Los Angeles County Democratic Party
2008 Priority Legislation List
Updated 4/10/09
AB 1409: Education: Concurrent Enrollment for High School Students at Community Colleges
Asm. Anthony Portantino
The bill would phase in a removal of restrictions on a pupil’s ability to concurrently enroll in a K-12 public school and a California Community College.
AB 2040: Education: Special Education Assessment for High School Diploma
Asm. Speaker Fabian Nunez
The bill would require the State Board of Education to establish a standardized evidence-based assessment process under which students with disabilities who are unable to pass the California High School Exit Exam may submit evidence - such as other assessments or portfolios of previously completed work - that demonstrate the student has mastered the same skills and knowledge required to pass the exit exam. Students who complete all other high school graduation requirements and whose evidence demonstrates that have mastered the same skills and knowledge tested in the exit exam will be granted a high school diploma.
AB 2302: Education: Specialist Credentials for Teaching Children with Autism
Asm. Speaker-Elect Karen Bass
This bill would authorize the holder of a level 1 education specialist credential who is authorized to provide instruction to individuals with mild and moderate disabilities to provide instruction to pupils with autism.
ACR 21: Education: Urges UC to Partner with HBCU for Student Exchange
Asm. Anthony Portantino
The bill would request the University of California (UC) to establish academic partnerships (e.g., joint degree programs) with one or more institutions classified as Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
AB 2916: Environment: LEED Gold Green Standard for State Buildings
Asm. Speaker Fabian Nunez
This bill would declare the Legislature’s intent to require that all buildings owned or leased by the state meet the standards of the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
AB 3018: Environment/Economy: Green Collar Job Council
Asm. Speaker Fabian Nunez
The bill would create the Green Collar Job Council (GCJC). The GCJC would require the Secretary of the Labor and the Workforce Development Agency, in consultation with representatives from various public and private groups, to develop a comprehensive array of programs, strategies, and resources to address the workforce needs stemming from California’s growing green economy. AB 3018 seeks to provide a comprehensive approach ahead of the massive green economy expansion. It recognizes the need to coordinate and address strategies, funding, existing and new programs, and workforce training from new partnerships among the federal and state government, labor, private and public businesses and community organizations.
AB 1127: Environment/Water: Perchlorate - Rialto Drinking Water
Asm. Wilmer Carter
This bill would allow the Department of Public Health (DPH) to contract with the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) to assess and treat perchlorate contamination in the vicinity of the City of Rialto. Expresses the Legislature’s findings and declarations that state funds may be advanced to provide the citizens in the Rialto area with pure and potable water.
AB 368: Healthcare: Hearing Aids for Children
Asm. Wilmer Carter
This bill would require health care service plan (health plan) contracts and health insurance policies to offer coverage for hearing aids, up to $1,000, to all children, defined as enrollees and insured under 18 years of age, as specified.
AB 2234: Healthcare: Expand Women’s Access to Breast Cancer Screenings
Asm. Anthony Portantino
This bill would greatly expand women’s access to breast cancer screening and require the latest technological advances in early detection methods be used. The current rules and regulations on breast cancer screening amount to a “one-size-fits-all” policy that ignores a number of potential risk factors for women.
AB 2716: Healthcare: Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act
Asm. Fiona Ma
The bill would allow workers to earn paid sick days to care for themselves, a sick family member, or to recover from domestic violence of sexual assault.
AB 2386: Labor: Farm Worker Protection
Asm. Speaker Fabian Nunez
Under existing law, a petition for election of labor representation may be filed with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board by an agricultural employee, a group of agricultural labor employees, or a labor organization acting on behalf of agricultural employees, as prescribed. Existing law requires the board to conduct an investigation into the allegations made in the petition upon receipt of the petition. If the board finds reasonable cause to believe that a bona fide question of representation exists, existing law requires the board to direct a representation election to be held by secret ballot, as prescribed. Unless a valid challenge is filed against the initial petition, as prescribed, existing law requires the board to certify the election. This bill would make technical, non-substantive changes to these provisions.
AB 2070: Public Safety: Keeping Families Together
Asm. Speaker-Elect Karen Bass
The bill would allow the juvenile court, in limited circumstances, to extend services to support the reunification of a child with his or her parent or guardian (referenced as parent(s) through rest of analysis) up to a period of 24 months from the date the child was originally removed.
AB 2423: Public Safety: Remove Barriers to Employment for Ex-Offenders
Asm. Speaker-Elect Karen Bass
This bill would authorize the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California, the Veterinary Medical Board, the Structural Pest Control Board, and the Director of Consumer Affairs, to issue a probationary license or registration to an ex-offender applicant. When considering the probationary license or registration, an applicant with a dismissed conviction must provide proof of that dismissal and there must have been no subsequent criminal convictions. Either 3 years must have passed since the dismissal of the criminal conviction or at least 5 years since the person completed his or her sentence.
AB 2541: Public Safety: Re-Entry and Recidivism Reform Act
Asm. Speaker-Elect Karen Bass
The bill would authorize a superior court, until January 1, 2012, to develop and operate a deferred entry of judgment reentry program targeted at preventing recidivism among low-level drug offenders or any other type of offender that the court deems appropriate. It authorizes, until January 1, 2012, no more than 3 superior courts to develop and implement a reentry court system. The bill would specify the characteristics of a reentry court and would require the presiding judge, district attorney, public defender, Board of Parole Hearings, and Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to enter into an agreement about the jurisdiction of the court, as specified.
AB 2762: Social Justice/Public Safety: Larry’s Law - Anti-GLBT Discrimination Law
Asm. Mike Eng
Over the last few years, California has experienced an alarming increase in bias-motivated incidents in public schools. One egregious incident includes the tragic murder of LGBT teenager, Lawrence King, at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, CA. To prevent such hate based violence, this bill will require schools to establish a protocol for reporting threats of violence that are make between students. In addition, the bill establishes a pilot project grant program to help integrate inter-group relations in the existing curriculum.
AB 2947: Social Justice: Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Law
Asm. Mike Eng
This bill would prohibit facilities, such as residential care facilities, from forcing elderly and disabled residents, as a condition of admission, to give up their legal rights in cases of elder or dependent adult abuse. It is increasingly common for facilities such as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly to include such “pre-dispute binding arbitration” provisions in admission materials. Consumers, particularly the elderly and disabled, should never be required to surrender basic civil protections against abuse to secure a bed in a nursing home or in a residential care facility.
AB 190: Transportation: Veterans Metered Parking Exemption Program
Asm. Speaker-Elect Karen Bass
The bill would allow veterans whose vehicles display license plates honoring Pearl Harbor Survivors, Legion of Valor recipients, former American Prisoners of War, Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, or Purple Heart recipients to park their vehicles that weigh not more than 6,000 pounds gross weight, without charge, in any metered parking space.
ACA 10: Transportation: Transportation Funding Vote - Change From 2/3 to 55%
Asm. Mike Feuer
This measure would create an additional exception to the 1% limit on ad valorem tax on real property for a city or county, special taxes, and or debt if it is to pay for bonded indebtedness, incurred to fund specified transportation infrastructure that is approved by 55% of the voters of the city, county, or city and county, as appropriate. Local entities will be better able to generate much needed revenue to maintain local streets and roads.
SB 974: Transportation/Environment: Port Trucking Fee
Sen. Alan Lowenthal
The bill would impose a $30 fee on each shipping container processed at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland to fund congestion management and air quality improvement projects related to the ports.