Recent News in the 19th District

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and experts from the Department of Insurance joined me on May 2 for a Town Hall that was co-hosted by the City of San Bruno at its Senior Center. San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane welcomed us for the 90-minute presentation and question and answer session.

Here are some of the key points made by Commissioner Jones and his staff during the meeting. The tips were focused on seniors but can be useful to everyone:

• Never allow yourself to be pressured or intimidated by an insurance agent.
• Have a trusted person with you for meetings with an agent, especially if the meeting is in your home – never have meetings in your home when you are alone.
• Never sign anything you don't understand.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. The Department of Insurance staffs a hotline on weekdays during business hours:
  1-800-927-HELP (4357). Also, please feel free to call my District Office at 650-349-1900.

On April 30, I added provisions to my bill AB 41, which would require the California High Speed Rail Authority to abide by the same conflict of interest rules that other governmental bodies -- including the Public Utilities Commission and the Coastal Commission -- must follow.

The changes would extend the requirement to certain private consultants working with the authority. Those individuals would have to disclose their income sources and business relationships in accordance with the rules that are designed to prevent conflicts of interest.

I amended my legislation because recent investigative reports and audits showed that the work of the High-Speed Rail Authority is in need of even greater transparency. As the authority is about to embark on one of the most expensive public works projects in the nation's history, we've learned that decision makers at the highest levels, board members and peer review members, are not required to file statements of economic interest.

I originally introduced Assembly Bill 41 last year after it was revealed that members of the California High Speed Rail Authority are not held to the conflict of interest standards that apply to other governmental bodies. It was disclosed that two members of the authority received more than $10,000 in consulting fees from firms with financial interests in the project.

More recently, we learned that a transportation expert hired by the authority to prepare an independent review of ridership forecasts has worked for the company that prepared the estimate and has a close relationship with one of the firm's top executives.

As amended, Assembly Bill 41 would require any person who is under contract with the authority in a peer review capacity to file a Statement of Economic Interest with the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. If my legislation had been in effect, we would have known that the peer review consultant had a business relationship with the company that prepared the ridership forecast for the authority. Early disclosures of potential financial conflicts of interest are important to protect the public interest and prevent the peer review process from charges of corruption.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, the Junior Leagues of California and California Against Slavery, the advocacy group dedicated to eliminating human trafficking, are lending their support to AB 1940. My bill would help victims of sex trafficking, many of whom are lured into the trade as children, petition California courts to set aside prostitution-related convictions, clear court records of those offenses and seal the arrest records.

On April 30, District Attorney Gascon and representatives of California Against Slavery and the Junior Leagues of California joined me in a news conference with two sex-trafficking survivors to urge support of AB 1940. "T" and Dellena Hoyer, both of whom were trafficked as prostitutes before they reached their teens, offered personal accounts of how court and arrest records can haunt individuals even though they can prove that they were victims of sex trafficking and have since turned their lives around.

Ms. Hoyer, now a certified drug and alcohol counselor, said records of long-ago arrests can crop up during background checks for jobs and professional roles that require security clearance or licensure.

She testified before the Assembly Public Safety Committee in support of AB 1940 on May 8 and joined me for a news conference at the Capitol the same day. Ms. Hoyer, second from left below, joined Rosario Dowling from for California Against Slavery, me, District Attorney Gascon, Catherine Carlton of the Junior Leagues of California and "T" at a news conference at the State Building in San Francisco.

State Superintendent of Public Schools Tom Torlakson and I flipped the symbolic switch on a solar power installation at Westborough Middle School on March 30. The solar panel arrays at Westborough make up one of 15 installations in the South San Francisco Unified School District's Solar Power and Energy Efficiency Project with Chevron Energy Solutions.

The project is funded through Measure J, a local bond measure approved by voters in 2010 to improve school infrastructure and the learning environment for students. The SSFUSD effort is the largest K-12 solar and energy efficiency program in San Mateo County. The program is expected to reduce SSFUSD's utility costs by $20 million over the next 25 years.

The Humane Society Legislative Fund gave me 100% rating for my support of nine bills in 2011 that covered a range of animal protection issues. The fund released its annual ratings for legislators on March 20. Here's a list of the legislation:

SB 425, which increases fines and adds cockfighting to the profiteering statue
SB 426, which defines repeat animal fighting as a nuisance
SB 702, which requires release shelter animals to be microchipped
SB 917, which bans sales of animals along roadsides and in parking lots and increases animal neglect penalties
AB 258, which allows rabies exemptions for compromised dogs
AB 376, which prohibits sale, trade and distribution of shark fin
AB 564, which reauthorizes income tax check offs for the spay-neuter fund
AB 1117, which limits ownership of animals by convicts
AB 1121, which authorizes puppy provisional licensing

I have called for the state Public Utilities Commission to reject a PG&E proposal that would pass along 95 percent of the costs to repair natural gas pipelines to ratepayers -- instead of being absorbed by the company and its shareholders.

Mark Toney, the executive director of The Utility Reform Network, and I held to a news conference in San Francisco on March 19 to call attention to PG&E's attempt to push the burden for pipeline safety onto ratepayers following the natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno on September 9, 2010 that claimed eight lives and destroyed 38 homes.

Also, I again urged PUC President Michael Peevey to step aside as the head of the agency's investigation of PG&E and the gas pipeline disaster. Peevey appointed himself to the role.

On March 8, I joined Assemblymember Rich Gordon, San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley and Children Now Leader Ted Lempert to voice support for continued funding of early childhood education and child care during an event organized by First 5 San Mateo County at the College of San Mateo.

Proposed cuts would have a sweeping effect on children and their families, community advocates say. Assemblymember Gordon and I provided a legislative update to the more than 120 education and child care advocates and local leaders who attended.

On Friday, February 24, I joined students and educators at Burlingame High School to unveil legislation allowing schools and public buildings to increase the size of their solar installations in order to lower utility costs and put dollars in the classroom. The estimated savings could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars during the next three decades. Savings for schools will free up money to retain teachers and fund critical programs such as music and art.

Under current law, the state limits the size of solar system installations on publicly-owned facilities such as schools, colleges, and local government and state buildings that are eligible for net energy metering to one megawatt. As a result, large public sector buildings can only receive the energy bill savings associated with net metering for a small portion of their electricity usage. My legislation would increase the net metering system size limit to 5 megawatts for publicly-owned facilities and apply to new and existing installations. Of the 43 states that have adopted net metering policies, 22 of them do not place a limit on the size of the installation like we do in California.

On February 1, I joined The Utility Reform Network in calling on the PUC to ensure that consumers aren't forced to shoulder the burden for over 90% of pipeline repair costs requested by PG&E. I also presented an analysis that shows the true cost of PG&E's pipeline repair program is not the $2.2 billion which has been reported but will cost consumers more than $5 billion over 50 years. I believe that PG&E should be required to pay a greater share.

Click here to read the letter I submitted to the PUC.

Click here to read the cost summary and explanation.

Click here to read the cost charts and calculations.

Thank you to the City of Palo Alto and Assemblymembers Richard Gordon and Paul Fong for making the January 26 gas pipeline safety forum a success. Residents heard from the Public Utilities Commission and PG&E on safety improvements that have been made since the tragic pipeline explosion in San Bruno in 2010 and upcoming work scheduled for pipeline testing and replacement along the Peninsula.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here to read the article.

On January 25 I sent a letter to the Governor asking that he urge the PUC to appoint a more appropriate Commissioner to oversee the penalty proceeding against PG&E for the 2010 natural gas disaster in San Bruno that will determine if PG&E violations of law contributed to the fatal explosion which killed 8 people, injured over 50 (including 10 serious injuries), and destroyed 38 homes.

Click here to read the letter.

Click here to read the article.

Read editorials in support of our efforts from the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News.

11-15-11 – Over 200 residents turned out to learn more about the recently released business plan from the High-Speed Rail Authority.

Click here to watch the news video.

Click here to learn more about the business plan and submit your public comment which is due by January 15, 2012.

10-10-11 – I joined Governor Brown and BOE Member Betty Yee in announcing global solar leader SunEdison's corporate headquarter relocation from Maryland to Belmont which will bring hundreds of jobs to the region. The move was made possible through legislation I authored which clarified the types of financing mechanisms that can be used to reduce the costs of solar installations for homeowners and businesses.

Click here to watch the news video.

Click here to watch the announcement video.

Click here to read the article.

On June 28th the Governor signed my legislation which clarifies the types of financing mechanisms that can be used to make it more affordable for people to install solar on their homes. Not only will ABX1 15 provide tax certainty for solar companies located within California, but it will also help our state be more competitive with other parts of the country. One example is Maryland-based SunEdison, one of the world's largest solar firms, who plans to relocate their corporate headquarters to the city of Belmont. SunEdison, which is continuing to work with state officials to complete the relocation, plans to move about 100 employees from Maryland and San Francisco to its new Belmont facility and add more than 400 new staff.

Click here to read the article.

On May 20th I partnered with State Controller John Chiang and the Governor's Office of Economic Development to help local businesses utilize financing programs and learn about tax compliance issues, tax incentives and much more. The event was attended by over 100 people and featured presentations by the Franchise Tax Board, IRS, State Board of Equalization, Employment Development Department, and a Small Business Development Center.

Click here to access the state's Small Business Assistance Center.

Click here to access the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

On May 13th I joined labor leaders and Brisbane officials to introduce legislation eliminating a tax break which allows companies to fire employees in one part of the state then move locations and receive $37,000 in taxpayer dollars for each employee hired at the new location.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here to read the article.

Jerry Hill spoke with youth at the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club for the unveiling of his legislation to reduce the sale of tobacco to minors. Under current law, a store has to get caught selling cigarettes to minors eight times in a two-year period before its license to sell tobacco products can be revoked.

"With 90 percent of adult smokers having started before the age of 19, it's imperative that the state fully utilize its laws to prevent the sale of cigarettes to minors," Hill said. If a store gets caught selling to minors three times they get their license suspended. According to a 2009 survey by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one out of four high school students were current tobacco users. Smoking-related diseases remain the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, claiming the lives of 438,000 Americans annually.

Hill was joined by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, local police chief's, Youth Leadership Institute, Asian American Recovery Services, San Mateo County Tobacco Education Coalition, American Lung Association in California, Breathe California, and the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Click here to watch the video (Spanish).

Click here to read the article.

3-21-11 - Assembly Bill 56, which would place new safety standards on utilities and regulators to hold them more accountable, was approved by the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce by a 9-0 vote. "This bill makes regulators more accountable for ensuring the safety of our state’s aging pipeline infrastructure and makes a number of common sense reforms based on what we've learned from the San Bruno explosion," said Hill, who represents the city.

Assembly Bill 56, which Hill introduced after the explosion of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pipeline killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes last Sept. 9, would require the PUC to consider the safety record of utilities when determining the rates that they will be allowed to charge customers. If utilities are penalized by the PUC for violating safety standards, the responsibility for paying the fines would fall on shareholders of the companies, not ratepayers. The legislation also would require the PUC to establish minimum standards governing the installation of either automatic and/or remote gas pipeline shutoff valves when feasible.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to read the editorial.

Jerry Hill introduced legislation capping pensions for all public employees in California who make more than $245,000 a year. Assembly Bill 89 would close a loophole that allows tax-exempt institutions like the University of California to award pension benefits to public employees above the federal limit.

Click here to read the San Francisco Chronicle Article