, Public Employee Benefits, allows individuals employed by a
company that contracts with the California Public Employees’
Retirement System to contribute to the program.
AB 1484, Model State Trademark Law, repeals the Trademark Law and
enacts the Model State Trademark Law to expand the information
required to be provided with an application for registration of a
mark to include, among other things, a drawing of the mark and three
specimens of that mark as it is actually used.
AB 1539, Terminally Ill Prisoners, extends provisions for early
release to prisoners who are permanently, medically incapacitated and
whose release is deemed not to threaten public safety.
Vetoed: AB 966, Senior Citizen ID, would have required the Department
of Motor Vehicles to include with every notice of renewal of a
driver’s license that is mailed to a licensed driver, a notice that a
person who is 62 or older may be issued, free of charge, an
identification card bearing the notation `Senior Citizen.’
AB 1427, Developmental Disability Services, would have created a
pilot program to provide greater compensation and training for direct
support workers who provide services to the developmentally disabled.
Signed:
AB 294, Manganese Study, directs the Legislature to enact legislation
to identify the sources and reduce the levels of manganese
particulate matter in the air.
Vetoed: AB 1244, Golf Carts, would have allowed cities and counties
to designate regular roads and highways as golf cart-accessible,
should these roadways be adjacent to golf courses, universities or
retirement communities.
Signed:
AB 580, LAUSD – Merit System, extends a provision established in 2003
that authorizes school districts with more than 400,000 students to
select an employee from any rank on a merit system employment list,
provided that they meet the position-specific qualifications and at
least three candidates are considered. This provision expired on Jan.
1.
Signed:
AB 34, California Umbilical Cord Blood Bank Program, establishes a
public infrastructure to make umbilical cord blood donations
accessible to all Californians.
AB 668, Maximizing Federal and State Financial Aid for Community
Colleges, provides more notification to students of their financial
aid options, increase funding at the chancellor’s office to allow
staff to spend extra time with economically disadvantaged students
and create training modules for community colleges counselors on
up-to-date financing options.
AB 384, Benefits for Families of Fallen Firefighters, provides
tuition fee waivers to families of fallen federal firefighters for
public universities and colleges.
AB 702, Truth in Music, prohibits individuals and groups from giving
live musical performances under the name of a recorded group unless
the performers hold a trademark, at least one member of the
performance was a member of the original recording group, or the
performing group has prior authorization.
Vetoed:
AB 1413, California State University Governance Reform, would have
forced the California State University Board of Trustees to make
decisions in public. It would also require paid college executives to
perform a service.
AB 365, State Workforce Needs Analysis, sought to better align state
education curriculum with future business and professional needs by
establishing a statewide council to analyze future workforce needs
and subsequently advise the higher education community on those
results.
The Burbank Democratic Club awarded talk-show host Stephanie Miller
with its `Best Liberal Laugh of the Year Award’ on Oct. 13.
Assemblyman Paul Krekorian presented Miller with the award, which
read, `The greatest discovery one can make is that nothing is
impossible.’
Miller, a Burbank resident and host of a nationally syndicated talk
show, was joined by her show’s associate producer Rebekah Baker,
producer Chris Lavoie and voice-over artist Jim Ward.
The event featured attendees from all over Southern California and as
far away as Texas, one of the event’s organizers said.
Miller was exuberant in acceptance.
`Burbank, we’ve got a BLOTTY here,’ she said in reference to the
awards acronym. `You don’t understand, we’ve got a BLOTTY!’
The festivities were the first major event by the Burbank Democratic
Club, established last year.