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Florez wants ‘smart meter’ installs stopped
03/08/2010
Pacific Gas and Electric Company should be stopped from installing any more of its “smart” meters until their accuracy can be determined by an outside expert, says state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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Florez's state soda pop tax
03/06/2010
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has taken some heat from his more conservative constituents for recent legislation that seems extravagant in the face of more pressing issues, like California's ongoing budgetary chaos.
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California Considers Tracking Animal Abusers Like Sex Offenders
03/05/2010
Florez said the bill, which if passed would be the first of its kind, falls in line with other animal protection bills California has pursued. He said the registry is aimed at helping animal control officers do their jobs and animal shelters make sure abusers "don't walk out with an animal they can torture."
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Time Magazine Features Lt. Gov Candidate Dean Florez Animal Abuse Registry Legislation
03/05/2010
Once More California Senator and Lt. Governor Candidate Dean Florez Proposed Legislation gains high profile national attention; California is often viewed as leading the Nation. This time the bill that proposes an Animal Abuse Registry is featured in the latest issue of Time Magazine. I have written before about this bill and Time Magazine captures one of the more important arguments for passage of this legislation right up front.
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Should There Be an Animal-Abuser Registry?
03/04/2010
"We think California is primed for this kind of a bill," says state senate majority leader Dean Florez, who introduced the bill in late February. "We've progressed to the point where we as a legislature are moving in a direction of this bill, which is ultimately, How do we in essence prevent repeat offenses when it comes to cruelty to animals in the state of California?" It is an issue that, Florez says, Californians care for deeply. About 60% of California residents own pets, he says; add in farm animals, and 80% of the population has some kind of ownership of animals.
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Customers Complain About Smart Meters
02/23/2010
But so far, some customers say the result has been just the opposite. When PG&E rolled out the meters in the Central Valley last summer, State Senator Dean Florez said, "What we saw is an outcry from folks from Bakersfield to Fresno."
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State Senator Dean Florez urges President, Governor to Focus on Sugar Threat
02/23/2010
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who last week introduced legislation aimed at curbing the rampant overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, is calling on our Governor and an esteemed former President to confront the issue head-on tomorrow at the 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity.
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Legislation targets people convicted of animal cruelty
02/23/2010
Bills similar to the one in California have been proposed in Rhode Island, Colorado and Tennessee, though none became law. But this year there's confidence about passage, partly because it's favored by California's Senate majority leader, Dean Florez, and because "this is an example of law catching up with society's values," Otto says.
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Florez adept at attracting media spotlight
02/22/2010
Florez, D-Shafter, promoted the bill in front of TV cameras at a Monday morning news conference in the Capitol, the same day The New York Times ran a story on the legislation. Not long after, he plugged his soda pop bill on the MSNBC cable television network. The bill would impose a 1-cent tax for every teaspoon of sugar added to sweetened beverages, with proceeds going to childhood obesity prevention programs.
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Lawmakers Consider an Animal Abuse Registry
02/21/2010
The proposal, made in a bill introduced Friday by the State Senate’s majority leader, Dean Florez, would be the first of its kind in the country and is just the latest law geared toward animal rights in a state that has recently given new protections to chickens, pigs and cattle.
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Soft drink tax battle shifts to states
02/21/2010
When California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) introduced his soda tax bill, he said one penny of tax per teaspoon of added sugar in any sweetened beverage would generate as much as $1.5 billion each year. That money would pay for parks, recreation and school health programs, Florez said.
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Lawmakers Consider an Animal Abuse Registry
02/21/2010
The proposal, made in a bill introduced Friday by the State Senate’s majority leader, Dean Florez, would be the first of its kind in the country and is just the latest law geared toward animal rights in a state that has recently given new protections to chickens, pigs and cattle.
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California lawmaker introduces soda tax bill
02/18/2010
The bill, introduced by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, would slap a 1-cent levy on every teaspoon of added sugar and other caloric sweeteners in commercial beverages sold.
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Florez says Lt. Gov seat belongs in Democrats' hands
02/12/2010
"This is a Democratic seat," says Florez. "The governor recognizes he was replacing a Democrat and the governor could have found any moderate to conservative Democrat anywhere in California, and I think it would have gone very well."
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Assembly Rejects Maldonado Appointment
02/11/2010
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Florez Seeks End To Unpredictable Tuition Spikes
02/09/2010
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who spoke out strongly against the recent 32 percent fee spike at UC campuses, this week introduced legislation to help stabilize student fees for future generations of California students.
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Ed roundup: Florez seeks to limit college fee hikes
02/09/2010
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has introduced a bill that would cap college fee increases, which rose an unprecedented 32 percent last year for California university students.
"The university has got to stop looking at our students as walking ATM machines," Florez told The Californian on Tuesday, the day he unveiled the bill.
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United Farm Workers (UFW) Endorses Senator Dean Florez For Lt. Governor
02/06/2010
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) was proud to receive today the endorsement of the United Farm workers AFL-CIO (UFW) in his race to be California's next Lieutenant Governor.
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Politicians given grades on animal bills
01/26/2010
Schwarzenegger, who vetoed four PawPac bills, not surprisingly was given an "F" grade, and Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who carried both the "tail docking" bill and the neutering measure, got a "A-plus."
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PG&E is a study in how not to do smart meters
01/23/2010
Boyles said PG&E does random sample testing for ongoing quality assurance. But he didn't give me any numbers, nor any results. And as I recall from Sen. Dean Florez's hearing in Bakersfield last October, the sample was quite low, about 1 percent of the 250,000 meters in Bakersfield.
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Victim of Sexual Assault Speaks Out: 'I Will Fight for Any Girl'
12/18/2009
California Senate Bill 834, introduced by the state's Senate Majority Leader, Dean Florez, clarifies that protective orders also extend to the harassment of a victim through his or her online friends.
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OOPS! They Did It Again! EDD, Job Training, Benefits Delayed & For Some, Opportunity Lost
12/15/2009
California State Senator and Majority Leader Dean Florez (D) Shafter, when he learned of this new EDD problem blasted the Governor and EDDs actions, stating, "This Administration has been well aware of the shortcomings at EDD and has failed to act in a way that protects the working people of this state. The Governor may be in a position to decline a paycheck or hop from high-profile career to high-profile career on a whim, but the reality for most Californians is they are a few paychecks - at most - from true desperation. We need to be doing everything within our power to encourage and make it possible for people to re-enter the workforce and regain the financial stability that comes along with that."
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‘Smart’ Electric Utility Meters, Intended to Create Savings, Instead Prompt Revolt
12/13/2009
At the urging of the state senator, Dean Florez, Democrat of Fresno and the chamber’s majority leader, and others, the California Public Utilities Commission is moving to bring in an outside auditor to determine whether the meters count usage properly.
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EDD Employees In Field Offices, Senator Dean Florez and 100 Thousand Delayed Unemployment Checks
12/11/2009
CA Senator Dean Florez, who I recall earlier this year, was responsible for getting EDD to hire over 1000 staff when folks could not get through to a live employee on the phone. In the Bee article this morning he stated: "We've been getting tons of calls from people being forced to move out of their homes at a critical time of the year," said Florez, who blames it on EDD mismanagement."
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Rev. Jesse Jackson aims to help Fontana residents who endure foreclosure troubles
12/10/2009
Jackson was accompanied by Dean Florez, the majority leader in the State Senate, who praised Jackson’s willingness to work together for the sake of the community. Florez stated he anticipates new legislative proposals to try to solve the issue which could be submitted within a month.
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SmartMeters Will Be Tested By PUC
12/09/2009
"The rate-payers shouldn't pay a dime for these tests. This should have been done well earlier in this experiment, and that's what's disappointing. The PUC sees our pocketbooks, yours and mine, as some sort of ATM," said State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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CA LT Governor Race: Florez Strikes Gold In Hahn's Back Yard; Hahn Leaves Town To Seek Funds
12/08/2009
In what has to be a major embarrassment to LT Governor candate and LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, when it comes to campaign fundraising, it appears she does not have the support of many high profile SOCAL residents she has served and/or live "in her own back yard". While she heads out of town this week headed for Oakland for two campaign fundraisers, Candidate and State Senator Dean Florez, has not not one, but TWO MAJOR campaign events in the Los Angeles area.
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Death By Vaccine Shortage -- A Nation's Shame
12/06/2009
On Friday, since after heart surgery I am considered a high risk patient, I obtained my H1N1 vaccine while at an appointment with my physician in Roseville. The same day, perhaps because of the shot, California Senator Dean Florez's "Death by Vaccine Shortage" was published and it really hit home with me. It is reprinted here, with permission.
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PG&E feels more heat from class action lawsuit
12/04/2009
Shafter state Senator Dean Florez sent a letter to PG&E's CEO today, questioning the utility company's pledge to "investigate and resolve" each customer complaint.
"We're really wary about full-page ads that say they are going to investigate," Florez said. '"Investigate" is a very interesting term because it doesn't simply tell us that each and every customer's concern is being met, and i think the reason for that is the meters have a lot of problems and still need to be looked into."
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Another View: Food safety should be a priority
12/01/2009
As state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, chairman of the Food and Agriculture Committee, has said, "With each new outbreak -- almonds in 2004, spinach in 2006, peppers in 2008 (and now beef this past summer) -- we find cracks in our food safety and regulatory systems."
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'Fraud meter' fear
11/27/2009
The Utility Reform Network, a non-profit that advocates on behalf of power users, has received more than 100 smart-meter complaints, according to the lawsuit. California State Senator Dean Florez has also jumped on the bandwagon, telling one newspaper "They are fraud meters" and calling for a moratorium on their installation. Articles such as this one in which customers decry the unreliability of the new meters, is now a regular staple in state news feeds.
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Smart meters come under fire
11/26/2009
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, hand-delivered a request to the CPUC to place a moratorium on the meters and rate hikes until problems with the technology are resolved. The decision came in the wake of a lawsuit against PG&E filed in Bakersfield from a customer who said he’s being overcharged.
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Editorial: Food safety net still has holes
11/25/2009
As state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), chairman of the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee, has said, "With each new outbreak – almonds in 2004, spinach in 2006, peppers in 2008 (and now beef this past summer) – we find cracks in our food safety and regulatory systems."
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Anand Jon Victim Goes Public, Says She's Still a Victim
11/24/2009
Autumn A is now 18 years old and says she wants to keep this from happening to anyone else. And she has found a crucial ally in State Senate Majority Leader Dean [Florez]. [Florez] has introduced legislation that would make it a crime to send the kind of Internet communications Autumn A received.
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Deadly railroad intersection gets crossing arms
11/16/2009
Shafter Sen. Dean Florez marked the completion of the railroad crossing at Merced Avenue and Highway 43 Monday by presenting commemorative rail spikes to the agencies that worked to make the improvements possible.
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Olivia Garcia: New crossing arms at railroad intersections become reality
11/14/2009
The crashes prompted State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, and a railroad safety committee to propose the installation of crossing guards at the following locations along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line: Kratzmeyer Road; Merced Avenue; Poplar Avenue; Peterson Road; and Blankenship Avenue. About $1.2 million was spent on this project, mainly from federal funds.
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Slow And Steady Progress On Port Air Quality
11/13/2009
State Senator Dean Florez represents a large swath of California’s Central Valley and chairs the Senate Select Committee on Air Quality. This week he brought his Committee to the Port of Los Angeles to get an update on how the state’s major ports, Long Beach included, are progressing in their efforts to reduce emissions.
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PG&E's SmartMeter rollout off to rough start
11/13/2009
But others aren't convinced. State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, heard from constituents who had bills that had tripled while they were on vacation, bills that exceeded their mortgage payments, and bills of $1,200 a month.
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WIC shows off foods new to the nutrition program
11/10/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said about 19 people per week die of diabetes in the Central Valley, and the WIC changes will help people eat better.
"Just because you're poor doesn't mean you have to eat the worst food," Florez said.
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$25 million widening project on 'blood alley' finally underway
11/10/2009
The highway, which is northwest of Bakersfield, is a primary route to the central coast. Numerous crashes along 46 have earned it the nickname "blood alley."
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PG&E sued over new SmartMeters, soaring bills
11/10/2009
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), has conducted public hearings on the meters, and the California Public Utilities Commission announced last month that it will hire a consultant to test the meters' accuracy.
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Thank you, Florez
11/08/2009
I would like to thank Sen. Dean Florez for truly being a public servant. I, too, was dismayed when I received my August PG&E bill, as it was over double the previous month's bill. I called PG&E and contrary to their public relations person, I was greeted by a not-too-interested PG&E representative. This individual's response was simply that the SmartMeter reported our usage and that was that.
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Helping children
11/07/2009
State Senators Roy Ashburn and Dean Florez and Assemblymembers Danny Gilmore, Jean Fuller and Connie Conway should be commended for their leadership to successfully pass fiscally responsible legislation that protects the health of the children of Kern County without increasing costs to taxpayers while bringing more federal funding to our state.
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Florez Joins Huerta In Fast For Health Care Reform
11/06/2009
Friday morning, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez began his leg of the ongoing fast in support of a health care reform, taking the proverbial torch passed by civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.
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California senators consider action on sweetened beverages
11/05/2009
Another senator, Dean Florez, told the hearing room: “I would like to end the Pepsi Generation.”
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Animal cadaver business investigated; vets say it's helpful
11/05/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez has called for an investigation into a Bakersfield business that kept dead horses behind its building.
Florez, D-Shafter, wants to know if the animals are being treated inhumanely.
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Highway's death toll spurs calls for road improvement
11/02/2009
"It's been a 10-year journey," said State Sen. Dean Florez, referring to the planned expansion that became one of his first major projects as an assemblyman in the late '90s.
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PG&E's 'smart meters' make dumb mistakes
10/25/2009
During the summer, complaints from PG&E customers in Bakersfield about outrageously high electric bills grew from a rivulet to a roaring stream, culminating in a town hall meeting held by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), on Oct. 5. Customers whose bills have doubled and tripled said it was the fault of the recently installed "smart meters." Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said no, it was due to rate increases and their own high usage.
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No Relief Yet for PG&E Customers Who Claim Smart Meters are Causing Rate Hikes
10/22/2009
The hearings were set up by State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who said in late September that his office had been flooded with calls from angry customers in PG&E's Bakersfield service area complaining about skyrocketing electric rates and their new smart meters—which they blame for the rate hikes.
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PG&E to pay out 425-million dollars to customers
10/22/2009
But for Shafter Senator Dean Florez enough hasn't been done to protect the customer.
"There is reason to believe, and I think it's correct that energy costs got higher, that combined with a rate increase gave us not just two times, but three of four times our normal bills, and I think that's unfair." said Florez.
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Let's get our SmartMeter timing straight
10/21/2009
Rate increases to fund PG&E's SmartMeter program clearly fall at the foot of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Legislature plays no particular role in setting electricity rates.
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Florez Takes On PG&E Smart Meters in Fresno Town Hall
10/21/2009
Customers also told Florez when they talked to customer service, they were sometimes told their meters were accurate and they had no reason to complain.
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Fresno Hearing Raises Heat on SmartMeters
10/21/2009
"You deserve answers," said Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, who held the hearing amid concerns that the SmartMeter technology -- funded largely by consumers -- has failed to deliver on promised savings.
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PG&E Smart Meters Up For Debate
10/21/2009
That's the question Senator Dean Florez hopes to answer in a public hearing tonight in Downtown Fresno.
Stories about sky-rocketing bills coinciding with the installation of the new meters are swirling around the Valley.
While they high tech electric meters were supposed to offer savings to customers, Senator Florez says PG&E is the only winner here.
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Cost of PG&E's Not-So-Smart Meters: $424 Million
10/15/2009
After a public discussion of the issue held by State Senator Dean Florez, the CPUC agreed that an independent audit was called for, but is not willing to issue a moratorium on further installations or rate increases.
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CPUC orders third-party review of PG&E’s ‘smart meters’
10/15/2009
CPUC President Michael R. Peevey said that consumers, as well as state Senators Dean Florez, D-Shafter, and Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, have expressed concern over high energy bills that have occurred at the same time PG&E installed smart meters in Bakersfield.
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PG&E Required To Get SmartMeters Evaluated
10/15/2009
Last Monday, Sen. Dean Florez held a town hall hearing regarding PG&E's SmartMeter program.
During the meeting, Florez asked why PG&E didn't have third-party evidence that the meters are working effectively.
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PUC Approves $424M Refund For PG&E Customers
10/15/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez announced Thursday of a pending $424 million overcharge refund for PG&E customers, according to a press release.
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Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Dean Florez for California Lieutenant Governor
10/14/2009
Highlight: “Dean Florez has been a champion of animal protection in the California state legislature, and he has a tremendous record of accomplishment and leadership,” said Michael Markarian, president of Humane Society Legislative Fund. “California voters who care about the humane treatment of animals and want effective leadership should support Dean Florez for lieutenant governor.”
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Sacramentans named to Hispanic 100 list
10/13/2009
The Sacramento-connected people include Kenneth Macias, founder of accounting firm Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP, and California State Sens. Dean Florez and Abel Maldonado.
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Animal advocates win some, lose some as Schwarzenegger signs bills
10/13/2009
Among the bills signed by Schwarzenegger was SB 135, introduced by state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), which will outlaw the practice of docking dairy cows' tails except in the case of medical necessity. Schwarzenegger had previously derided the bill in a very public forum -- his 1-million-followers-plus Twitter feed -- scoffing that "the Legislature is about to debate whether cows can keep their tails while we're in a fiscal crisis."
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Fresno is site of next ‘smart’ meter hearing
10/13/2009
Smart meters are supposed to give consumers real-time information on their energy usage so they can make adjustments to save on their bills. But state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who held the Bakersfield hearing and is to host the one in Fresno, says the technology to allow the sort of communication needed to achieve that will not be in place for years.
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Florez To Take SmartMeter Fight To Fresno
10/13/2009
Following a contentious 5-hour hearing in Bakersfield and a barrage of letters full of unanswered questions, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) will convene a hearing of a major utility and the regulatory body that pushed forward the company’s implementation of SmartMeters, technology that has so far failed to deliver promised savings to consumers, Dean Florez said in a press release.
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Cow tail docking made illegal in California
10/12/2009
The bill, authored by state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, was supported by the Humane Society of the United States, as well as the California Veterinary Medical Association, ASPCA, California Cattlemen’s Association and California Farm Bureau.
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Florez Demands Answers For PG&E Customers
10/08/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who held a contentious townhall meeting this week in Bakersfield to look into dramatic utility rate spikes for PG&E customers who have had SmartMeters installed, Thursday delivered to the utility a list of those who participated, with a request that he be notified promptly of the assistance they are given.
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Senator says SmartMeter hearing was "disaster"
10/07/2009
Senator Dean Florez told 17 News Tuesday morning, his senate hearing about the SmartMeters was a disaster. It all came down to not getting any answers.
"The reality is, that you have a major multi-billion dollar company unable to tell us with certainty that these meters are reliable," Senator Florez said.
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Florez Delivers SmartMeter Demands
10/07/2009
Following a lengthy townhall meeting on Smart Meter implementation in Bakersfield on Monday evening -- attended by hundreds of PG&E customers whose moods ranged from frustrated to irate – Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) visited the California Public Utilities Commission office in San Francisco Wednesday with a list of actions the CPUC should require of PG&E as it relates to the new meters, which many are blaming for a dramatic spike in their utility bills.
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Florez meets with PUC president on SmartMeter concerns
10/07/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez called upon the California Public Utilities Commission to stop Pacific Gas and Electric Co. from installing more SmartMeters and implementing any rate increases until meters can be thoroughly tested by independent technology experts.
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Anger over Smart Meters Heads to Fresno
10/06/2009
Senator Dean Florez has held public hearings in Bakersfield and will hold another in Fresno next week as customers come forward with more complaints about higher bills.
Senator Florez's hearing is set for October 21st at the Hugh Burns State Building in downtown Fresno. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
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Laughter, jeers: Frustrated PG&E customers pack SmartMeter hearing
10/06/2009
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, called the special hearing Monday night at the Kern County administration building to hear concerns from the public and to question PG&E on two significant rate increases since the installation of SmartMeters.
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Senator Florez Challenges PG&E SmartMeters
10/06/2009
Senator Dean Florez met with hundreds of frustrated PG&E customers Monday night at a hearing with the company and the public utilities commission.
The customers, outraged by PG&E's SmartMeters and high power bills, filled the Board of Supervisors Chambers. SmartMeters were the chief complaint.
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Public gets charged up about SmartMeters, bills at meeting
10/05/2009
At a sometimes raucous public airing of grievances about this summer's soaring power bills, state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, challenged Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Monday to expand its testing of local SmartMeters.
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Uproar over energy bills leads PG&E to open answer center
10/02/2009
Also on Monday, State Senator Dean Florez, D-Shafter, will hold a hearing on the power bills and SmartMeters. That will be held at the Kern County Board of Supervisors Chambers starting at 6:30 p.m.
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State senator questions 'smart' electric meters
10/02/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) is holding an oversight hearing Monday in Bakersfield to quiz Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and officials from other companies about recent rate hikes and their connection, if any, to the installation of smart meters.
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Florez To Hold Public Forum For SmartMeter Concerns
10/02/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez is said to be holding a hearing Monday evening in Bakersfield, giving concerned utility customers a forum to question PG&E on significant rate increases since the installation of “SmartMeters,” which were touted as a money-saving device.
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State Senator Dean Florez Warns Against Shifting Tax Burden To Middle Class
10/01/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) responded warily to a report by the Commission on the 21st Century Economy on reforming the state’s tax system, which was created for a 1930s durable goods economy. The commission set out to suggest changes that would lead to more stable revenues in today’s technology- and service-based economy, but Florez cautions the suggested approach will shift too much of the burden onto California’s shrinking middle-class.
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California Senator Questions Value of PG&E Smart Meters
09/29/2009
California State Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter), in response to numerous complaints from consumers regarding high utility bills, has scheduled a hearing in early October to bring together consumers and representatives from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and the state's Public Utilities Commission. The senator has asked for proof from PG&E that a single utility customer has saved money with a smart meter.
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State senator asks PG&E to prove smart meters are worthwhile
09/28/2009
California energy consumers have been complaining more and more about their steep monthly bills. The complaints have prompted Dean Florez, a Democratic state Senator from Shafter, California, to ask if Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) smart meter program is worth the money.
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Florez to Investigate Higher Electric Bills, SmartMeters
09/25/2009
The summer may be officially over but many PG&E customers are just getting heated over their summer electrical bills.
Now Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez is getting ready to look into whether the PG&E SmartMeters program is to blame, as he says even customers who have cut their use are still paying higher bills.
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Florez speaks out on SmartMeters
09/24/2009
Complaints of recent high electricity bills drew sharp challenges Thursday from state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who called on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to justify its SmartMeter program, and threatened to question the confirmation of two members of the state Public Utilities Commission.
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Senator looking into SmartMeters, skyrocketing utility bills
09/24/2009
A state senator is joining angry power customers in demanding answers about the new SmartMeter program, which some blame for skyrocketing power bills.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said Thursday that he's hearing too many questions about the new technology, and not getting enough answers.
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Senator holding meeting on PG&E Smart Meters
09/24/2009
The meters are supposed to make it easier for PG&E to get readings, while allowing customers to save money by actively monitoring their usage. State Senator Dean Florez says he will hold a hearing and has invited PG&E, Southern California Edison, and members of the California Public Utilities Commission. "They should be holding this forum not me. They should be putting people together and telling them to bring their bills and answering their questions," said Florez, who is also the state senate majority leader.
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Florez Questions Wisdom Of PG&E´s SmartMeters
09/23/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), is questioning the wisdom of PG&E’s “smart meters,” and will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon in Bakersfield with concerned consumers who have seen a dramatic increase in energy costs even, many feel, as their consumption has dropped.
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Florez focuses on PG&E SmartMeters, bills
09/23/2009
A state senator will hold a pair of events in town to focus on the uproar over Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s SmartMeter program.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, will hold a news conference Thursday at his Bakersfield district office. Some consumers feel they've experienced a "dramatic" increase in charges even as their consumption has dropped, according to a news release from Florez' office.
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Florez calls hearing on SmartMeters
09/23/2009
Complaints about unexpectedly high power bills have prompted state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, to schedule a Senate hearing Oct. 5 in Bakersfield to discuss Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s SmartMeter program.
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Legislators, look into PG&E fiasco
09/22/2009
One legislator, at least, has noticed. State Sen. Dean Florez has tentatively scheduled a public hearing at the Kern County Supervisors' chambers the evening of Oct. 5. The California Public Utilities Commission is invited, along with PG&E and Southern California Edison, which has just started rolling out its own SmartMeters in the city of Downey. SCE has customers in Bakersfield, too.
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Protecting California's animals
09/15/2009
A separate animal welfare measure, SB 135, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), would make it illegal to dock, or cut off, the tails of cattle except for medical necessity. It is already illegal in California to dock horses' tails, and the new legislation would add the words "and cattle" to the existing law. Schwarzenegger has gently mocked legislative focus on this bill in light of the state's budget crisis, but he should sign it too.
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Animal protection bills await Gov. Schwarzenegger's signature following the close of state legislative session
09/15/2009
S.B. 250 would have required that California dogs -- with the exception of service animals, hunting dogs and police dogs -- either be spayed or neutered or face increased licensing fees. (S.B. 250 would also have required that free-roaming cats be spayed or neutered.) But Florez, who backed the bill, said his work on its behalf was far from over and announced he planned to reintroduce it early next year.
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California lawmakers have a lot to chew on
09/09/2009
A fundamental shift has occurred in the state Senate. This year lawmakers changed the focus of its Committee on Agriculture, renaming it the Food and Agriculture Committee and stocking it with lawmakers more interested in the concerns of consumers than the needs of farmers. "The consumer now has a seat at the table," said Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter), chairman of the committee and author of the bill on tail docking.
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Bill Increasing Transparency in Education Policy-Making Approved by Legislature
09/09/2009
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Slow Food Potluck Draws Hundreds to Civic Center on Labor Day
09/08/2009
Attendees at Civic Center penned some 250 letters urging school lunch reforms, addressing them to a list of California legislators that included Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and state Senator Dean Florez (D-Fresno).
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Lawmakers hit block over delta council
09/05/2009
"We are closer than ... past efforts and will work this weekend to produce a historic agreement," Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, wrote in an e-mail.
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California Legislature passes bill to ban tail docking of cows
09/04/2009
Legislators in California have passed a bill with bipartisan support to ban tail docking of dairy cows. The California Assembly passed the bill Sept. 4, and the California Senate passed the bill on May 26.
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California Senate Bill 250: The Pet Responsibility Act
09/03/2009
California Senate Bill 250 is before the full Assembly for a vote this week. I had not followed the history of this bill, but apparently it is a hotly debated item in the Senate with passionate supporters on either side. The bill states, in part, that animals who are unlicensed and not yet spayed or neutered, if impounded, will be fixed.
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Possible vacancy in lieutenant governor's office fuels talk of replacement candidates
09/03/2009
Other Democrats who have surfaced as possibilities include state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, already a lt. governor candidate, and former state Controller Steve Westly.
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California legislature approves bid to ban tail-docking for cows
09/03/2009
The legislator who introduced the tail-docking bill, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), also responded with criticism to the tweet-and-video business, calling on the governor to "stop tweeting his obsession with cow tails and start tweaking the budget to move us toward a solution."
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Dreaming in the California Fields
09/02/2009
I leave the state capitol, its endless budget battles, and drive 300 miles south through the gut of California -- to this small farm town where I grew up and still live. I see the dreamers everywhere. They are bent over in the fields with curved blades and buckets in hand, picking grapes and yodeling ranchera music beneath the 110 degree sun. In a month's time, like some mythical bird, they have plucked clean more than 60 million boxes worth of Crimsons and Flames and Superiors from the vineyards of the San Joaquin Valley.
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Lawmakers say they are going to work on state water problems
08/18/2009
Lawmakers say they are determined to start solving the state's water problems this week.
"I think we have to get something done on water, period. Expect major action," predicted Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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Legislative hearings on state's water crisis begin
08/17/2009
SACRAMENTO -- Lawmakers say they are determined to start solving the state's water problems this week.
"I think we have to get something done on water, period. Expect major action," predicted Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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State to continue war on invasive moth
08/11/2009
"Our committee is going to start on the assumption that we shouldn't spray and we shouldn't eradicate given the pervasiveness of the apple moth," said Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter), panel chairman.
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Echoes of Tragedy Lead Florez to Urge Vigilance
08/08/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), looking ahead to this Sunday’s ten-year anniversary of the tragedy at Five Points that changed farm labor law, reflected on those changes and urged Valley drivers to always be vigilant and remember the inherent dangers they face sharing the road with large agricultural vehicles.
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Bill would restrict antibiotics in food animals
07/31/2009
A New York congresswoman is trying to rally support for a federal bill that would restrict antibiotic use in food animals just months after a similar measure tanked in California.
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State's largest biodiesel plant unveiled in Kern
07/29/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said he envisions all school buses in California will one day be fueled with biodiesel. He said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that the goal is to make biodiesel a fuel of choice.
His daughter, Faith, 9, cut the ribbon. Florez said since she is a future biodiesel user, he wanted her to be present for the opening of California's largest biodiesel and glycerin production facility.
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Fur flies over bill to neuter more pets
07/19/2009
The latest bill, by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has cleared the Senate, but is stalled in the Assembly Appropriations Committee as lawmakers consider potential costs to the state's overstretched general fund.
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Obstructionist Lawmakers Harm Animals and the Economy
07/18/2009
A similar scene is now playing out on the opposite coast in California, where California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is using YouTube and Twitter to mock an animal cruelty bill. S.B. 135, introduced by Senate Majority Leader and Food & Agriculture Committee Chairman Dean Florez (D-Shafter), would ban the tail docking of dairy cows.
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Sen. Florez's legislation on tail-docking is valuable bill
07/17/2009
Senate Bill 135, authored by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is a straightforward anti-cruelty bill with absolutely no fiscal impact on the state.
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California Dreamin' Becoming Reality
07/17/2009
As Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) said, Prop 2 was "the equivalent of the earthquake that shook the legislature." Florez reorganized the Senate Agriculture Committee to become the Senate Food & Agriculture Committee, which is placing greater emphasis on food safety, animal welfare, and sustainability.
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Pet Responsibility Act Progress On “Paws”
07/17/2009
Senate Bill 250 originally passed the California State Senate on June 2 by a vote of 21-16. It then moved to the Assembly Budget and Commissions Committee, where it passed on June 30.
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Many stung by lack of action on California's non-budget bills
07/14/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, issued a lengthy statement blasting the governor as "deriding the Legislature" by aiming "barbs at the agricultural industry."
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Brouhaha over bonuses at Fresno nonprofit
07/13/2009
As word of the bonuses got around, state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), called on Riddick to provide a full explanation or return the money.
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Bill Addresses “Tragedy of Pet Overpopulation”
07/11/2009
Passed in the California State Senate on June 2 by a vote of 21-16, the bill, proposed by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), would require all dog owners to spay or neuter their pets or seek an unaltered dog license.
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Governor criticizes ag bills
07/09/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, chairman of the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee, said in a prepared statement that while the governor’s approach “may make great political theater, it’s certainly a blunt blow to the agriculture community that is sponsoring these bills.”
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Central Valley Regional Center rescinds pay bonuses
07/09/2009
After Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, revealed this week that the money had been given out following a non-public board meeting, the center was the target of criticism from groups that advocate for the welfare of people with developmental disabilities.
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Fresno nonprofit cancels $500k in staff bonuses
07/09/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, had requested the agency explain its actions. Florez said the bonuses raised "a whole host of ethical and programmatic questions.
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‘Secret’ bonuses raise Senator’s ire
07/08/2009
California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, says the Central Valley Regional Center, which contracts with the state to provide services to the developmentally disabled, apparently handed out $500,000 in bonuses to employees because it couldn’t spend all the money the state gave it.
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California Department of Public Health Reports Large Increase in Pet Euthanasia
07/08/2009
SCIL sponsored legislation currently making its way through the California State Legislature aims to address the problem of overpopulation and subsequent euthanasia in shelters. SB 250, the Pet Responsibility Act (www.yesonsb250.com), authored by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez requires that dogs be spayed or neutered unless their owner/guardian obtains an unaltered dog license when they license their animal.
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CA Senator Dean Florez addresses Governoror's attacks on agriculture
07/08/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, today disputed the Governor’s notion that legislation in support of agriculture is a waste of the Legislature’s time, pointing out that increased revenue for California industry translates to much-needed revenue for California.
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Cat's mauling shows need for change
07/08/2009
I'm supporting state Sen. Dean Florez's SB 250 requiring mandatory spaying and neutering.
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Disabled community questions pay bonuses in crisis
07/07/2009
But Democratic Sen. Dean Florez and others said that money should have been spent to protect services essential to people with autism and cerebral palsy, or be returned to the state.
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Madoff victims explore tax refunds on ‘phantom’ profits
07/06/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez, who launched the Senate Select Committee on Investment Malfeasance in the wake of Madoff’s undoing, held a May hearing on possible changes to California’s tax laws. A second hearing, scheduled for mid-June in Sacramento, was postponed due to the state’s budget negotiations.
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SB 250 raises questions, here are the answers
07/06/2009
For years, the California State Legislature has tried and failed to pass legislation to control the tragedy of pet overpopulation. This year SB 250, "The Pet Responsibility Act" by Senator Dean Florez, is gaining traction that previous bills could not.
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California Lt. Governor Candidate Tops Million Dollar Mark-Small Donors Cited
07/06/2009
The Senate Majority Leader's campaign will report having raised over $1.25 million by the end of June, and nearly $900,000 cash on-hand for the race.
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Sen. Dean Florez's tail-docking bill approved
07/03/2009
Senate Bill 135 by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, would prohibit cutting off part of a cow's tail, except in emergencies, to save an animal's life or relieve pain.
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Statement by Humane Society of the United States CEO Regarding California Anti-Cruelty Bill
07/01/2009
The HSUS is very grateful to Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) for authoring S.B. 135. The Senate passed the bill 27-12, and action is pending in the Assembly.”
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Florez to Gov: Stop tweeting and get to work!
07/01/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, called on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to “stop tweeting his obsession with cow tails and start tweaking the Budget to move us toward a solution.”
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California Lt. Governor Candidate Senator Dean Florez, D-Shafter, Wows Nevada County CA Democrats
06/30/2009
Area residents and a couple of attendees from as far away as Fresno welcomed California State Senator Dean Florez, (D) Shafter, to Nevada County Sunday at an Ice Cream Social at Seaman's Lodge in Nevada City sponsored by the Nevada County Democratic Central Committee. On a hot Sunday afternoon, where the temperature was over the 100 degree mark, ice cream and other ice cold items sold by local company Lazy Dog Ice Cream, which moved quickly and were a welcome treat enjoyed by all.
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California bill aimed at preventing cattle cruelty takes step forward
06/24/2009
California dairy and ranch operators would be prohibited from "tail docking" cattle, except in emergencies, if a bill that passed its first Assembly review Tuesday becomes law.
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SB 250: A bill to end the kill
06/24/2009
SB 250, the Pet Responsibility Act, was written for the sole purpose of avoiding death - the deaths of millions of innocent animals each year.
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Florez pay cut; new bridge; developer fees
06/22/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez last week became the second local state lawmaker to voluntarily reduce his salary, The Sacramento Bee reported.
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Florez grills CDFA on budget efficiency
06/18/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, grilled leaders of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Tuesday on how the department might be consolidated or dissolved altogether.
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Hearing today on future of California ag agency
06/16/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, headed the 9:30 a.m. hearing “to consider whether or not it makes sense for agriculture to remain the only California industry with its own general fund-backed agency, when most of its functions could be performed by other departments,” his office says.
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County begins enforcing pet sterilization rules
06/05/2009
Legislators elsewhere in the state will also be looking at Riverside County's new ordinance. It was used as a model for a state Senate bill. The bill proposed by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, was approved by the Senate on June 2 and is now headed to the state Assembly for consideration.
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Editorial: Pet neutering act a key step forward
06/04/2009
Florez's bill would require adult dogs, and outdoor cats, to be spayed or neutered unless their owners paid for breeding permits. Elderly dogs and indoor cats would be exempt.
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State Senate Hearing on Madoff Losses
06/03/2009
“Steven Spielberg isn’t here tonight. Larry King isn’t here tonight. Jeffrey Katzenberg isn’t here tonight. Kevin Bacon isn’t here tonight. Tonight are the faces of real folks behind the fraud,” said Sen. Dean Florez, the Senate majority leader and chair of the select committee. “The media has focused on those four individuals, but there are thousands more who were affected by the scandal, and the state needs to hear their voices.”
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California Senate Moves to Protect Public From Recalled Foods
06/03/2009
In what may well become the model to protect consumers for the nation, the California State Senate today approved a measure by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) intended to give consumers – unnerved by a rash of food recalls – a last line of defense against food-borne illness at the cash register.
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Pet Responsibility Act clears state Senate hurdle; bill would mandate spay/neuter for California dogs
06/02/2009
The bill, introduced by state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), would require adult dogs in California to be spayed or neutered. Free-roaming cats would also be required to be spayed or neutered, although the bill doesn't apply to cats kept strictly indoors. Owners who wished to keep an unaltered dog would have to obtain a permit to do so.
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Senate reverses course, passes spay-neuter bill
06/02/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez's Pet Responsibility Act was brought back to life Tuesday with a one-time "reconsideration" and a skin-of-its teeth 21 to 16 vote in favor by the California Senate.
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Future of California’s ag agency up for debate
06/02/2009
Following Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pledge Tuesday in an address to the Legislature that every dollar of waste and inefficiency saved will be a dollar that supports critical services such as health care and education, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has called a hearing into the future of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which his committee oversees.
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Calif. lawmakers rally on animal welfare issues
06/01/2009
Proposition 2 was "the equivalent of the earthquake that shook the legislature, as Prop. 13 did," said Democratic Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter, comparing the landslide victory for animal welfare with the one in 1978 that capped property taxes at 1 percent.
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DEAN FLOREZ: It's time to rethink how we deliver services
06/01/2009
In fall 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled into the governor's office with promises to "blow up the boxes" -- to seek out and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in state government -- suggesting with great fanfare that there would be fundamental change in the way we run our great state.
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Calif lawmakers rally around animal welfare issues
05/29/2009
Proposition 2 was "the equivalent of the earthquake that shook the legislature, as Prop. 13 did," said Democratic Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter, comparing the landslide victory for animal welfare with the one in 1978 that capped property taxes at 1 percent.
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Madoff victims ask California lawmakers for tax relief
05/29/2009
Florez acknowledged that the cash-squeezed state isn't in a strong position to return tax money to its citizens, but added, "I don't think the state of California should participate in victimizing people twice. We will in essence be participating in a crime and saying the crime is OK if we keep the money."
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Senate OKs ban on removing cows' tails
05/28/2009
A bill to ban "docking" the tails of dairy cows was passed by the state Senate Tuesday on a 25-12 vote.
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, the author of Senate Bill 135, hailed the vote as a significant victory for animal welfare.
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St. Agnes Investigated for Unfair Tactics
05/28/2009
State Senator Dean Florez attended a meeting Wednesday night about the issue.
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Madoff’s California tentacles to be traced
05/27/2009
The Select Committee on Investment Malfeasance, chaired by Central Valley lawmaker Dean Florez, D-Shafter, will meet Thursday at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles to hear firsthand the damage this scheme caused Californians and explore how they may seek redress.
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Bill wants to ban some agriculture burning
05/27/2009
A Dean Florez bill that cleared the Senate recently seeks to ban agricultural burning on days when fireplace burn bans are in effect.
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Investigation of Commission Member Begins over MLPA Votes
05/27/2009
Florez recently announced that he and other Senators plan to ask some “very tough” questions of Mike Chrisman, Resources Secretary, and Sutton about the MLPA process in an upcoming Senate hearing (no date has been set yet.) These questions include why the MLPA has been expanded from a $250,000 process to a $35 million fiasco that is threatening the economy and fisheries on the North Central Coast.
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Movie Review: Food Inc.
05/27/2009
There is a long history of legislators hosting documentaries in Sacramento. But rarely has a documentary stepped so clearly into an ongoing political battle as when Senator Dean Florez, D-Shafter, introduced “Food, Inc.” at the Crest last week.
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Testimony will allege St. Agnes misconduct
05/26/2009
The panel, including Democratic Sen. Dean Florez, City Councilman Henry Perea and Father James Rude, will hear allegations that nurses were required to attend anti-union meetings and threatened with a loss of child care, health benefits and a cut in pay if they voted to unionize, according to a press release issued by the California Nurses Association.
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Valley smog fighters wage media battle
05/23/2009
"I don't understand using these precious dollars that could go to grants for cleaning the air instead going to promote current supervisors on the air board that have done nothing but vote against the many clean-air initiatives that I and other clean-air advocates have proposed," Florez said in an e-mail. "Save the TV costs, just have them sit in a room and run them on a projector to the board itself. It's their voting the right way that will clean the air, not hot air."
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Proposed California spay and neuter legislation aims to reduce cat overpopulation
05/20/2009
Among the organization’s most recent efforts is SB 250 the Pet Responsibility Act. Authored by California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, SB 250 aims to reduce pet overpopulation and euthanasia in the state.
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Opinion: This is your pig on drugs
05/19/2009
Fortunately, California Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield, has introduced SB 416, which would phase out the nontherapeutic use of important human antibiotics in livestock and poultry production in California.
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Senator demands investigation of blinded boy case
05/18/2009
Sen. Dean Florez has been a vocal critic of Kern County CPS and promoted a state investigation a few years ago.
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Valley ag burning may be tied to fireplaces
05/15/2009
“If you are telling me that air quality is such that I should not be spewing smoke into the air, then the farmer down the street should also not be spewing smoke into that same air,” says California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Air Quality.
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Jim Kellogg Asks Commission to Put MLPA Process on Hold
05/15/2009
As the Fish and Game Commission was listening to testimony over which testimony to adopt, prominent politicians, including Senator Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) and North Coast Assemblyman Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), are challenging the legitimacy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fast track MLPA Process in light of “mission creep” and conflict of interest charges.
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Bill seeks to crack egg competition
05/14/2009
AB1437, introduced by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, De-San Rafael, would impose the same rules on on out-of-state producers who sell eggs to California. The bill is co-authored by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, and Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto.
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Government roundup: Senate OKs ag burning limits
05/14/2009
A bill by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, to eliminate a double standard that let agriculture burn when the air's so unhealthy that fireplace fires are banned passed the Senate Thursday.
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Farm burning limit clears state Senate
05/14/2009
If Valley residents can't put a log on the fire on smoggy days, then growers should not burn farm waste, says state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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Martin Sheen's Views on Dean Florez & Food Safety
05/06/2009
This is a new video by Martin Sheen discussing food safety efforts by Senator Dean Florez, who has sponsored several food safety and animal welfare bills in California. Food safety is an important issue that impacts us all.
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Illegal immigrants deserve medical care for swine flu
05/04/2009
Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) put it this way after holding a daylong hearing into California's readiness for an epidemic: "If clinics are fully funded and prepared, it's going to save lives, not just the immigrants' lives through vaccinations, but the lives of non-immigrant Californians who eat the food picked, prepared and served to us every day by immigrants."
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New Senate Food and Ag Committee not following the herd
05/04/2009
One of the first things you'll see upon entering the office of Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is a big stack of books by authors such as Michael Pollan, the Berkeley writer known for his opposition to large-scale agribusiness. Along the far wall is a poster for Proposition 2, the 2008 Farm Animal Protection Act.
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Bill aims to keep hormones out of school food
04/30/2009
There is a bill in Sacramento that would prohibit schools from serving any kind of food treated with antibiotics and hormones by 2012.
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Madoff investment scam victims in California seek tax refunds
04/27/2009
Hundreds of Californians, many of them elderly and nearly broke, are pressing legislators for help in getting compensation for some of the money they lost in a Ponzi scheme run by confessed swindler Bernard Madoff.
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Senate Majority Leader Warns: “Education will take the single largest hit its ever taken in its history”
04/27/2009
The California Progress Report met up with Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez on Saturday at the California Democratic Convention. CPR spoke to him about the budget, the ballot initiatives, and his candidacy for Lt. Governor.
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State mobilizes as Californians fall victim to swine flu
04/25/2009
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, called on the California Department of Public Health to lay out the steps it is taking, and the authority it possesses, to prepare for the event of a California pandemic.
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Livestock antibiotics on chopping block
04/23/2009
Starting in 2012, the bill - SB416, by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter - would bar public schools from serving students meat that was treated with antibiotics in a non-therapeutic way - that is, administered routinely, not in response to a particular medical condition.
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Calif. bill would ease unionization of farmworkers
04/23/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, made a direct appeal to the Republican governor during the debate on the Senate floor. He said conditions for farmworkers have not improved significantly since his grandparents picked grapes in the Central Valley decades ago.
"This has got to be the bill you sign to leave a legacy in California," Florez said.
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New Florez bill may let state order food recalls
04/22/2009
The recall authority is part of Senate Bill 173, which also would give growers and food processors incentives to adopt a food safety plan and test their products routinely.
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, the bill's author, also introduced SB 416 to end the regular use of antibiotics in animals sold for human consumption.
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Key Food Bill Passes First Legislative Hurdle
04/22/2009
The Senate Food and Agriculture Committee took an important first step towards protecting the health of Californians yesterday by passing SB 416 (Florez), which would ban the routine provision of low doses of antibiotics to farm animals. This practice leads to drug-resistant bacteria that are a threat to both animal and human health. The bill now goes to the Senate Education committee, where it will be heard next week.
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State Senate committee votes against some animal antibiotics
04/22/2009
Senate Bill 416, by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), next goes to the Senate Education Committee.
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Making California pistachios safe again
04/21/2009
In the spring of 2004, five years before pistachios grown in the San Joaquin Valley became tainted with salmonella, health investigators were hunting for the same deadly bacteria in the same stretch of our state -- this time in the almond orchards.
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Initial OK given to ban on routine dosing of farm animals with antibiotics
04/21/2009
SB416, authored by state Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, chairman of the California Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture which approved the bill 3-1 Tuesday morning, would have the prohibition in place by 2015. As early as 2012 public schools would be prohibited from serving fish, poultry or meat that had been routinely treated with antibiotics.
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California moves to nip tail docking
04/21/2009
It would be illegal in California to routinely snip off the tails of dairy cows under a bill getting the approval Tuesday of the California Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture.
The bill is sponsored by the committee’s chairman, state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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Calif. senator wants to ban drugs in animal feed
04/19/2009
One of the state Senate's leaders wants to ensure that cattle, poultry and pigs raised in California aren't routinely given antibiotics, a practice consumer advocates say can lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
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Calif. Senator Wants To Ban Drugs In Animal Feed
04/19/2009
One of the state Senate's leaders wants to ensure that cattle, poultry and pigs raised in California aren't routinely given antibiotics -- a practice consumer advocates say can lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
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Del Monte Foods is 'Enriching Lives With Light' via 1.9-Megawatt SunPower Solar Panel System
04/17/2009
The celebration will take place at Del Monte's Hanford, Calif. plant, which is hosting a 1.2-megawatt SunPower solar installation. At the company's Kingsburg plant, just 33 miles from Hanford, SunPower designed and built a 759-kilowatt installation. In recognition of the importance of this milestone for Del Monte, California State Senator Dean Florez will be in attendance for the event.
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Tough spay and neuter bill patterned after Riverside County ordinance
04/16/2009
In the latest legislative attempt to create a statewide spay-and-neuter policy, the bill by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, would require the sterilization of animals that roam, lack rabies vaccinations, or are otherwise out of compliance with several existing laws.
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Spay-neuter bill clears first committee
04/15/2009
A bill by state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez that would require animal owners to spay and neuter their pets unless they get a license to leave them unaltered was passed in its first committee hearing Wednesday.
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LENO CALIFORNIA HARVEY MILK DAY BILL WINS KEY SENATE COMMITTEE VOTE
04/14/2009
Three Senators signed on as co-authors of the bill today, including Dean Florez (D-Bakersfield) who specifically emphasized the importance of the bill to all parts of California.
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MLPA is a slow go and might be stopped
04/12/2009
Key state legislators such as Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, have been made aware of the burden these marine protected areas will put on the state's budget. Florez will lead an investigation into the MLPA and alleged conflicts of interests of which Sutton and others have been accused.
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Senate Majority Leader Calls For Oversight Hearing on MLPA Process
04/12/2009
Dean Florez (D-Shafter), the California Senate Majority Leader, said he will conduct a Senate Oversight Hearing this year about conflict of interest and “mission creep” in the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process during his keynote address at the Coastside Fishing Club dinner in San Mateo on March 28.
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Callers experience problems with EDD
04/10/2009
"The state auditor told us in 2001, that we should have a system made for these types of times, and yet we sat on this report and nothing was ever implemented," said State Senator Dean Florez (D) Shafter.
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Florez rips Schwarzenegger over EDD problems
04/09/2009
“The governor is focused on ex-legislator musical chairs. He can put (Consumer Services Secretary) Fred Aguiar somewhere, create positions for people like (former Assemblywoman) Nicole Parra, find a seat for (former Assemblywoman) Sharon Runner, but he can’t appoint a secretary of labor in our worst econ decline in two decades,” said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter. “It adds insult to injury that ex-legislators are taken care of, but people can’t get their unemployment checks, because there’s no labor secretary to tell the governor the system isn’t working.”
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California to use $415 million from stimulus to aid the unemployed
04/08/2009
"EDD seems to be operating without a coherent plan to even pick up the phone when [people] call for help," Florez wrote the governor. "This is unconscionable for many Californians who are struggling economically and need the lifeline of an unemployment check."
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Lawsuit may affect clean air
04/08/2009
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, who authored state laws requiring the district to regulate agriculture, said Wednesday he supports AIR’s actions. If the air district adhered to the law and did the health analysis in the first place, it wouldn’t have to repeal the rule, he said.
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Dean Florez, 2010 lieutenant governor candidate, meets his Facebook friends
04/03/2009
California lieutenant governor candidate Dean Florez has beaten the rest of pack to the punch -- holding a video Web press conference this afternoon on his campaign Web site.
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Dean Florez to launch lieutenant governor run online
04/03/2009
California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, will announce Friday that he is running for lieutenant governor in 2010.
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Dean Florez to Launch Lt. Governor Campaign Live on Web at Noon Friday
04/03/2009
I have been studying Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez for a while and really liked what I found---a moderate Democrat who can and does have a history of getting things done and fights for the things that is important to the average Californian.
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He's in and in to win
04/03/2009
The Shafter Democrat will officially announce -- online -- his bid for lieutenant governor this at 2 p.m. this afternoon on his campaign Web site.
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Pistachio salmonella link uncovered
03/31/2009
Last session, Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, pursued strict new rules for the lettuce and spinach industry, which has dealt with E. Coli outbreaks. The bills died in the Assembly Agriculture Committee, which includes moderate Democrats who tend to be sympathetic to grower concerns.
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EDD keeps offices open Saturdays
03/28/2009
EDD Director Patrick Henning announced the move after he and his department were criticized by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who questioned whether "leadership at EDD" and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself were properly prepared for surging unemployment in California.
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EDD keeps offices open Saturdays
03/28/2009
EDD Director Patrick Henning announced the move after he and his department were criticized by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who questioned whether "leadership at EDD" and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself were properly prepared for surging unemployment in California.
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Will Madoff Scandal Impact Calif. Finances?
03/25/2009
Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter says he'll hold two hearings to give Bernard Madoff's victims a forum and investigate the impact.
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The Marine Life Protection Act mess
03/25/2009
These financial projections are now correctly being challenged by state Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter).
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EDD technology faces Senate scrutiny as unemployment rises
03/24/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, and Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, will oversee the late afternoon session.
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Super bug on the horizon?
03/24/2009
A new bill, SB416, introduced by State Senator Dean Florez, would outlaw the use of routine, preventative antibiotics in food animals in California by 2015.
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Cash registers ring up charges and safety alerts
03/23/2009
Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an op-ed piece by California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez calling for tougher laws that would allow government agencies to issue mandatory recalls, something which the Food and Drug Administration is currently unable to do. But, interestingly, he also suggested using stores’ scanning systems to help catch potentially tainted food.
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Crisis On Tap: California's water reckoning
03/21/2009
State Sens. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, and Dean Florez, D-Shafter, tried to kick-start the idea recently by introducing separate water bond bills.
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Industry reps say milk pool needs stirring
03/19/2009
Committee chairman Dean Florez, D-Shafter, declared the pool's effect on consumer prices his central concern. Since taking the committee's reigns from Republican hands in January, Florez, the Senate's majority leader, has pushed the body's focus from production agriculture toward public-health and animal-welfare issues.
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Getting tough on food-borne disease outbreaks
03/18/2009
Each time another food-borne pathogen cuts a swath across America, we righteously seek out the culprit for what amounts to a public flogging.
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Food & Water Watch Supports California Legislation Banning Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock
03/17/2009
Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, today testified before California’s Senate Food and Agriculture Committee in support of Senator Dean Florez’s legislation to ban “nontherapeutic” uses of antibiotics in livestock production by 2015.
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Checkout alert system for recalled foods sought
03/16/2009
"Once an item has made it out of the plant, off the truck and onto the shelves and is recalled, it is unreasonable to think an individual stocker can go through every shelf and identify every item that could pose a threat," state Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) said. "Grocers have the tools at their disposal to give consumers the final line of defense they need and expect."
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Farmers Lead a Bid to Create 2 Californias
03/14/2009
Some farmers are also suspicious of the political direction in Sacramento, the state capital. In January the Senate Agriculture Committee was renamed the Food and Agriculture Committee, signaling a broader, more consumer-oriented approach to agricultural policy. The committee’s chairman, State Senator Dean Florez, Democrat of Fresno, finds the secession effort emblematic of larger tensions between food consumers and producers.
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California Dreamin'
03/13/2009
In California, state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), a strong animal protection leader from the Central Valley, has restructured the traditional Senate Agriculture Committee into the new Senate Food & Agriculture Committee, which promises to take a more balanced approach and place a greater emphasis on food safety, animal welfare, and sustainability.
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Farm Sanctuary Backs Illinois Bill To Ban Bovine Tail Docking
03/11/2009
Another bill to ban tail docking of dairy cows was introduced earlier this month in the California legislature by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, who has made animal welfare a top priority for the state Senate's Committee on Food and Agriculture. While California and Illinois weigh whether to ban tail docking of dairy cows, countries like the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands have already outlawed the practice.
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California Senate probes modern-day value of milk pool
03/11/2009
California’s “milk pool” – a system set up in the 1930s to give dairy farmers equitable prices – is to be examined today at a hearing of the state Senate’s Food and Agriculture Committee, says committee chairman Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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Cats, dogs and farm animals stand to benefit from California lawmakers' new bills
03/10/2009
One such bill, introduced by state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), would outlaw the common procedure of docking dairy cows' tails except "during an individual treatment, emergency or operation, if the treatment or operation is performed by a veterinarian for veterinary purposes" with proper anesthesia.
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UNITED STATES-FOOD SAFETY
03/09/2009
State Senator Dean Florez said contamination should be reported promptly to California public health officials, and they should have the ability to quarantine products until it’s determined that they are safe.
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Bill Deadline Brings New Proposed Environmental Legislation
03/08/2009
Along with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and others, PCL is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 194 by Assemblymember Dean Florez and Assembly Bill 835 by Assemblymember Bill Monning. SB 194 asks local jurisdictions to develop and implement a plan to address the existing financial and political barriers that are part of the cause of regional inequity and infrastructure deficits in unincorporated communities throughout the State.
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Senator wants more done about food safety
03/05/2009
Shafter Senator Dean Florez and another state senator say they're concerned California isn't doing enough to protect the state's food supply. A joint hearing was held Thursday by the Senate Food and Agriculture and Education committees.
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Calif. senate holds food safety hearing
03/05/2009
State Senator Dean Florez said contamination should be reported promptly to California public health officials, and they should have the ability to quarantine products until it's determined that they are safe.
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Analysis: Even if animal control law passes, could Kern enforce it?
02/27/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez says his proposed Pet Responsibility Act would help reduce animal overpopulation and government euthanasia.
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Lawmakers seek billions to expand, improve California's water supply
02/27/2009
A competing proposal released Thursday by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) would put $15 billion in borrowed funds toward water efficiency, recycling, conservation and storage projects.
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Ag barred from burning on no-burn days
02/27/2009
Also in response to the story, state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, introduced a bill Thursday that would make the policy law.
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Water crisis demands attention now
02/27/2009
A competing proposal released Thursday by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, would use $15 billion in bonds for water efficiency, recycling, conservation and storage projects, including dams.
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Senator Florez Wants State to Control Pet Population
02/25/2009
Senator Dean Florez calls it the Pet Responsibility Act and it's designed to cut down on the millions spent each year to euthanize unwanted animals.
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New Statewide Spay/Neuter Bill Introduced Today by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, Along With Animal Welfare Advocates and Celebrities
02/25/2009
California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, "The Bachelor" Matt Grant, VH1's Lacey Conner and bill sponsor Judie Mancuso introduce SB 250 The Pet Responsibility Act in Sacramento, California.
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Florez reintroduces spay-neuter bill
02/24/2009
Florez's SB 250 requires adult animals to be fixed unless the owner obtains a license to have an "unaltered" animal over six months of age. Owners of unaltered cats would be required to keep them indoors. The license could be revoked at any time, and would also need to be transferred to the new owner if the animal was sold or given away.
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Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Equality California-Sponsored Measure Opposing Prop. 8
02/24/2009
"We sincerely appreciate Sen. Florez' willingness to stand by us in helping to safeguard the core principle of our state constitution -- equal protections for all," said Alice Kessler, Government Affairs Director for EQCA.
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Californian exclusive: Florez to propose strict animal control law
02/24/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, will launch statewide legislation today requiring animal owners to spay and neuter their pets unless they get a license to leave them unaltered.
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California Senate holds first animal welfare hearings
02/16/2009
The committee, led by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, had been set to begin to lay the framework to implement improvements in farm animal welfare under Proposition 2, approved by voters last November.
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New tail-docking bill may make California's dairy cows happier
02/13/2009
California state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) has introduced a bill, SB 135, which would outlaw the common procedure of docking dairy cows' tails except "during an individual treatment, emergency or operation, if the treatment or operation is performed by a veterinarian for veterinary purposes" with proper anesthesia.
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State lawmakers to push animal welfare
02/12/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, the new chairman, has a history of tangling with agriculture over food safety. He plans an oversight hearing next week to explore livestock welfare issues.
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Organics fraud sparks industry discussions
02/12/2009
California Certified Organic Growers likewise kept mum about the suspicions surrounding California Liquid Fertilizer. When questioned by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, chairman of the Senate ag committee, Certification Services Director Jake Lewin said he couldn't explain CCOF's lack of action because it had occurred under previous management.
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State lawmakers to push animal welfare
02/12/2009
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, the new chairman, has a history of tangling with agriculture over food safety. He plans an oversight hearing next week to explore livestock welfare issues.
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Organic growers call for more fertilizer oversight
02/04/2009
"The oversight of the organic industry from a fertilizer perspective is kind of like the wild West," said Dean Florez, D-Shafter, chairman of the state Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture.
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Florez eyes change in agriculture panel
02/01/2009
Coachella Valley farmers and their colleagues around the state will find it's a new era in the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee if the new chairman, state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has his way.
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Florez plans changes as chair of state ag committee
01/31/2009
SACRAMENTO — Headed by a new, activist chairman, the Senate agriculture committee could be facing a busy, new and, for some, uncomfortable, day.
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US: Federal raid heightens concerns about fake organic fertilizer
01/28/2009
The Feb. 3 Senate hearing will probe the causes of the Department of Food and Agriculture's slow responses and look for legislative remedies, said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who chairs the Food and Agriculture Committee.
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Sen. Florez will speak at Visalia luncheon
01/23/2009
Sen. Dean Florez will speak at a Visalia luncheon March 27 sponsored by the National Farm Workers Service Center.
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Governor: Deficit is ’rock upon our chest’
01/16/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said Schwarzenegger should stop making public appearances and negotiate a deal until a budget is signed.
Florez reiterated that in December, the legislature passed a budget that would have substantially cut the shortf
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Governor says he won't work on issues until budget is fixed
01/16/2009
"It's really the luxury of the super-wealthy to ask others to give up their pay," said Senate majority leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter. "But the question remains, is the governor willing to give up his time and stay in Sacramento to come to a budget resolut
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US: State Senate sets a new table for Food and Agriculture Committee
01/15/2009
Committee Chairman Dean Florez, D-Shafter, already has plans to conduct a number of oversight hearings this year, including an inquiry into how the use synthetic fertilizers was allowed in produce certified as organic, a look at the public health impacts
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Senate Democratic leader says governor should focus on budget
01/15/2009
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should stop making public appearances both in and out of state and focus on the negotiating process until a revised state budget is signed, says Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
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Schwarzenegger Says Deficit has ‘Incapacitated’ State (Update2)
01/15/2009
“We’re all perplexed as to what the governor has given up as a result of the budget situation the state faces,” said Senator Dean Florez, a Fresno Democrat. “It’s really the luxury of the super-wealthy to ask others to give up their pay.”
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Calif. Senate revamps ag committee
Food safety, animal welfare top new issue-focus li 01/15/2009
The committee will create a forum wherein, for the first time, consumers have a say in creating food policy, said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, the Senate's majority leader and the committee's new chairman.
"For the first time, this committee is not jus
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Agriculture panel changes name, takes on wider role
01/14/2009
Florez has been a leading proponent of stricter food safety regulations in the wake of the 2006 E. coli outbreak traced to California spinach and last year’s beef recall triggered by the release of an undercover video filmed by the Humane Society that sho
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California Leads the Way on Farm Animal Welfare
01/14/2009
We look forward to working with Sen. Florez and all of the other committee members and stakeholders to address these problems. In the past—and as it is in every other state—the Senate Agriculture Committee was a dead-end street for meaningful dialogue and
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State Senate revamps agriculture committee
01/13/2009
“There is a large and growing movement within the agriculture industry to focus on food products that are produced locally and responsibly that didn’t get the attention it deserved under the old committee format,” adds Mr. Florez. “As we work to reign in
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Focus On Food: Calif. Senate Forms Committee
California Democrats Take Aim At Animal Welfare, F 01/13/2009
"I can tell you, the animal welfare issue is very much at the forefront of this committee. There's no doubt about it, Prop. 2 was the wake-up call," Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter said.
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When you can't light a fire, why can ag?
01/10/2009
“An ag burn is not good for the air. Period,” Florez said. “If we're getting to the point where we're not going to let residents burn in their fireplaces, then ag needs to find some sort of symmetrical solution.”
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Who locally could see state IOUs instead of cash?
01/07/2009
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said how long the impasse lasts is really up to the governor as the legislature just gave him a solution.
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Facilities have to reveal infection rates
01/06/2009
Senate Bill 158 by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, requires all hospitals in the state to implement tougher infection-control practices to stem outbreaks. SB 1058 by state Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, requires hospitals to publicly disclose thei
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News Archive 2008
12/31/2008
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