Legislative Wrap-Up: Governor Signs A Slew Of Bills By East Bay Legislators

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a number of bills this week co-authored and/or co-sponsored by East Bay legislators.

Here's some of them.

A bill by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) to honor veterans with license plates is now law.

AB 244 authorizes the issuance of a speciality license plate for veterans. Revenue from the sale of the plates goes into the County Service Veteran Officer Fund.

Another bill involving veterans was also signed by Gov. Brown.

SB 272 by state Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) will increases protections against the deceptive use of military emblems to make it look like military or veterans groups endorse products or services.

Another bill by Bonilla that removes barriers to licensed midwifery was also signed by the governor.

AB 1308 defines the scope of licensed midwives and authorizes them to attend only normal cases of birth while dropping the requirement for physician supervision.

Two public safety bills by Bonilla were also signed.

AB 884 extends the authority of county parole boards to supervise parolees from two to three years in an effort to reduce overcrowding in jails.

AB 908 improves the Department of Motor Vehicles' ability to prevent identity theft, counterfeiting and document fraud.

A bill by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) to provide healthier foods in schools was also inked by the governor.

AB 626 takes effect on Jan. 1. It will clarify the food and drinks that can be sold at schools as well as prohibit foods that contain artificial trans-fats. It also bans deep fried foods and limits the total calories for individual items.

Another bill by Skinner will improve health care worker safety.

AB 1202 also takes effect Jan. 1. It establishes safety practices for the handling of chemotherapy drugs.

A bill by Skinner to preserve breast cancer research was also signed into law.

AB 1286 allows taxpayers to continue making contributions to fund the medical research. The legislation extends the tax write-off for another two years.

One more bill by Skinner is now law.

AB 720 allows counties to enroll eligible incarcerated individuals in Medi-Cal. It also prevents current enrollees from losing their medical benefits solely based on their detention.

A bill by state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) to restrict use of toll revenues also has the governor's signature.

SB 613 limits the use of revenues from the seven state-owned toll bridges in the Bay Area to specific retrofitting, maintenance and construction projects.

A bill by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) that safeguards missing individuals also has the governor's signature.

AB 620 requires certain care facilities serving adults with developmental disabilities and the elderly to have plans to notify families and law enforcement when an individual under their care is missing.

A bill by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) giving patients direct access to physical therapy was also signed by Gov. Brown.

AB 1000 eliminates a long-standing requirement that patients get a referral from a physician before a physical therapist for treatment.

On another front, state Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis) was honored by the California County Boards of Education for her support of public schools.

Wolk was awarded the organization's Legislator of the Year award.

On the federal level, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) joined other congressional representatives in urging the White House to allow Department of Energy national laboratories to provide their contracted employees back pay once the government shutdown ends.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore are in Swalwell's district.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is in Lee's district.

Lee also joined other congressional representatives in a walk in Washington, D.C., this past week that called for comprehensive immigration reform.

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) introduced a bill on immigration reform he has co-authored.

H.R. 15 is the House version of the comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate.

The bill has the same worker protections and pathway to citizenship as the Senate version. It has different requirements for border security.