Legislative Wrap-Up: Health Fair, Water Channels, Medicare Services

State Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) and State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) are co-hosting a health information fair this weekend.

The event is from 10 a.m. to noon at the Little Theater at Pittsburg High School.

Topics include eligibility guidelines and health insurance plans under Covered California.

Rep. George Miller (D-Concord) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) secured House passage of a bill that switches authority of a four-mile stretch of culvert in Walnut Creek from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

Miller and Thompson said H.R. 3080 will allow local agencies to finish projects that involve the water channel.

Thompson also added an amendment to the bill that requires a federal study on the impacts of invasive species.

“Invasive species pose a major financial risk to our local communities and we need to make sure we’re spending our money wisely and efficiently on prevention rather than responding to an invasion after it occurs,” said Thompson. 

A conference committee will now work out the differences between the House bill and a similar one passed in the Senate.

Thompson also introduced legislation that would expand the locations where patients can receive Medicare-covered tele-health services.

Under H.R. 3306, patients would be able to receive these services at community hospitals, their home and other locations that are convenient for the patient.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) issued a statement this week on the departure of Dr. Parney Albright as director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

“I join with the LLNL community in thanking Dr. Parney Albright for his years of service at the Livermore laboratory," said Swalwell. "Dr. Albright’s strong commitment to LLNL’s national security mission contributed greatly to the lab’s achievements in enhancing the nation’s defense, maintaining our nuclear weapons stockpile and responding to scientific issues of national importance like alternative energy research."