Tom Hayden

SB 57, Chapter 983, Statutes of 2000 Santa Monica Bay Restoration - Requires the Resources Agency and the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project to recommend to the Legislature the most efficient and environmentally sound measures to coordinate state policies to restore and enhance Santa Monica Bay. Also establishes the Project in state statute under the Cal EPA.

SB 335, Chapter 985, Statutes of 2000 The Brandi Mitock Safe Drivers Act - Establishes minimum vision standards for licensed California drivers. This Act further requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to administer written, vision and behind-the-wheel tests to drivers reported as unsafe by either a doctor, law enforcement officer of family member of the reported driver.

SB 1360, Chapter 750, Statutes of 2000 Maintaining an Independent Watchdog for LAUSD - Reauthorizes subpoena power authority for LAUSD's independent Inspector General in order to prevent waste of tax-payer dollars, fraud and conflict-of-interest in the $7 billion school district.

SB 1632, Chapter 996, Statutes of 2000 (Hayden & Poochigian) Parents-Right-to Know about Educational Opportunity - Requires schools to disclose key data to parents on important educational factors, such as the school's graduation rate and the availability of qualified teachers, up-to-date textbooks, academic counselors, and college-prep (AP) courses. Allows parents to compare the academic performance and education factors of the school with other schools in the district and in the state.

SB 1721, Chapter 752, Statutes of 2000 Ethnic Studies Institutes in the CSU - Authorizes California State University Trustees to establish an Institute for Central American Studies at CSU Northridge, an African-American Political Studies Institute at CSU Northridge, and a Center on Portuguese Studies at CSU, Stanislaus.

SB 1737, Chapter 1038, Statutes of 2000 UC Colloquium on Slavery - Requires the University of California to assemble a colloquium of scholars and historians to analyze the economic benefits of slavery that accrued to slave owners and businesses, including insurance companies and report to the Legislature by January 2002. This further requires the state library to participate in the research effort with particular focus on the use of chattel slavery, including indentured servitude, in California.

SB 1888, Chapter 891, Statutes of 2000 Child Labor Protections - In response to CIA's report that 50,000 women and children from developing countries "are brought into the United State under false pretenses each year and forced to work as prostitutes, abused laborers or servants," prohibits state procurement of goods produced by "extreme forms of child labor" such as slavery, prostitution, child pornography, drug trafficking, and exploitation of child labor in sweatshops. This law provides an enforcement mechanism, including penalties for non-compliant contractors, such as voiding the contract, fines, or removal from the bidders' list for one year, at the discretion of the agency.

SB 2098, Chapter 659, Statutes of 2000 Protection against CYA Psychotropic Medications Abuses - Requires the California Youth Authority to develop a protocol for the distribution of psychotropic medications prescribed to youth in its care. This law requires that psychologists of the Youth Authority after July 1999 be either licensed by the state of California upon employment or within three years after employment if the psychologist is hired upon completion of school.

SB 2199, Chapter 934, Statutes of 2000 Disclosure of the Slavery Era Insurance Policies Covering Slaveholders' Losses for Damages to or Death on Slaves - Requires the state insurance commissioner to request and obtain from insurance companies doing business in California any records of slaveholder insurance policies issued by any predecessor corporation during the Slavery Era that provided coverage to slaveholders for damage to or death of their slaves. It also requires the commissioner to issue a report of its findings.

SCR 71, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2000 Endangered Wild Salmon Protection - Requires the Department of Fish & Game to investigate the potential impacts of genetically-engineered salmon on California's wild salmon on the state and federal endangered species lists. Introducing genetically-engineered genes into the wild stock can be dangerous because genetically-engineered salmon grow to double the size of normal salmon, but swim slower, have lower muscle mass, and reproduce less successfully than wild salmon.

SR 34, Adopted 8/29/00 Impact of Biotechnology - Requires the Senate Office of Research to review the impact of biotech on California's health as well as on the economy, and to report to the Senate whether a revision of SCR 170 passed in 1985, endorsing the biotech industry in California is needed.

SR 36, Adopted 9/1/00 U.S. Drug War in Colombia - Expresses the Senate's deep concern over the escalating U.S. drug war in Colombia and calls on the federal government to focus on facilitating peace talks, developing sustainable economic development alternatives to drug production and trafficking. And urges the U.S. government to give greater emphasis to drug prevention, education and treatment than to war in Latin America as a means of addressing drug consumption in California and the United States.

SR 38, Adopted 8/31/00 The Legislature's Role in Global Trade Policy - Establishes the Senate Select Committee to assess and monitor impact of international trade agreements that may impact California's economy, procurement and trade policies, environment, and public health and human rights concerns.

SR 39, Adopted 8/31/00 Removal of Punitive and Additional Sentence Based on Assertion of Innocence - Requests the Judicial Council to review existing sentencing rules allowing a defendant's maintaining his or her innocence after conviction to be considered a factor in aggravation, resulting in the denial of probation or a longer sentence.

2000 Vetoed Legislation

SB 118 Family Care and Medical Leave Protection for Domestic Partners, Grandparents, Siblings and Adult Children - Would expand the California Family Rights Act to allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave of unpaid absence to care for a seriously ill domestic partner, adult child, grandparent or sibling. Current law permits such leave of absence only to care for a sick parent, spouse or dependent child.

SB 1097 Enhancement of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Car Washing Industry - Would improve enforcement of labor laws in the car wash industry and facilitates car wash workers' ability to obtain relief from employers who violate worker protection laws relating to child labor, minimum wage, overtime, occupational safety and health, and workers' compensation. Would require car wash employers to register with the Labor Commissioner and exempts from registration those employers with good labor practices.

SB 1149 Family Care and Medical Leave Protection for Domestic Partners, Grandparents, Siblings and Adult Children - Like SB 118, would provide employees an unpaid family care and medical leave to care for a seriously ill domestic partner, adult child, grandparent or sibling.

SB 1512 Plan for Los Angeles Parks and Open Space - Would convene a conference on Los Angeles Parks and Open Space, with the review period beginning with the 1930 Olmstead report on the future of Los Angeles Parks to the present, and make recommendations for updating the parks plan, taking into consideration parks and open space for the poor and disadvantaged communities in the basin.

SB 1514 Healthfulness of Genetically Engineered Food in School Lunches - Would mandate the State Department of Education to review the nutritional value of school lunches, with particular emphasis on the healthfulness of genetically engineered food and to examine, among other problems, childhood obesity and bone loss.

SB 1516 Proactive Rulemaking and Environment Protection in the Era of the World Trade Organization - Would require the secretary for Environmental Protection and the secretary of the Resources Agency to review and assess existing and proposed international trade agreements that may lead to challenges to California laws and regulations concerning the environment.

SB 1566 Proactive Legislature and Global Fair Labor Standards in the Era of the World Trade Organization - Would require the director of the Department of Industrial Relations to review and assess existing and proposed international trade agreements that may negatively impact California labor standards.

SB 1630 Assisted Reproductive Technologies Safety - Would regulate assisted reproductive technologies by mandating physicians to provide to all patients receiving treatment for infertility a written disclosure on, among other things, side effects of drugs used to promote egg production and the dangers of multiple pregnancy.

SB 1710 Accountability on Public Subsidies - Would enact the 2000 Public Subsidies, Public Benefits Act requiring the Legislative Analyst to complete reviews of the economic and employment impacts of selected state business tax expenditures and public subsidies by the state.

SB 1729 Seismic Hazard Review for New School Constructions - Based on the recommendations of the Seismic Safety Commission, would require school districts to complete seismic hazards review of all new school sites before construction begins to prevent the siting of schools on strike-slip faults, such as the proposed Belmont High School which is on a strike-slip fault. Currently, only those school sites within an "Alquist-Priolo Seismic Zone" had to be studied for seismic hazards.

SB 1765 Due Process for Car Impoundment - Would eliminate the Vehicle Code provisions for impoundment of cars driven by a driver whose driver's licenses was suspended for his financial inability to pay traffic tickets and keep all of current car impoundment law designed to prevent the vehicles of dangerous or drunk drivers off the road. Currently, a car can be impounded for economic reasons, which disproportionately impacts the poor and places a further barrier to Welfare-to-Work participants' entrance to the workforce.

SB 1978 Fair Collect Call Rates for the Families of Prisoners - Would alleviate the exorbitant rates for collect phone calls paid by the families and loved ones of prison inmates by requiring the state to contract with the phone service provider that could provide the lowest rates to families and loved ones of prison inmates, while allowing the phone service provider to make a reasonable profit and the state to recoup any costs associated with maintaining the contract.

SB 2097 Research on Wrongful Convictions of Innocent People - Requests the University of California and private postsecondary institutions for the creation of law school projects that undertake teaching and research on wrongful convictions of innocent persons, the causes of wrongful convictions and possible remedies.

2000 Budget Items

* Pay Raise for Jurors from $5 to $15 a Day

* $19.1 million to increase jurors' compensation from $5 to $15 a day to help offset jurors' loss of income while on jury duty and to improve juror participation. This increase was long overdue: the $5 was among the nation's lowest, and there was no increase since 1957. (Senate Budget Subcommittee 2, Hayden, 2000)

Report on Contaminated Marine Life
Required the Department of Fish & Game and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to sample and report on the contaminants found in marine fish. Increasing the public's awareness on such contamination is critical, particularly in Santa Monica and San Francisco Bays where many common fish, such as White Croaker, caught are consumed, but heavily contaminated with PCBs, Dioxin and other toxic chemicals.

Children's Health Standards
Established a Children's Health Unit in the Cal EPA and required it to develop children's health standards, a key to preventing health and developmental problems in children exposed to toxins. Toxic exposure standards set based on the physiology of a 170 pound male are inadequate for children as they have different tolerances, and exposure at low levels may cause problems because of the phase of physical development a child is going through.

Support for Children's Theater for Low-Income Kids in Los Angeles
Secured $115,000 in the budget to support award-winning children's theater for over 3,000 low-income children, and to provide necessary stage repairs at Theatre West- one of LA County's two unionized children's theater companies.

More Academic Tutors in K-12
$5 million to expand the successful Student Academic Partnership Program (tutoring program) from K-6 to grades K-12. This program allows school districts to hire college students as tutors in low-performing schools.

Promoting Service by College Students
Successfully pressured the Governor to expand service learning programs in the higher education. The Governor opposed my proposal to expand service learning in all California colleges and universities by $5 million, but in the end provided $2.2 for the CSU.

Support for a Joint Gang-Intervention Project of CSU Los Angeles and LA County Sheriff
Secured $300,000 for a joint project between the California State University of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for a gang-intervention program that prepared "at risk" youth and former gang members for university enrollment while getting their names deleted from the Cal Gang Database.

RECOGNITIONS
Named Legislator of the Year by:
* UC Student Lobby
* CSU Student Association
* Community College Student Association
* League of Conservation Voters
* Paw-PAC (animal welfare)
* President's Award, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
* Public Service (Pipil) Award, Association of Salvadorans in LA
* President's Award, American Lung Association
* Cal-PIRG
* "Conscience of the Senate" (Dan Walters, Sac. Bee)