Friends,
My March E-News is now available. It contains brief descriptions of the legislation I am carrying this year, information about several programs that offer tax assistance and the possibility of recovering some of your money from state government. There is also an update on how to sign up for your Snoopy license plate and support California's museums. Click the links below to read about these items and more.
IN THIS ISSUE:
•A NOTE FROM TONI•SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
•ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES AND PRIVACY
•HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR YOUR SNOOPY PLATE YET?
•DOES THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAVE SOME OF YOUR MONEY?
•OUTSTANDING PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS YOUTH
•NEED LEGAL HELP WITH TAX ISSUES?
•PROGRESS ON SAFETY FOR PREGNANT WOMEN IN PRISON
•AROUND THE CAPITOL AND THE DISTRICT
Warmly,
Toni Atkins
Majority Leader
78th Assembly District
A NOTE FROM TONI
Every March since 1980, Americans have observed Women's History Month, an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of women. This year, the theme for Women's History month is “Celebrating Women of Courage, Character and Commitment,” in recognition of the tenacity and determination women have displayed in achieving their goals in every arena of life. For more information about Women's History Month and this year's national honorees, please visithttp://www.nwhp.org/.
As a woman in elected office, I naturally have a particular interest in the important role women play in government leadership positions. Unfortunately, while we have made strides in many arenas, here in California we have actually gone backward in terms of women in the State Legislature. In 2003, California's legislature ranked sixth in the nation for women members. A decade later, we had slipped to the 19th position. During that time, we went from 31% of the state legislature to only 25%. Only 19 of the 80 members of the Assembly are women.
One big reason for those numbers is that women just don't run for office as often as men do. Research has shown that, unlike men, women usually wait to be asked to run, rather than self-nominating. When women do run, they win just as often as men do, but as they say about the state lottery, “You can't win if you don't play.”
I have to admit that it never occurred to me when I was a young woman that I might end up as an elected government official, much less as the Majority Leader of the State Assembly and soon expected to become the Assembly Speaker (only the third woman to hold that post.) I initially ran for office because my mentor, former State Senator Christine Kehoe, encouraged me to.
We all lose out when half of the talent remains on the sidelines. California needs the policy know-how and leadership skills that women offer. In addition, in my observation, women give voice to experiences that only they have lived. And everyone – men and women – benefits.
This Women's History Month I urge you to encourage women you know to run for office. If you are a woman, don't wait for someone to ask you. In 2016, there is a significant window of opportunity, with 19 seats open in the Assembly and 8 open in the State Senate. After that, the opportunities diminish, due to changes in term limits that allow legislators to remain in office longer.
There are a number of organizations that provide support and resources to women running for office. Emerge California identifies and trains women candidates through an intensive seven-month program. More information is available at http://www.emergeca.org/home. Close the Gap CA is focused entirely on the California state legislature. You can find out more about them athttp://closethegapca.org/. The California List http://californialist.org/ also supports women candidates statewide, with an emphasis on connecting them to financial donors. In San Diego, Run Women inspires, recruits, trains, mentors and supports pro-choice women for elected and appointed local offices. Find them at http://www.runwomenrun.org/. I will honor Barbara Bry, one of Run Women Run's founders, as my Woman of the Year this month. Read more about her below.
Warmly,
On March 10th, I will honor Barbara Bry, as my “Woman of the Year” for the 78th Assembly District in a special ceremony on the Assembly floor. Barbara describes herself a successful serial for-profit and non-profit entrepreneur whose passion is leveling the playing field for women.
Currently, the La Jolla resident is the chief operating officer of Blackbird Ventures, which invests in and incubates early stage technology companies. In addition, she and her husband Neil Senturia teach entrepreneurship at University of California San Diego and write a weekly column on entrepreneurship for U-T San Diego. She is the founder and executive director of Run Women Run, a non-partisan group focused on inspiring, recruiting, training and supporting San Diego pro-choice women for elected and appointed offices.
In the for-profit area, Barbara was on the founding team of Provide Commerce-Proflowers.com and Atcom/Info, a software company that pioneered high-speed Internet access in hotel rooms.
In the non-profit area, she is the founder of San Diego Athena, which has more than 500 members and is the leading professional organization for women in the San Diego technology and life sciences community. She was also the first editor of the non-profit investigative news site Voice of San Diego and she was the first associate director of CONNECT, which has received international recognition for its role in nurturing early stage tech and life sciences companies.
In the community, Barbara serves on the board of CONNECT, the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego and the San Diego Jewish Women’s Foundation. She previously served on the board of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. She is also a member of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists.
She has received numerous honors including the KPBS Local Heroes Award, the CONNECT Lifetime Contribution Award/Technology, the Athena President’s Award, recognition as a “Woman Who Means Business” by the San Diego Business Journal, the Sara Moser Award from Planned Parenthood in recognition of her advocacy efforts for women, and she has been inducted into the San Diego Women’s Hall of Fame.
Barbara has a BA degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters’ in business administration degree from Harvard Business School. She and her husband Neil have four children between the ages of 27 and 32.
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES AND PRIVACY FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEAD MY 2014 LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE
This is the second year of a two-year legislative session in Sacramento, providing an opportunity to both continue work on measures that did not move all the way through the process last year and to address new issues that have come to my attention recently. Following are highlights of the bills I have introduced.
Streamlining the Process of Dissolving Redevelopment – AB 471 is the first bill signed into law by Governor Brown this year. It clarifies and resolves issues that have arisen during the course of the dissolution of the state’s redevelopment agencies (RDAs) brought to my attention by local entities called successor agencies, which are charged with implementing the dissolution process. AB 471 removes impractical and unrealistic barriers to the completion of valuable and appropriate projects that were in the pipeline when redevelopment was eliminated.
Governor Brown signs AB 471
Liability Insurance for Assisted Living Facilities – AB 1523 is designed to ensure that residents of assisted living facilities, also called residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), are financially protected in the event of injury or death by requiring the facilities to carry liability insurance coverage. Currently, there is no such requirement and many facilities are without insurance. This bill will also protect the facilities financially in the event of litigation. AB 1523 is sponsored by Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform (CARR) and jointly authored with Assemblymembers Shirley Weber, Brian Maienschein and Marie Waldron of San Diego.
Confidentiality for Domestic Violence Victims – AB 1623 will encourage survivors of domestic violence to seek assistance by ensuring the confidentiality of all personal information they may reveal to staff at domestic violence assistance centers called Family Justice Centers. Sometimes, it is critical that victims of abuse share personal, private information with the people who are trying to help them. They may have other problems in their lives that bear on the abuse and it is important for service providers to have a full picture. The most important first step in addressing abuse is to get the victim, and any children involved, into a safe and healthy situation. If victims fears that they might get in trouble by trying to escape an abusive environment, they are not likely to seek help.
Improving Our Regional Public Safety Communications – AB 2149 enables the San Diego and Imperial Counties to replace their outdated regional communications system with newer technology through a competitive process. This system serves our region’s 911 dispatchers and first responders. My bill will ensure that both quality and cost are considered during the process to select a replacement system.
Respect After Death for Transgender People – AB 1577 ensures that the wishes of transgender people with respect to their gender identity are respected in the process of completing official death certificates. This bill requires that death certificates reflect the gender on other official documents, such as a driver’s license or birth certificate, if the person had the document formally changed following a gender transition.
Funding for Affordable Housing: In addition to my own legislation, I am a principal co-author of SB 391, Senator Mark DeSaulnier’s California Home and Jobs Act. This bill addresses the fact that, with the dissolution of redevelopment and the exhaustion of funds from previous voter-approved bonds, there is currently no permanent source of statewide funding for building housing for low and moderate income Californians. Yet, with the high cost of living in California and a high rate of homelessness, the need for such housing is great. SB 391 levies a small fee on non-residential real estate transactions to create a fund for this purpose. This bill passed the Senate last year and is now scheduled to be considered by the Assembly.
Additional detail about these bills and other legislative proposals that may be brought forward in the coming months can be found on my website.
California’s most famous beagle cheered me on as I signed up for my Snoopy license plate to benefit California museums.
With Peanuts character Snoopy looking over my shoulder, I recently signed up to be one of the first to receive a Snoopy license plate, the proceeds from which will benefit California museums. The plate, which features an original drawing by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz of the famous beagle doing his signature twirling feet dance, was authorized with the passage of my bill AB 482 last year, and is now available to the public.
Like all specialty license plates, the Snoopy plate will cost $50, plus another $48 if motorists want their plate personalized. DMV will begin issuing the plates once at least 7,500 prepaid requests have been received online. Requests for the plate may be submitted atwww.Snoopyplate.com. Almost 3,000 people have already requested the plate so far. You can help us reach our goal by signing up, too.
I will proudly display my Snoopy plate on my car to show my support for the many California cultural institutions that will be supported from its proceeds. From art museums to zoos, these large and small institutions preserve our heritage, bring joy to visitors, and help us know who we are as Californians. I am grateful to Snoopy and the Schulz family for their partnership in this effort.
The State of California is currently in possession of more than $6.9 billion in Unclaimed Property belonging to approximately 24.9 million individuals and organizations. The State acquires unclaimed property through California's Unclaimed Property Law, which requires "holders" such as corporations, business associations, financial institutions, and insurance companies to annually report and deliver property to the Controller's Office after there has been no customer contact for three years. Often the owner forgets that the account exists or moves and does not leave a forwarding address or the forwarding order expires. In some cases, the owner dies and the heirs have no knowledge of the property.
The most common types of Unclaimed Property are bank accounts and safe deposit box contents; stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and dividends; uncashed cashier's checks or money orders; certificates of deposit; matured or terminated insurance policies; estates; and mineral interests and royalty payments, trust funds, and escrow accounts.
To see if any of your money is in one of these unclaimed property accounts, you can search State Controller John Chiang’s database at https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/Default.aspx. Instructions for submitting a claim are also on the Controller’s website. A new eClaim feature allows you to submit your claim online for single-owner accounts worth less than $500.
This program really can produce a nice surprise for people. A representative from the Controller’s Office briefed attendees at the Senior Scam Stopper seminar I hosted last month. One of those attendees went home and told her friends. Among them they recovered $35,000 in unclaimed property within just a few weeks!
StandUp For Kids began as a local program started by volunteers in San Diego in 1990. It has now grown into a national non-profit charity with operations in 16 states and the District of Columbia. They remain a nearly all-volunteer organization. Their operating costs are so low that nationally they are able to spend 94% of all donations directly on the youth in their program.
Standup For Kids strives to provide life-saving and outreach services to homeless street kids and at-risk youth. It is primarily a nighttime program, with volunteers walking the streets in the evening, distributing food, clothing, hygiene products, resource information, and referrals. They offer a toll-free number where the kids can reach a Standup for Kids counselor in each of their cities nationwide. Standup for Kids also teaches youth basic "life skills" for surviving on the street and to help them build a foundation away from street life. They also run a youth drop-in center.
The flagship chapter of Standup for Kids ironically now finds itself about to be homeless because their current location is scheduled to become condominiums. Can you help them find a home?
They need to rent a location that is at least 5,000 square feet. Even an empty warehouse that needs to be built out might fill their need. Closeness to public transportation is a must, as the children they serve rarely have cars. Their preferred neighborhoods are Downtown, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, Old Town, or Golden Hill.
If you know of a space that might work for them, please contact Standup For Kids center director Heather Fitzgerald at heather@atgtraining.com or call Rachel in my San Diego office at 619-645-3090.
The Legal Aid Society of San Diego provides a free walk-in tax clinic at the San Diego Law Library on the last Wednesday of every month, from 2 pm to 4 pm.
A tax attorney provides advice and representation to San Diego taxpayers who are faced with an IRS controversy such as audits, liens, appeals, and wage garnishments. The Clinic will screen taxpayers for eligibility as low-income taxpayers and then will provide an initial consultation. When there is merit to a case, the Clinic will represent taxpayers in Tax Court if necessary. Taxpayers should bring all IRS paperwork and related documents (tax returns, notices, etc) with them.
The San Diego Law Library is located at 1105 Front St., San Diego CA 92101
Jesse Stout, Policy Director for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, joined me to release a report on progress one year after my legislation to ban shackling of pregnant prisoners was enacted.
I recently joined advocates for pregnant women who are incarcerated in releasing a report on compliance with legislation I carried in 2012 that prohibits the most dangerous forms of shackling. The report states that while 21 of California’s 58 counties have fully complied with the law, the remaining counties have either not fully complied, not complied at all, or did not respond to inquiries.
I am proud to be the author of legislation that protects both public safety and the health and welfare of pregnant prisoners and their newborns. I applaud the counties that have fully complied with this new law, such as San Diego and Los Angeles. Having said that, in almost two-thirds of our state’s counties, pregnant prisoners are still being put at risk. It is my hope that in the very near future that will no longer be the case.
AB 2530 became law in January 2013. It prohibits the use of behind-the-back handcuffs, belly chains, and leg irons on pregnant prisoners. These practices endanger the health of the woman and the outcome of her pregnancy. A little more than one year later, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC), one of the sponsors of AB 2530, contacted each county to determine the extent of compliance with the new law.
Thirty-two counties continue to have written policies that do not comply with the law, either because they permit the prohibited restraints, do not acknowledge that a woman’s doctor has authority to order the restraints removed, or do not inform prisoners of their rights. Two counties have not complied at all with the new law and three counties failed to respond to inquiries. LSPC will continue to work with state and county officials to bring all facilities into compliance.
Shackling makes pregnant women unsteady on their feet. They also make it extremely difficult to treat a woman in a medical emergency. Women in correctional facilities are more likely to experience miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, pre-term birth, and low birth weight than other pregnant women.
To find out how your county is doing implementing AB 2530, read the report “No More Shackles”online.
It was my pleasure to recently greet the attendees of the annual dinner of the San Diego chapter of the Black American Political Action Committee of California. BAPAC focuses on issues of concern to the African American community.Their 2014 priorities include educational opportunity, healthcare and safety, jobs, and voter engagement.
Here I am with my Capitol staff at the Legislature’s annual bowling competition. I am proud to report that I had the second highest score among my legislative colleagues.
I recently attended the dedication of the new Episcopal Church Center in Ocean Beach. The Right Reverend James R. Mathes, to my right, leads our local diocese, which covers San Diego, Imperial, Yuma, and part of Riverside counties. The new Church Center will house offices and meeting space and a school of ministry and will offer services to the community, including food distribution, community meals, a medical clinic, and a program for homeless teens.
San Diego Housing Commission President and CEO Rick Gentry joined me to address the monthly luncheon of the San Diego Mexican American Business and Professional Association (MAPBA) about the latest in Sacramento, with an emphasis on housing issues. MABPA holds a regular series of programs that highlight local civic issues and connect community leaders with their members. To my right is their President, Josie Calderon.
I was very pleased to be able to introduce two small business owners from my district on the Floor of the Assembly recently. Jack Conca and Jennafer Grace Carter own Mr. Frosties in Pacific Beach. Jack is the third generation owner of Mr. Frosties – an iconic PB staple that was started in 1942 by his grandfather. Frosties serves tens of thousands of visitors a year and has provided many young PB kids with their first job. Here, Jack and Jennifer are waving from the Assembly Gallery. Thanks for visiting!
Website: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/Atkins
Email: Assemblymember Atkins
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0078
Tel: (916) 319-2078
Fax: (916) 319-2178 District Office:
1350 Front St.,
Room 6054
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: (619) 645-3090
Fax: (619) 645-3094
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