Battles Won - Battles Lost
2000, 1999, 1997-1998, 1995-1996, 1993-1994, 1992, 1991, 1989-1990, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983
1997-1998
SB 89, Chapter 657, Statutes of 1997 Limits on MTA Contributions - Disclosure of Workplace Injuries - Limits MTA Board Members from accepting gifts or contributions of over $10 in value from any business entity seeking or doing business with the MTA. Bars for four years any MTA Board Member from participating or influencing a contract decision after knowingly accepting any gift or contribution of over $10 in value from the business entity seeking the contract. Requires all construction firms contracting with the MTA to report to the agency on a monthly basis all recorded injuries requiring treatment beyond first aid and requires the MTA to base its construction safety program on a recordable injury standard.
SB 316, Chapter 811, Statutes of 1997 Student Tutors in After-School Programs - Establishes the Student Academic Partnership Program to enable school districts to provide pre-service training to prospective teachers and to secure college students as tutors for students in grades K-6 in low income areas that have high dropout rates. $10 million.
SB 514, Chapter 582, Statutes of 1997 Irish Famine Education in K-12 Curriculum - Expresses the Legislature's intent that teachers be provided with content background and resources to assist in teaching about the Great Irish Famine of 1845-50. Requires that the Great Irish Famine be considered in the next cycle in which the history/social science curriculum framework and instructional materials are adopted.
SB 526, Chapter 907, Statutes of 1997 Tattoo Removal For Jobs - Requires the Youth Authority to purchase two medical devices that utilize a laser to remove tattoos free of charge for individuals seeking employment. One to be placed in Los Angeles County and one within San Francisco Bay area counties, within community facilities open to at-risk youth. (In the following year, another $500,000 was included in the budget for two more machines, totaling $750, 000 from the General Fund for the purchase of the devices. Requires the department report to the Legislature on the progress of the program by March 1, 2000.
SB 812, Chapter 667, Statutes of 1997 Fee exemptions for paratransit vehicles for seniors and disabled persons Provides the same weight and license fee exemptions currently granted to such vehicles bought with federal money, saving paratransit operators hundreds of thousands of dollars.
SB 1189, Chapter 815, Statues of 1997 MTBE Drinking Water Protections - Requires the Department of Health Services to adopt a primary drinking water standard (health) by July 1, 1999 and to adopt a secondary drinking water (taste) standard on or before July 1, 1998. Additionally requires each Regional Water Quality Control Board to notify public water system operators of MTBE discharges in that region and requires the State Water Resources Control Board to create two pilot projects that would map existing leaking underground tanks and drinking water wells in the pilot areas. Creates $5 million emergency loan fund for local clean up. Requires the scientific advisory panel of the California Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop 65) to recommend whether MTBE should be listed as a carcinogen or reproductive toxin on or before January 1, 1999.
Blocking Another UC Republican Regent (1997)
With agreement of Sen. Leader Bill Lockyer, the Senate rejected the appointment of the state Republican Party chairman, Tirso del Junco, to the UC Board of Regents.
SB 1530, Chapter 963, Statutes of 1998 Holocaust Survivors Insurance Claims - Requires suspension of state license of any insurer or its California affiliate who has failed to pay the claim of a Holocaust survivor until valid claims have been paid. Provides $4 million to the Department of Insurance for archeologists, economists, attorneys, accountants, and other specialists both here and in Europe for research and investigation into insurance policies and unpaid insurance claims. Requires establishment of oversight committee. Specifies that no committee member or contractor with the Department can have conflicts of interest concerning Holocaust claims.
SB 1697, Chapter 795, Statutes of 1998 SAT Prep for Low- and Moderate-Income Students - Creates a $10 grant program through the State Department of Education for college admissions test prep in schools for low-income high school students. Provides flexibility for schools to put on in house programs or contract out with private test prep providers. Gives priority to schools with large numbers of low income students or low college going rates.
SB 1956 $50,000 Task Force Funding for Preservation of Sacred Springs Created a planning task force to protect the Gabrielino/Tongva Sacred Springs on the campus of University High School.
SB 1700, Chapter 842, Statutes of 1998 Tattoo Removal, Jobs and Crime Prevention - Expands the tattoo removal program created by SB 526. Clarifies that state violence prevention grants should go to neighborhood-based organizations to work with youth detained in juvenile facilities. Also funds four new tattoo removal lasers for Fresno, San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
SB 1785, Chapter 752, Statues of 1998 Protections for Lost Animals in Shelters - In response to 65,000 dogs and cats being put to death in Los Angeles shelters alone, this law requires longer holding periods for stray or lost pets, and flex-hours (evenings or weekends) to accommodate owners seeking to retrieve their animals.
SCR 81, 1998 Sister State Relationship between California and San Salvador - Over 400,000 Salvadorans live in Los Angeles County, largely as a result of US intervention and civil war in the 1970s-80s. This resolution officially establishes a bridge of cooperation between California and the estado of San Salvador in the fields of education, trade, culture and law enforcement.
SR 15, 1998 Benefits for Filipino WW2 Veterans - Urges President and Congress to provide full recognition and benefits for Filipino veterans of US armed forces in World War II.
SB 1435, 1998 Reducing Start-Up Fees for New Small Businesses - Cuts in half the $1,400 in fees required by the state of small businesses for the "privilege" of opening. The fees grew as a mechanism for balancing state budgets.
Supporting the Hollywood Entertainment Museum
$2 million budget item for education and outreach to students.
Corcoran Prison Brutality Hearings (July-August 1998)
Sen. Hayden uncovered an official Corrections memo which showed that internal findings of a cover-up of brutality were deleted from a final version and from a press release issued by prison authorities. As a result of the hearings into guard shootings of inmates at Corcoran, legislation establishing an independent inspector general was passed and signed by the Governor.
Toxic School Hearings (Sept. 23, 1998 through October 25, 1999)
Sen. Hayden uncovered evidence that Jefferson Middle School was falsely certified as safe to open because of misleading information about polluted soil provided state regulators by the LAUSD. Under oath, state officials changed their testimony to declare that they could not judge the school to be safe for students. By then, the school already had opened and remediation was necessary while students were attending classes. Sen. Hayden also discovered that a vapor extraction technology designed to protect students from carcinogens had failed to work for over six months. As a result, the regional air quality board cited the school district for 113 permit violations, but imposed no financial or other penalty.
Sen. Hayden also jointed Chairman Scott Wildman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee investigating Belmont, and held hearings as well on public health dangers at South Gate, Towne Elementary in Carson, and Polytechnic High in the San Fernando Valley, the latter two sites rife with cancer clusters.
Sen. Hayden also exposed a behind-the-scenes effort by LAUSD employees to undermine a toxic clean up bill (May 21, 1999), resulting in resignations by those responsible at the District. |
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.
