Brown signs bills by local politicians
Assembly and senate bills
In Gov. Jerry Brown’s late rush to dispatch more than 140 legislative bills before midnight Sunday, Assemblyman Mike Davis had three bills to make the cut—AB 420, AB 126 and AB 1329.
AB 420 requires the Department of Corrections to submit the last known address of inmates to the Citizens Commission on Redistricting every 10 years and requests that the Commission deem each inmate as residing at his or her last known address, rather than the correctional facility, for the purposes of establishing a population count when drawing district lines. The bill was signed by Brown on Friday. It effectively ends prison-based gerrymandering. Prior to AB 420 the state followed the practice of counting prisoners where they were incarcerated rather than their last known legal address.
AB 126, co-authored by Assemblymember Wilmer Carter (D-Rialto) ensures equity and transparency at all levels of the judicial selection process. It also increases fairness in the vetting process of judicial qualifications.
The signing of AB 1329 provides the California Department of Public Health with the necessary administrative tools to continue the operation of the statewide California Cancer Registry. The Registry will continue to provide the cancer community with clues about the causes of cancer, improved treatment methods, and the development of strategies for cancer screening and prevention. The latter two bills were signed Sunday.
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Sen. Curren D. Price Jr., chair of the Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders and the founder of the Special Needs Network, joined other state and local politicians along with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca to hail the signing of SB 946, which is considered a landmark victory for autism insurance coverage. The bill, signed Sunday, requires California insurance companies to provide coverage of behavior therapy for autism spectrum disorders as a medical benefit.
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SB 610, a measure by Sen. Roderick D. Wright (D-Inglewood) designed to create consistency in firearm licensing among various agencies and “keeps unqualified applicants from paying exorbitant fees prior to being declined,” was signed into law Sunday by Gov. Jerry Brown. Prior to that, a person wishing to obtain a concealed firearms permit had to apply to the sheriff or the police, pay a firearms training fee and complete a training course before it was determined that they had met the requirement to have a concealed firearm. “It is only fair that we tell someone whether or not they even qualify for a permit before we ask them to spend their time and hard-earned money on training that may serve them and the public no purpose,” said Wright.
A bill that authorizes dependent children to be eligible for coverage under group life insurance policies up to age 26 and maintains protections for older dependents with intellectual or developmental disabilities, has now become law.
This bill, SB 220 authored by Sen. Curren D. Price Jr. (D-26th District), mimics changes allowed in dependent coverage under the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). It was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 7.
Sunday, May 19, is a day when many in Los Angeles and surrounding cities will have an opportunity to be twice-blessed. On that day, many will go out to worship, but will also have the options of getting their physical health and mental health check-ups at the same time.
This Sunday is the day that first ladies of 35 local congregations will host free medical tests for illnesses that particularly target African Americans and Hispanics in the community.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — County officials today raised concerns about Gov. Jerry Brown’s plans to use anticipated savings under health care reform to pay for other programs for the poor.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca is scheduled to be interviewed today by federal prosecutors examining allegations of abusive conduct by sheriff’s deputies at L.A. County jails and other problems in his department, although the sheriff says he is not an investigation target, a newspaper reported.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas will host a candlelight vigil April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in commemoration of the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and in remembrance of those whose lives have been harmed by violence.
