For years, I have criticized the public minutes of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC). After reviewing the minutes from June 28, 2010, I see nothing has changed; They reflect nothing:

Approval of Minutes.
Comments were made by Mr. Daniel.
Minutes were approved as amended.

 

There is no description of what the amendments are.

A member comments on matters not on the agenda.
Comments were made by Mr. Robinson.
Questions were propounded by Mr. Yegparian.
Comments were made by Mr. Robinson and Executive Director.

Senator Huff's comments on SMMC
[watch video]

I have no clue as to what is being discussed.

The SMMC is a public agency created by the voters in 1980, and we should not allow this blatant obfuscation of minutes. The Conservancy may hit the letter of the law in the way in which they record their meetings, but they certainly don’t hit the intent of the law.

Californians deserve to know how their hard-earned money is being spent. The SMMC should be focusing on building confidence, not eroding it by these vague minutes. As I have for years, I will continue to push for transparency and accountability in every aspect of government.

Senator Bob Huff
Resident of Diamond Bar

Photo courtesy of Paul Khoury

Senator Bob Huff (R – Diamond Bar) joined Senator Gloria Romero (D – East Los Angeles) at a press conference on June 5 to announce that SB 1116, a bill to clearly establish and define a “heritage school” passed off the Senate Floor with unanimous support. SB 1116 now moves to the Assembly. Senator Romero is a joint-author of Senator Huff’s bill which effects numerous schools in their respective districts.

Heritage schools are privately financed, culture-based educational entities, many of which have been in operation for decades. They meet after regular school hours, on the weekends and during the summer, outside of the public school structure.

“Heritage schools play an integral role in our communities, as they are a major source of language and heritage instruction at the K-12 level,” commented Senator Huff. “They help prepare students for courses in advanced language and literature at colleges and universities at no taxpayer expense, and some public schools even grant credit to students for classes taken at these heritage schools. These schools provide a very beneficial service, particularly with less funding available for public education.”

Absent legislation, these schools will be closed. Since heritage schools are not defined in state code as educational entities, the Department of Social Services (DSS) sometimes designates heritage schools as childcare centers, and forces them to close.

“In the Legislature, grand endeavors often take more than one two-year legislative session cycle,” Senator Huff said. “For three years, I have sought to educate state lawmakers about the need to legally define heritage schools. I consider this a major victory.”

For months, I have been working on Senate Bill 1051, a bill to help prevent epileptic students from experiencing brain damage or death due a seizure while at school. The bill was debated and passed by both the Senate Education and Senate Health Committees with bipartisan support. However SB 1051 was held by Senate leadership in the Appropriations Committee due to union pressure. Today, I stood up on the Senate Floor to call on Senate leadership to put aside politics and release this bill so that it may move forward. You can watch the video here and you can read more about the bill in the following articles.

• Kids’ Emergency Epilepsy Bill Gets Shelved (Sacramento Bee, 5-28-10)
• Jumping Down the Rabbit Hole in Sacramento (Los Angeles Times, 5-16-10)
• Bill Expanding School Medication Policy Stalls in Committee (Orange County Register, 3-25-10)
• Schools’ Medication Policy Leaves Students at Risk (Orange County Register, 2-22-10)
• Bob Huff: Protecting Children or Unions? (Orange County Register, 2-21-10)