New law provides help for veterans with traumatic brain injuries
October 6, 2010 (Sacramento)--Assemblymember Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista)--reported the Governor’s signature on two bills that she authored, which will increase veterans' access to mental health services and expand affordable housing opportunities for farm workers.The Governor also vetoed several Salas bills, however, which aimed to help veterans, protect consumers, promote financial literacy and expand access to dental services.
“I am pleased Governor Schwarzenegger recognized the importance of Assembly Bill 674 and 702,” said Salas. “Ensuring our veterans have access to mental health treatment services and assisting hard working farm workers access affordable housing were my top legislative priorities.”
AB 702 update’s California’s farm worker definition to the federal definition which is broader and recognizes work performed on and off the farm. The bill will broaden access to safe, affordable and stable housing for farm workers who form the backbone of California’s billion dollar agricultural industry.
AB 674 expands veterans’ eligibility for mental health treatment programs when involved in the court system. The bill adds sexual trauma and traumatic brain injury to the list mental health disorders eligible for court ordered diversion and treatment programs. Veterans committing offenses and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related injuries will now be eligible to receive mental health treatment instead of mandatory jail time.
Salas also expressed disappointment with the Governor’s veto of bills to help veterans, protect consumers, promote financial literacy and expand access to dental services.
“The Governor’s veto of these bills reflects a poor vision for our state,” said Salas. “I’m very disappointed that despite the overwhelming needs in our communities, the Governor turned his back on consumers, said no to increasing Californians’ financial I.Q. and rejected increasing access to dental services for underserved communities.”
Below is a brief description provided by Salas' office of her bills vetoed by the Governor:
VETOED
• AB 1570 - Requires the state Dental Board in conjunction with the Health Professions Education Foundation, to study approaches to increasing access to volunteer dental services. Last year’s cuts to Medi-Cal optional benefits such as dental services and continuing high unemployment rates have resulted in more individuals and families in desperate need of charity care. AB 1570 would have addressed one of the barriers to increasing the number of volunteer dentists which is the cost of malpractice insurance.
• AB 1925 - Clarifies the authority of superior courts to develop and implement veterans’ courts and provides a uniform model for counties and courts to follow when opting to establish one. This measure modeled the success of various veterans’ courts in our state and consistent with existing mental health court statutes, would have served as an important tool for counties and courts to help veterans in need of mental health treatment without jeopardizing public safety.
• AB 2076 – Protects consumers from absentee florists engaging in the deceptive practice of adopting local names and phone numbers to create the appearance of a locally owned and operated business by requiring the disclosure of their physical location in advertisements. This important consumer protection measure sought to increase awareness among buyers of floral products, support economic activity in local communities, improve sales tax collection and help encourage job retention and growth within California’s floral industry.
• AB 2457 - Establishes a Financial Literacy Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes the State Controller to accept and spend contributions for financial literacy training purposes in California. This measure was designed to be an important step towards increasing financial literacy among Californians by supporting strategic partnerships between the state and private and nonprofit sectors working on financial literacy issues. By establishing a central source to collect and administer financial literacy funds and programs, California could have been better positioned to more efficiently and strategically increase financial literacy throughout the state.
