With the one year anniversary of the historic California recall
having just passed, we are reminded by the dynamic changes in
California politics.
Dear Editor,
With the one year anniversary of the historic California recall having just passed, we are reminded by the dynamic changes in California politics. Gov. Schwarzenegger came into office with a bipartisan spirit to reform California and restore it back to its glory. I am proud to say that I have been able to work with the governor and other legislators to foster this bipartisan spirit.
In the past few years, California rural and suburban communities have had numerous sexually violent predators dumped into their backyards. Judges have ordered sexually violent predator Brian DeVries to be relocated to the city of Soledad (Monterey County), Patrick Ghilotti to Vacaville (Solano County), and most recently, a Contra Costa County Court Judge considered placing another sex predator Cary Verse, into Merced County – even though the predators are not from those counties.
This past legislative session, I worked closely with the governor and Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D- Salinas, to pass Assembly Bill 493, a measure that requires sexually violent predators that are released to be placed in the county of their residence prior to conviction unless a court finds extraordinary circumstances that would require placement elsewhere. It also requires the Department of Mental Health to consider the concerns of the victim and the victim’s family when placing sexually violent predators. This will prevent judges from simply placing these criminals into unsuspecting communities. Activist judges should not be allowed to continue playing “hide the predator.”
This new law is a good first step in formulating a common sense statewide policy for dealing with sexually violent predators. An overall comprehensive placement policy must be established, and I look forward to continue working with all of my colleagues in the State Legislature and the governor to solve this problem.
In April, I was able to forge a bi-partisan agreement on SB 1535, the governor’s Long-term Student Fee Proposal, with Senator Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach) to help protect students from “emergency fee increases.” In December of 2002, the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees quickly imposed new higher fees, blindsiding students. A similar CSU fee increase in the fall of 2003 lead to over 900 Cal State Fullerton students being dropped from their classes. This new legislation helps students and families prepare college finances. We were able to combine my legislation with Sen. Karnette’s to create a comprehensive student protection package.
It is through these bipartisan solutions that we are able to serve the needs of our communities. I am proud to work with both Democrats and Republicans on these issues as well as others. I will work this year on bipartisan legislation that would provide state funding to Stanislaus County and the City of Modesto for the exorbitant costs of Scott Peterson trial and investigation. We have made significant progress in the past year and I hope to continue to work to move California forward in the upcoming legislative session.
State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced
