(SACRAMENTO, CA)— Now midway through the 2018 legislative session, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) is geared up for a full week of Assembly floor votes to send the remainder of his bill package onto the Senate. Last Friday, he safely ushered eight bills out of the Appropriations suspense file, and they have now joined his list floor vote eligible measures.
Yesterday, the Assembly voted to approve legislative initiatives of great significance to Garcia and the 56th District spanning from healthcare (AB 2029, E. Garcia), veteran services (AB 1873, Obernolte/E. Garcia), human trafficking (AB 2124, Rubio and AB 1182, Cervantes), and public safety (AB 1747, Rodriguez and AB 1798, Chu). He has provided the following recap highlighting the day’s successes:
“Federally Qualified Health Clinics and Rural Health Clinics serve a significant portion of the uninsured and underinsured. They have been indispensable and vital to providing unprecedented health care services to many rural and farmworker communities in my district. AB 2029, would expand the definition of a change in service scope relating to operating costs attributable to capital expenditures to include the adoption, implementation, or upgrade of a certified electronic health system for Federally Qualified Clinics and Rural Health Clinics.”
“Following, Memorial Day weekend, Assemblymember Obernolte and I were proud to see AB 1873 pass favorably out of the Assembly. This bill will save veterans from being charged an additional fee for a veteran designation on their license. AB 1873 is one of a dozen measures I have carried this year in conjunction with several of my colleagues to expand veteran resources and services.”
“We took up two critical initiatives to combat human trafficking championed by Assemblymembers Cervantes and Rubio. AB 1882 would make it a felony to contact a minor with the intent to engage in human trafficking. This would help address the growing epidemic of targeting minors through the internet. Additionally, AB 2124 establishes a program within the Office of Emergency Services to provide funding and technical assistance to district attorney offices for vertical prosecution of human trafficking crimes.”
“In the wake of the amplified onslaught of tragedies occurring across on school campuses nationwide, it was paramount for me to stand alongside my colleague Assemblymember Rodriguez’s initiative to take a proactive approach for active shooter procedures. As a parent of public school students myself, I am deeply concerned about the safety of my children while at school. AB 1747 would require schools to include procedures for active shooter situations in their School Safety Plans. It would also mandate annual active shooter drills and greater guidance and oversight of safety plans from the California Department of Education.”
“Assemblymember Chu’s AB 1798 would require all school buses to have seatbelts by July 1, 2035. This bill picks up on our work last year with SB 20 (Hill/E. Garcia), legislation I put forward following a deadly bus crash that killed thirteen people in my district.”
“These heightened school precautions and the mandatory use of seatbelts will help enhance the safety of our students and spare precious lives.”
