Battles Won - Battles Lost
2000, 1999, 1997-1998, 1995-1996, 1993-1994, 1992, 1991, 1989-1990, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983
1983
AAB 1207, Chapter 524, Statutes of 1983 Funding for Boating Safety- Requiring that revenues received for launching boats in state parks be earmarked in the General Fund for the State Parks and Recreation Department's use in boating safety and enforcement programs.
AB 1524, Chapter 647, Statutes of 1983 Community Colleges: Finance- States the Legislature's intent to reduce the disparities in revenues allocated to community college districts in the 1982-83 fiscal year and beyond.
AB 1600, Chapter 1094, Statutes of 1983 Balloon Mortgage Payments- Requires the holder of a balloon payment note which is secured by a mortgage or deed of trust upon residential property to give the homeowner written notice at least 90 days but not more than 150 days before the final payment is due.
AB 2035, Chapter 454, Statutes of 1983 Rebuilding Santa Monica and Malibu Piers- Permits the placement of structural pilings for public recreational piers in open waters within the coastal zone. When the winter storms wrecked the local piers in 1983, I succeeded in getting $1 million for repairs and this legislation which was necessary to permit the rebuilding in the coastal zone.
AB 2158, Chapter 1164, Statutes of 1983 Energy Conservation Tax Credit- Provided a continuing income tax credit for the installation of energy conservation measures on property owned by the taxpayer.
ACR 40, Reso. Chapter 106, Statutes of 1983 Disabled Veterans: Health Care Services - Requests that the Department of Health Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs jointly take action to address the health care problems of disabled veterans by seeking the cooperation of health care services in accepting VA's fee basis and authorizing actions.
AJR 22, Reso. Chapter 87, Statutes of 1983 Disabled Veterans: Health Care Services- Requests the President and Congress to direct the Veteran's Administration to improve the system by which private physicians receive reimbursement for treatment of disabled veterans.
AJR 15, Reso. Chapter 15, Statutes of 1983 Hazardous Waste Sites- Asks the President to direct the US Environmental Protection Agency to expedite the implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. It further requests a full investigation of the conduct of the Superfund program by the EPA.
AJR 28, Reso. Chapter 38, Statues of 1983 Neighborhood Watch Programs- Requests the President and Congress to enact the provisions of the 1983 Justice Assistance Act to assure that priority is given under the act for "neighborhood watch" crime prevention programs.
AJR 32, Reso. Chapter 84, Statues of 1983 Federal Student Financial Aid- Requests the President and the Congress to maintain federal student financial aid as a priority, to prevent further reductions in student aid funding.
The Community College Fee Battle, 1983-84.
My toughest battle as a freshman was leading the opposition to fees at community colleges, which had been tuition-free since their inception in California. It drove me crazy that state government was abandoning the right to a free public higher education. Under President Reagan and Gov. Deukmejian, the goal was to destroy these so-called liberal entitlement programs and begin making students pay. In my view, this would create a significant disadvantage for minority and low-income families. My fears were realized when, within a decade, the LA community college system alone lost 100,000 students because of the higher fees.
Ill-prepared to fight as a freshman, I forced a debate in caucus and a prolonged floor session that had us ordering take-out hamburgers late into the night. What I learned about the nature of the political machinery was disturbing. My friends at the community colleges, faced with threatened budget cuts, were all willing to raise revenue by "taxing" students through fees. And the Democratic leadership, while professing fidelity to the cause of free higher education, was all too willing to concede to a modest fee increase to the Governor rather than wage an all-out fight. Since students were powerless in Sacramento, their interest could be sacrificed most expediently.
There was a promise by the leadership that the first-ever fees would be temporary, until the recession had ended. But I knew that a cornerstone of the progressive agenda had been compromised for good. |
Tom Hayden is national co-director of No More Sweatshops!, a coalition of labor, clergy, community and campus advocates of "sweat-free" guidelines on public procurement and enforceable labor standards for corporate behavior.
