Jeffries Wins 3 of 4 in Appropriations Suspense Hearings
Bills to Improve Transportation and Punish Arsonists Move to Assembly Floor
On Thursday, Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore) succeeded in having three out of four of his bills be moved off the “Suspense File” and pass out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The Appropriations Committee is charged with examining the potential fiscal impact of proposed legislation.
Recognizing that California faces a massive budget deficit, Assemblyman Jeffries chose to author bills that represented little to no cost to the state. “I could not in good conscience increase spending when we are asking so many in the state to cut back”, said Assemblyman Jeffries. “In fact, several of our bills are tailor-made for tough state budget times, allowing local agencies to take over or accelerate projects that the state is no longer capable of managing.”
The following bills will move on to the Assembly Floor:
AB 1954- Establishes the authority for Riverside County Transportation Commission to build four new High Occupancy Toll lanes along I-15, in addition to two planned mixed use or “free” lanes adjacent to the toll facilities.
AB 1915- Requested by the City of Lake Elsinore and the City of Perris, this bill would allow the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to transfer ownership of the portions of Route 74 located within their borders from the state to the cities, so they can more easily maintain and manage the highway.
AB 1995- Extends the sunset on aggravated arson penalties, preserving an important law enforcement tool and penal provision.
One of Jeffries’ bills was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee and will not proceed further. AB 2490 would have established the California Public Safety Agency, by combining various public safety agencies throughout the state into one umbrella organization. “Reorganizing our state’s scattered safety agencies into a unified Public Safety Agency would go a long ways towards improving coordination, communications and training all of our state’s emergency first responders. Perhaps next year our budget crisis won’t be quite as severe and the entire legislature can begin to focus on government’s first priority – Public Safety.”