Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Open Board of Directors Meeting
San Bernardino Community College District
114 S. Del Rosa Drive
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Presiding: Phil Waller called the meeting to order and presided over the meeting.
Present: Deborah Barmack, Peter Barmack, Carole Beswick, Tom Brickley, Matthew Buck, Ken Coate, Scott Davis, Louis Goodwin, Scott Hofferber, Matthew Isaac, Lowell King, Sue McKee, John Mirau, Dan Murphy, Tom Nightingale, Brian Reider, Jan Remm, Paul Shimoff, Wendy Strack, and Phil Waller.
Guests: Charles Dalldorf, Juan Herrera, Tyler Madary, Tricia Almiron and Todd Warden.
Announcements: 1) The reception on December 9, 2013, honoring the California Transportation Commission and co-sponsored by Inland Action was successful and well attended. 2) Appreciation was expressed to Carole Beswick and participants for a very enjoyable Holiday Reception held on Dec. 10th.
M/S/P: Minutes from December 8, 2015.
Jan Remm introduced Senator Richard Roth.
Senator Roth was elected to represent the California State Senate’s 31st District in 2012. The 31st State Senate District includes portions of Riverside County including the Cities of Corona, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Moreno Valley, Norco, Perris and Riverside.
A longtime advocate of the Inland Empire, Senator Roth is chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on State Administration and General Government, and he chairs the Senate Insurance Committee. The Senator also serves as Vice Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. He remains passionate about judgeships and transportation and expressed that he will continue to work on these issues regardless of committee assignment.
The Rainy Day Budget Stabilization Fund is building thanks in part to the Governor’s good planning and some luck. The State is financially healthy, and it must remain so as another down turn is expected in 2020.
There is no replacement for redevelopment funding but success has been experienced in the GO-Biz office with the California Competes tax credit program. Tax credits are aimed at helping business grow and stay in California but are also available for business’s interested in relocating to California. Last year ten businesses in Riverside received $7M in tax credits. The next application round is scheduled for January 2016. The Senator encourages Inland Empire businesses to strongly review and apply for these incentives.
Senator Roth discussed some current and past legislation.
SB 22-This bill will create a voluntary public-private partnership to fund additional Graduate Medical Education (GME) residency positions throughout the State of California. SB 22 will provide for the training of more primary care physicians throughout the State and provide more doctors to severely underserved areas. Status-Expected out of the Senate in January 2016.
SB 112-California has the largest veteran population of any state, but has never expressly codified veterans’ rights into law. Other states and nations, namely Massachusetts and Canada, have affirmed basic veterans’ rights as law, in part to combat growing concerns over delayed or denied services and benefits. Vital components of these various bills of rights have been the affirmation of veterans’ rights to be involved in the decisions affecting their daily lives, to experience transparency, courtesy and immediacy in interacting with organizations that serve them, and to transition back to civilian life without retaliation or stigma. Status-Hearing postponed by committee.
SB 229-Appropriates $16,015,000 to fund 10 of the 50 Superior Court judgeships previously authorized by AB 159 (Jones, 2007), and establish 1 additional Appellate Court Justiceship. Status-Vetoed by Governor as he intends to work with Judicial Council to develop a more system wide approach to balance the workload and judgeships around the State.
SB251-California and federal law attempt to strike a critical balance between protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and rewarding good-faith efforts to make businesses open and accessible to all of its customers. To further these goals, the Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act (CRASCA) was enacted to lower the civil liability of businesses that have their locations inspected for compliance with disability access standards by a Certified Access Specialist (CAS) and make any changes necessary to ensure compliance with construction related accessibility standards. SB 251 proposes minor revisions to CRASCA and related provisions to clarify existing law. Status-Vetoed by Governor as it increased tax credits.
Senator Roth believes he has no impact on the Governors Appointments and finds they have been somewhat unresponsive but he is hopeful that Jane Carney will be approved.
The Senator works predominantly on bi-partisan projects and stressed that we can all work together when we use recognition, respect and resources to solve each other’s problems.
A Q & A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:31 a.m.