Two Bills Already Signed, Eight More Move on to Governor Brown for Signature
Sacramento – Assistant Speaker Pro Tem, Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) had a total of ten bills sent on to the Governor for signature, two of which have already been signed, as a result of the 2nd year of the 2013-14 legislative session.
“This has been a very productive session and I believe the bills provide cost savings and improvements to existing policy.” said Mullin. “That said, I continue to be committed to bring back new legislation in the next session to address the issues of election recount reform and antibiotics in livestock as well as addressing other issues related to workforce development and fiscal sustainability.”
As of this press release, bills signed by the Governor include AB 2028, which expands the County vote-by-mail pilot project to San Mateo County. The purpose of the project is to examine the effect of all-mail elections on voter turnout, and including data from an urban county will provide important information for analysis. “I’m especially pleased to have the support of Mark Church, San Mateo County Chief Elections Official in implementing this program,” stated Mullin.
The other bill already signed by Governor Brown is AB 1820 which simplifies communication between the State of California and job applicants, leading to more efficient and less costly delivery of important employment notifications statewide. This bill will ensure that a job applicant will be contacted by an agency using a consistent method of communication. In addition to being environmentally and fiscally responsible, it reduces the need for paper copies of contact letters, exam scores, etc. and significantly reduces the amount of tax-payer dollars spent on printing and postage.
Mullin is also proud to have passed AJR-40 which urges Congress to take steps to reform the outdated and inadequate Official Poverty Measure developed in 1964. Poverty in California is serious, pervasive and far higher than official numbers suggest. The existing method does not take into consideration the variations in the cost-of-living in different areas of the country, nor the increase in child care expenses and for variations in health care coverage and out of pocket medical costs. AJR-40 passed out of both houses of the Legislature with overwhelming support.
Other bills awaiting the Governor’s signature include:
AB 1446 updates the California Elections Code to ensure that the privacy of Californians’ personal information is protected when applying to register to vote online with the assistance of a third party, such as at a voter registration drive. In addition, the bill updates the Student Voter Registration Act to reflect the implementation of online voter registration and encourage students to register to vote over the internet while registering for classes.
AB 1841 will help increase and improve patient access to care by clarifying that a medical assistant’s ability to provide “technical supportive services” will include handing over pre-labeled, pre-packaged medications, excluding controlled substances. Given the millions of patients who are newly eligible for health care coverage, providing medical assistants with this authority will help reduce waiting times, expand access and improve patient care and satisfaction in community clinics.
AB 1948 applies basic education standards to the position of County Treasurer-Tax Collector, ensuring those individuals charged with managing county finances are well-trained and fully qualified.
AB 2148 mandates a cross-agency workforce investment/career technical education dashboard using existing data collected by each major workforce program in an effort to increase enrollment in education and training programs that have documented payoffs for individuals and for regional economies. This legislation will also stimulate cross-system collaboration between the various adult education programs operated by the California Department of Education.
AB 2170 makes clear that Joint Powers Authorities may, consistent with their existing authority, increase revenue for important community projects subject to all voter approval requirements provided under Proposition 218 and Proposition 13.
AB 2536 modifies the category of Emergency Rescue Personnel in the California Labor Code to include members of state-organized or state-coordinated disaster medical response entities allowing persons participating in programs such as CAL-MAT to receive job protections for training and deployment activities.
AB 2386 will require the Department of Social Services to verify the presence of one or more qualifying carbon monoxide detectors in community care facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly and persons with chronic life-threatening illnesses as well as day care homes and facilities upon inspection for licensure. While current law requires a functioning carbon monoxide detector to be installed in all homes, there is not a specific requirement that the Department verify their presence in these care facilities.
AB 2690 addresses repeat DUI offenders and the unintended consequences in current statute that do not account for all DUI offenses in a 10 year period. This bill conforms the Vehicle Code with other statutes by changing the term “prior violations” to “separate violations”, ensuring that individuals who have separate DUI violations are penalized appropriately in a court of law.
I would like Assemblyman Mullin to enact legislation which prohibits fracking in our state. As we face our third year drought, and impending water rationing, fracking will contaminate our drinkable water as well as use 2.8 million gallons of water for one well, maybe more.
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking/faq/water-used