• Noreen's View: Highlights of My 2008 Legislation
• Assembly Elects First African-American Woman Speaker
• An Update on Mid-Year Budget Cuts
• Napa High Football Champions Honored on Assembly Floor
• College Scholarship Opportunity
• An Eye on the Governor

NOREEN'S VIEW: HIGHLIGHTS OF MY 2008 LEGISLATION

February 22nd was the final day for legislators to introduce new bills this year. Over a thousand new bills have been introduced, all of which will be receiving public hearings in the next few months. So, I encourage you to contact me on legislation of interest to you.

As your representative, I introduced 17 bills that collectively fight for children, protect our environment, reform our legal system, and promote California's wine industry. I'd like to highlight a small sample of them for you in this newsletter. A full description of all my legislation will soon be posted on my website at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a07/.

Protecting Our Foster Youth

Assembly Bill (AB) 2117 will establish safeguards to protect our foster youth from being overly medicated with psychotropic medications. Among other protections, the bill provides that prescriptions must be done by qualified professionals who have access to complete and accurate information about the child's medical history and that medication is accompanied by therapy or other behavioral interventions as appropriate. This legislation is sponsored by the Children's Law Center.

Protecting Wilderness in California

AB 2923 will lead to the designation of new wilderness land in California for the first time since the 1970s. I hope that this will provide our community with a chance to provide increased protections to some of our truly beautiful places. This legislation is sponsored by the California Wilderness Coalition.

Legal Reforms for a Free Press

AB 2379 will make it easier to unseal court records that were improperly sealed in the first place. Sometimes the efforts of news media organizations to unseal public information take so long that, by the time documentation becomes unsealed, the information is no longer current. The bill also awards attorney's fees to the member of the public who sues to obtain public information provided the court rules that the disclosure served the public interest. This legislation is sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Expanding Ties between Non-Profit Organizations and the Wine Industry

AB 1964 will help non-profit organizations hold fundraising events involving wine. It increases from one to three the number of temporary alcohol licenses a non-profit can obtain each year to conduct wine dinner and wine auction fundraisers. In order to ease the collection of wine donations, the bill also allows non-profits to temporarily store wine for up to 60 days leading up to events for which a temporary alcohol license is pending.

ASSEMBLY ELECTS FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN SPEAKER

Speaker-elect Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Noreen immediately following the election of Bass as the 67th Speaker.

I am excited to announce to you that on February 28, the California State Assembly made history in electing my friend Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) as the next Speaker of the Assembly.

Edging out 9 other contenders for the post, Bass will become California's first Democratic woman to serve as Speaker. A strong advocate for child welfare and social justice, she will be the nation's first African-American woman to lead a full-time state legislative body.

At a time when our state faces tough financial choices, I am pleased that our top negotiator will bring a woman's perspective to negotiating the budget. I am proud of what Bass' leadership represents, and I look forward to working with her in the future.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics at the State University of New Jersey, black women comprise just 3% of the 7,382 state legislators nationwide.

Bass will become the 67th speaker of the Assembly, considered the second most powerful job in state government behind the Governor. The Speaker appoints chairs to legislative committees, sets staff budgets and largely controls what legislation reaches the Assembly floor.

AN UPDATE ON MID-YEAR BUDGET CUTS

On January 10, 2008, the Governor declared a fiscal emergency and called the Legislature into special session to address our state's finances. The Governor projected a $3.3 billion shortfall for the current budget year, a $14.5 billion shortfall for 2008-2009, and a cash crisis rendering the state unable to pay its bills this summer.

How did we get to this situation in our state budget? During the last 12 years or so, when economic times were good, the Governor and the Legislature cut taxes significantly, including a hefty decrease in the Vehicle License Fee. In order to pay for much of these tax cuts, Governor Schwarzenegger obtained voter approval for $15 billion in debt bonds in 2004. This was much like maxing out the state's credit cards in order to pay for ordinary, ongoing expenses. The finance costs on the debt bonds combined with the cost to the state of recent tax cuts account for almost the entire continuing structural budget deficit.

The unpleasant reality facing us is we have no good choices to close the budget gap. We have three options: cut spending, increase taxes, or increase fees. With a 2/3 vote requirement to enact a budget, the political reality is that new taxes are off the table because Republicans in the Legislature will not support them. All but one Republican in the Legislature has signed a Grover Norquist pledge to opposed any and all tax increases, including closing tax loopholes. And, the Governor continues to oppose tax increases. So, unless there is a shift in the Republican position, spending cuts and fee increases are the only choices available to us.

In order to resolve the $3.3 billion current year deficit, the Governor proposed 10% across-the-board cuts to all aspects of government. By law, the Legislature had 45 days to solve the shortfall for the remainder of the current budget year which ends on June 30.

The budget plan we passed for the current fiscal year takes a cuts-only approach. We transformed our current year shortfall into a $1 billion reserve and provided over $8.6 billion in cash to ensure the state continues to pay its bills this summer.

In order to balance our current budget year finances, the Governor will issue $3.3 billion in Economic Recovery Bonds under Proposition 57 passed in 2004. We also adopted a combination of funding cuts and payment delays which will save the state about $1 billion. They will also improve our state's finances going into negotiations for the 2008-2009 budget.

The most significant budget cuts and spending delays that we adopted include:

• $507 million in cuts from K-12 education. These funds were taken predominantly from school programs with unspent funds.
• $500 million in savings by delaying disbursements of monthly road maintenance moneys to cities and counties until September 2008.
• $91.1 million in savings by delaying cost of living adjustments (COLAs) until October for Supplemental Security Income payments to disabled Californians
• $41.5 million in savings by delaying COLAs for CalWORKs payments to poor working families.
• 10% cut to Medi-Cal reimbursements to take effect July 1.

While I opposed the Economic Recovery Bonds because of their long-term costs, I supported the passage of this budget, with the exception of the 10% cuts to Medi-Cal reimbursements.

We also tried to close a loophole that allows the richest of Californians to avoid paying use taxes on yachts and airplanes purchased out of state. Unfortunately, Assembly Republicans did not support the measure and it failed to meet the 2/3 vote requirement.

Shortly after the budget plan was enacted for the rest of the current year, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) reported that our deficit in the 2008-2009 budget year has grown from $14.5 to $16 billion. To view the full LAO report, please go to http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1768. As a result of the cuts and delays adopted by the Legislature this year, however, the state's actual budget deficit next fiscal year is closer to $8 billion.

As we move forward, it is important to note that the easiest options to improve our state's finances have been exhausted. We face far more difficult and undesirable choices ahead. The Governor and his Republican colleagues continue to pursue a cuts only approach, including closing 48 state parks, which I strongly oppose. But this would only lead to the unraveling of the institutions which have made this state truly great.

There is a fairer and smarter way. Rather than papering over our budget problems at the expense of public education, parks and vital services for the vulnerable in our society, we need to consider a practical blend of budget cuts with new revenues. Otherwise, we are not investing enough in the future of our state and our children.

NAPA HIGH FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS HONORED ON ASSEMBLY FLOOR

Assemblymember Greg Aghazarian (R-Stockton) settles up his debt with Noreen

Last December, Assemblymember Greg Aghazarian (R-Stockton) challenged me to a friendly wager over the outcome of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Section Division I high school championship football game between the Napa High Indians and the St. Mary's Rams.

There were two terms of our wager. The loser had to provide the winner with a case of wine from his or her district and to wear the winning team's jersey on the Assembly floor. Since the Indians pulled off an exciting 38-36 victory after a 4th quarter Rams turnover, Aghazarian delivered a case of wine from his Assembly district. He also donned a Napa High football jersey on the Assembly Floor during session when the Assembly reconvened in January.

Aghazarian, an alumni of St. Mary's, was a good sport about settling his debt with me. Both teams played their hearts out during a football game far more exciting than this year's Super Bowl. I tried not to gloat too much but victory sure is sweet! Go Indians!

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

The Campaign for College Opportunity invites California students in 6th through 12th grade to submit a written word, poster or television ad answering the question, "Why should California leaders save you and your peers a spot in college?"

The Save Me a Spot in College Scholarship contestis an opportunity for students to win $500-$2,500 to help pay the costs of higher education. Over $100,000 in scholarships will be distributed to winners across California. The deadline to submit entries is March 15th, 2008.

To learn how to apply for a scholarship or help students in your area compete in the contest, please visit http://www.collegecampaign.org/contest or call 1-800-459-9586.

The Campaign for College Opportunity is a non profit organization dedicated to ensuring that the next generation of Californians has a chance to go to college.

AN EYE ON THE GOVERNOR

Activities:

On February 25, the Governor launched 90 Days of Hope. This $1.2 million public education campaign features real California families who struggled with foreclosure. It is intended to provide families facing the loss of their home with real solutions. These public service announcements can be found at www.yourhome.ca.gov/hope.

On February 24, the Governor joined 13 other governors from across the country to urge more federal investment in infrastructure. Further information about this effort is found at http://investininfrastructure.org/.

On February 19, the Governor signed Executive Order S-1-08 which requires all state agency heads to reduce their expenditures by an additional 1.5 percent. A copy of the order is online at http://www.gov.ca.gov/press-release/8804/.

Appointments from our Community:

Edward Olson, of Yountville, has been appointed to the California Veterans Board. He has been a resident of the Yountville Veterans Home since 2006. This position requires Senate confirmation.

Helen Lopez, of Vacaville, has been appointed assistant director of the executive operations branch for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

Robin Cox, of Fairfield, has been appointed to the Public Health Advisory Committee. She has held numerous positions at the Solano County Health and Social Services Department since 1990, including public information officer since 1996, health education manager since 1994, supervising health education specialist from 1992 to 1994 and health education specialist I from 1990 to 1992.

For further information about the Governor, please visit www.gov.ca.gov.