Author: Admin
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The Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services Act: How AB 757 Carved Mental Health Out of Standard Medi-Cal
In the early 1990s, a Medi-Cal beneficiary in California who needed specialty mental health services was, in most cases, unable to find a provider. Assembly Member Richard G. Polanco wrote a law that carved the services out of standard Medi-Cal and gave county mental health departments the responsibility for delivering them. The law was AB…
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The Employee Housing Act: How SB 305 Brought Employer-Provided Housing Under California State Regulation
In the early 1990s, the California farmworker who arrived at employer-provided housing after a long day in the field was, in many cases, arriving at a dwelling that the state had never inspected. Senator Richard G. Polanco wrote a law that changed that. The law was SB 305, the Employee Housing Act.
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The Pharmacy Technician Licensing Act: How AB 1244 Created the Missing Workforce Category in California Pharmacy
In the early 1990s, a California pharmacist who filled more than 100 prescriptions in a day was filling them with no qualified help. Assembly Member Richard G. Polanco wrote a law that created the missing category. The law was AB 1244, the Pharmacy Technician Licensing Act.
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The Money Transmission Act: How AB 1461 Built the Regulatory Framework for California Money Transfer Stores
In the late 1980s, a California consumer who walked into a money order storefront was, in most cases, walking into a business that the state did not regulate. Assembly Member Richard G. Polanco wrote a law that changed that. The law was AB 1461, the California Money Transmission Act.
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The Mexican American Veterans Memorial: How AB 1350 Built a Permanent Recognition on the State Capitol Grounds
By 1993, the State Capitol grounds in Sacramento had memorials to Vietnam, Korean War, and World War II veterans. None to the Mexican American veterans, despite a service history that extended from the Texas Revolution through the Gulf War. Assembly Member Richard G. Polanco wrote AB 1350 to change that.
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The AIDS Hospice Licensing Act: How AB 4536 Built a Legal Category for End-of-Life Care in the Epidemic
In 1988, at the height of the AIDS epidemic in California, the state had a hospice licensing system built around general end-of-life care. The system had no category for the kind of care that AIDS patients needed. Assembly Member Richard G. Polanco wrote a law that created the category. The law was AB 4536, the…
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The Child Death Review Teams: How AB 4585 Built a Mechanism for Preventing the Deaths Nobody Could See
In 1988, a first-term Assembly Member from Northeast Los Angeles wrote a law that required every California county to convene a multidisciplinary team to look at every child death and ask, in writing, what could have prevented it. The law was AB 4585, the Child Death Review Team program, and it was the first of…
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The California Voting Rights Act: How SB 976 Gave Communities a Real Voice
In the summer of 2002, a Senate Majority Leader from Northeast Los Angeles got a law signed that would change the way more than 170 California cities elect their local officials. This is the record of the California Voting Rights Act.
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Before the Digital Divide: How AB 3643 and SB 1563 Built California’s Right to Be Connected
In 1994, four years before the term digital divide entered the national vocabulary, a California State Senator from Northeast Los Angeles got a law signed that put the right to be connected into the Public Utilities Code. This is the record of the two bills that built California's universal service framework.
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The Polanco Act: How AB 3193 Let California Cities Reclaim Contaminated Land
In the closing days of the 1990 California legislative session, a thirty-nine-year-old first-term Assembly member got a law signed that would change the shape of California cities for the next three decades. This is the record of the Polanco Act.