Local news in the San Gabriel Valley, California

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met his constitutional deadline by taking action on 704 legislative bills. Assemblymember Mike Eng (D – Monterey Park), who successfully managed to get 15 pieces of legislation to the Governor’s desk this year, had 10 signed into law.
   “I’m really proud of the legislative package I tried to advance this year and very pleased with the final results,” stated Assemblymember Eng.  “I always try to push an aggressive and comprehensive policy agenda that is truly reflective of the complex and diverse needs of the state and my district.  I believe we accomplished that this year.”
   Bills signed by the Governor:
   AB 282    Transportation omnibus bill – contains a wide range of technical changes to statutes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Assembly Committee on Transportation.
   AB 370    Increases maximum fines for unscrupulous unlicensed contractors and expands the definition of victims in cases of contractor fraud to allow for restitution to be ordered following a conviction.
   AB 404    Clarifies and makes it easier for qualified California charitable nonprofit organizations to obtain tax exempt status in California.
   AB 626    Ensures that disadvantaged communities are able to gain equitable access to these funds and to the Disadvantaged Community Access to Integrated Regional Water Management Planning process.
   AB 688    Protects victims of domestic violence from re-victimization by clarifying that a person charged with a misdemeanor domestic violence may not be released on

 their own recognizance until they first appear before a judge or commissioner.
   AB 1072  Improves the ability of transit operators to plan for capital improvements by setting forth the distribution formula to allocate these Proposition 1B-related bond dollars.
   AB 1403  Lifts the funding cap on the Southern California Council of Governments (SCAG) to allow them to meet its federal and state mandates to develop the long-range regional transportation plan and regional transportation improvement program.
   AB 1471  Streamlines procurement processes for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) by creating a single unified statute to govern procurement at MTA.
   AB 1494  Strengthens the state’s open government meeting laws by preventing a member of a state board or agency from holding individual meetings with a majority of members behind close doors to work out an agreement on an agenda issue before that board or agency.
   AB 1515  Saves California and its constituents significant costs by reducing the processing of motor vehicle titles with liens.