Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez has authored legislation this year on a wide range of issues of concern to all Californians.  From protecting consumers against food-borne illness, to ensuring gender equity in education.  From promoting responsible pet ownership and the humane treatment of animals, to fighting for the water delivery improvements Valley farmers desperately need to maintain their livelihoods and viable communities.  Senator Florez, through his legislation and in-depth hearings, continues to use the spotlight of oversight to push for accountability and efficiency in government, to ensure a strong and successful California.

DEAN'S CURRENT LEGISLATION

With key reservoirs at a third of capacity and federal rulings further curtailing water deliveries, California’s ever-growing population cannot afford to further delay improvements to our water delivery system.  To get water flowing to farmers and keep communities like Mendota – suffering with 40% unemployment and farmers unable to plant their full crops, Senator Florez has introduced the Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009.  Senate Bill 301 presents a comprehensive approach to improved water delivery that focuses on above- and below-ground water storage; efficiency, conservation and recycling efforts; as well as the need for a peripheral canal.

Senator Florez has been a leader in the fight for stronger protections against food-borne illness.  This Legislative Session, as the nation witnessed the recall of more than 2,500 items containing peanuts potentially contaminated with salmonella, Florez introduced Senate Bill 550.  The common-sense measure calls for stores which operate a scanner system to program their equipment to identify recalled items at check-out so consumers don't inadvertently buy a recalled item thus providing consumers with another line of defense against food-borne illness.

California currently spends a quarter of a billion dollars each year to house and kill nearly a million unwanted  pets.  Senator Florez has introduced Senate Bill 250  in the hopes of saving taxpayers from the expense and saving animal rescuers from the trauma of euthanasia.   The measure encourages pet owners to spay or neuter their animals, but puts the focus on personal responsibility.  Responsible animal caregivers can obtain a license to keep an animal unaltered if they follow local ordinances regarding control and care of their pets.  This tried and proven approach reduced euthanasia by 60% in Santa Cruz County, a result Senator Florez hopes to replicate statewide.

Last session, Senator Florez fought for hospitals to better protect their patients against the rise in antibiotic-resistant infections.  This year he has introduced a measure to reduce the amount of antibiotics we inadvertently put in our bodies each day, with the hopes of removing one more risk factor for developing a resistance to antibiotics.  Senate Bill 416 seeks to keep food animals which were treated with non-therapeutic antibiotics from being served to our children in their school meals.

In keeping with the Food and Agriculture Committee’s renewed focus on all aspects of the food production chain under Senator Florez's chairmanship, and Proposition 2’s clear citizen mandate on animal welfare, Senator Florez has also introduced Senate Bill 135 to ban the cruel and unnecessary practice of tail-docking of dairy cows.  Tail-docking generally involves the crude and inhumane amputation of a cow’s tail by cutting off circulation until it dies and separates from the cow’s body.  This renders the cow defenseless to flies and scientists have found no evidence the practice improves food safety.  It can only be anecdotally proven to save farmers a few drops of milk.

This year Senator Florez has introduced legislation to recognize the neglected pockets of poverty in our communities known as “colonias,” helping them achieve standing to be eligible for grants and infill dollars for needed infrastructure improvements.  Through Senate Bill 194, Senator Florez hopes to encourage a focus on improving existing neighborhoods with obvious needs in our communities ahead of contributing to the expansion of sprawl.

Since calling for the creation of a committee to investigate Fresno State’s violations of Title IX – federal legislation designed to ensure gender equity in our public educational institutions and assure our daughters an equal opportunity to participate in sports -- Senator Florez has continued his efforts to bring accountability to school leaders through oversight hearings.  This Legislative Session Florez introduced Senate Bill 195, which requires a responsible official from any California Community College, California State University or University of California campus to provide assurance they are in compliance with federal discrimination law before receiving state financial assistance.  Under the measure, any official who provides an assurance he or she knows to be false would be subject to civil penalty.