As a freshman legislator, it’s astounding to me how many times I’ve already come across scenarios in which common sense has failed to prevail. The latest is so aggravating, that I feel compelled to share.
AB35XXX was just put on “Suspense” by a vote of 7-5, with every Democrat voting for the Suspense motion, and every Republican voting against. The bill would have saved taxpayer dollars while minimizing the impact in the summer-break of the kids and parents who are being punished for a minor mistake made by Chino Valley Unified. The district miscalculated a few minutes in their bell schedule, forcing a few schools to extend their school year by 34 extra days…which in turn forced students and parents to cancel summer plans, vacations, camps, etc. This bill would have minimized the impact of that error.
The fact that the bill was put on the Senate Appropriations’ “Suspense File” only surprises me a little bit; after all this is not the first time that a common sense piece of legislation has been effectively killed that way. The most surprising aspect of what happened today was the comments made by Chairwoman Kehoe from San Diego. The total disregard for the parents, kids, and taxpayers, could not have come across more offensive. Even after being confronted with the fact that this bill would have NO fiscal impact (State Board of Education has stated they’re NOT interested in fining the district), her response was very telling. She wanted the bill in suspense, and nothing anyone said would change her mind. The bill passed the Assembly and Senate Education Committee with no opposition.
My staff is in the process of uploading the video for your viewing pleasure. My favorite part is when a representative from CTA stood in support of the bill, much to the displeasure and surprise of Chairwoman Kehoe, who looked dumbfounded and confused.
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll have to say it again: common sense is not prevalent in Sacramento. I’m looking forward to explaining to my constituents how such a simple bill with no opposition was killed by the Democrats…again.
PS: Thank you to Senators Cox, Walters, Wyland, Denham, and special thanks to Senator George Runner for standing up for the kids and the taxpayers.
July 13th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Did you get any Democratic Party support from Norma Torres and Gloria Mcleod who do also represent portions of the Chino school district? Maybe Gloria would of been helpful in helping to convince Senator Kehoe to move the bill out of suspense.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Assemblywoman Norma Torres is a principal co-author of this bill.