Welcome to my legislative website. It is an honor to have this opportunity to serve my community. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any comments, questions or concerns that you may have with the district—or with your state government.
WHO: Assembly Committees on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials; Housing and Community Development; and, Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality
WHAT: Hearing on the November 2018 proposed ballot initiative, "Eliminates Certain Liability for Lead-Paint Manufacturers. Authorizes Bonds to Fund Structural and Environmental Remediation Projects"
Senator Richard Pan and Assemblymember Bill Quirk, Sacramento Bee
Since 2004, cases of disease spread by pests such as ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes have tripled nationwide. According to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, these vector-borne diseases increased in the U.S. from 27,388 in 2004 to 97,075 in 2016.
Around the world, diseases spread by mosquitoes alone kill hundreds of thousands of people each year. Here at home, we are working hard to track and control the spread of West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, chikungunya, dengue, and Zika. Vaccines simply do not exist for most of these illnesses. Vector control is the best and only preventative defense against the health threats they pose.
Shhhhh! Listen carefully. You hear a rumbling sound? No, thankfully, that’s not the dreaded Big One. It is the sound of the progressives, who enacted the initiative process as a check on corporate greed, rolling in their graves.
Why so restless? Because a statewide initiative is being circulated by three giant companies that is disguised as charity but underneath is pure grinning greed. It is maybe the most cynically deceptive initiative in our state’s history.
Here’s the story. Corporate conglomerate Conagra Brands (owner of Marie Callender’s, Reddi-wip, and Orville Redenbacher’s, and many more), Dutch Boy paint company Sherwin-Williams and NL (short for National Lead) Industries were found by a state appellate court last year to have for decades “knowingly promot(ed) lead paint for interior residential use,” even though the corporations knew lead exposure was dangerous, especially to children.
Because of voter initiatives and progressive legislation, medicinal cannabis is legal in over half of the United States. But even in states where medical marijuana is allowed, patients still do not always enjoy the same protections that are afforded for commonly prescribed medications.
Despite how it is used, medicinally or recreationally, marijuana is federally illegal, so doctors are banned from prescribing it. Instead, they offer recommendations, which are protected free speech under the First Amendment.
But because cannabis does not reside in the same nationwide regulatory realm that opioids and other prescribed drugs do, it is not always treated the same by employers in legal states. Depending on the business, they may or may not have an issue with a current or potential employee who uses medicinal marijuana.
A state bill to restart the party advances in Sacramento.
David Downs, East Bay Express
Cannabis cups have been less fun since legalization.
Summer is approaching, which usually means a full slate of cannabis events around the state. But new rules under Proposition 64 have thrown cold water on promoters.
That's because while cannabis events used to take place in a legal gray area, they now require approval by local jurisdictions in addition to the state. Prop 64 allows the state to issue temporary licenses for cannabis events with onsite consumption and sales at county fairgrounds, but local jurisdictions have the power to deny such permits.
The worldwide loot box controversy continues. After the Dutch and Belgian Gambling Authorities announced enforcement action on loot boxes this week and the week before, a new loot box bill was introduced in Minnesota, USA this week. The bill joins other state level legislative efforts in the USA which were introduced since the global loot box debate peaked in the second half of 2017. This short summary describes the most notable political and regulatory reactions to loot boxes in the USA so far, including the newly introduced Minnesota bill.
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IV. Bill by Californian Assembly Member Dr. Bill Quirk
While the recreational cannabis market continues to pick up steam, lawmakers in Sacramento continue to work out the kinks in the system. Several marijuana-related measures are moving forward.
Lawmakers say the goal is to limit black market activities.
Here’s where some of those proposals stand:
Temporary event licenses >> Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) proposed AB 2020, which would allow consumption and sales of cannabis at certain special events.
In Humboldt County, this would allow cannabis farmers markets or cannabis festivals to take place. Restrictions on the types of special events have curtailed both activities. Organizers of Cannifest 2018 put the event on hold earlier this year because of a “lack of policies” being in place.
WASHINGTON — APRIL 17, 2018 — The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represents the US video game industry, today applauded California Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) for his leadership in taking steps to empower consumers and parents alike to make informed purchasing decisions.
FAIRFIELD — Perhaps the last thing on anyone’s mind on a rainy Monday morning was the threat of mosquitoes.
However, according to the state Department of Public Health, “there has been a steep rise in detections of invasive mosquito populations in California . . . which increases the risk of local transmission of imported diseases.”
April 15-22 is Mosquito Awareness Week.
The end of the recent drought and the lifting of water restrictions also mean the return of water practices that create more mosquito habitat, the state agency reports.
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