Rating the Lawmakers : Members of the Assembly Take Stock After Legislature Ends

Each year, thousands of bills are introduced in the Legislature by state lawmakers whose names or track records may mean little to the average voter. While the decisions made in Sacramento may seem distant to Southern California residents, it is the state Capitol where many critical local issues get resolved.

From education to earthquake relief to economic reform, state legislators tackle a wide range of problem with solutions that sometimes typify which side of the ideological aisle the lawmaker occupies.

In the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, state legislators embrace a broad spectrum of views, ranging from the staunchest conservative to the most libreral.

To familiarize readers with area representatives, here is a look at their highlights from the 1993-94 legislative session. *

Paula Boland, R-Granada Hills

38th Assembly District (includes Northridge, Los Angeles, Simi Valley, Fillmore)

Elected to the Assembly in 1990

Term Limit: 1996

Career before statehouse: Realtor/businesswoman

Running for reelection Nov. 8.

Specialty areas: Crime, victims rights, school district break-up

Key bills authored and signed into law:

-- AB 290, lifts statute of limitations for pressing charges for child molestation.

-- AB 1915, allows jurors to keep personal data secret in high-profile trials.

-- AB 2782, prohibits inmates from changing their names while in prison.

-- AB 2815, requires notification of victims if convicted rapist tests positive for HIV.

Bill passage rate: Of 47 bills Boland introduced, 15 were signed into law.

Voting record: Boland abstained or was absent from 1% of her floor votes; 7% of her committee votes. She voted yes 76% of the time, no 22%.

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Barbara Friedman, D-North Hollywood

40th Assembly District (includes North Hollywood, Reseda, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles)

Elected to the Assembly July 1991

Term limit: 1996

Career before statehouse: Chief deputy city controller.

Running for reelection Nov. 8.

Specialty areas: Domestic violence, breast cancer prevention, health care.

Key bills authored and signed into law:

-- AB 478 and AB 2055, together established the Breast Cancer Act of 1993, creating funds for prevention and study.

-- AB 167, provides $30 million to fund battered women shelters, programs and domestic violence prosecution.

-- AB 890, requires health care professionals to undergo training to detect domestic violence.

-- AB 3410, creates new state program to step up inspection of licensed firearms dealers.

Bill passage rate: Of 47 bills Friedman introduced, 21 were signed into law.

Voting record: Friedman abstained or was absent from 15% of her floor votes; 9% of her committee votes. She voted yes 85% of the time; no 2%.

*

Terry B. Friedman, D-Brentwood

41st Assembly District

Elected to the Assembly 1986

Term Limit: 1996

Career before statehouse: attorney

Running for Superior Court judgeship Nov. 8.

Specialty areas: legal affairs, anti-smoking, disaster relief.

Key bills authored and signed into law:

-- AB 13, outlaws smoking in workplaces--the nation’s toughest anti-smoking law.

-- AB 1900, strengthens the state’s antiquated child labor laws and hikes fines for violators.

-- AB 2802, authorizes the state to lease two “super scooper” state-of-the-art firefighting planes.

-- AB 3270, requires the state to pick up local governments’ costs for fighting Southern California’s wildfires in 1993.

Bill passage rate: Of 41 bills Friedman introduced, 12 were signed into law.

Voting record: Friedman abstained or was absent from 16% of his floor votes; 29% of his committee votes. He voted yes 76% of the time; no 6%.

*

Bill Hoge, R-Pasadena

44th District (includes a portion of Glendale, Tujunga, La Canada, Pasadena)

Elected to the Assembly in 1992

Term limit: 1998

Career before statehouse: insurance

Running for reelection Nov. 8

Specialty areas: insurance, gambling, race tracks.

-- AB 8X, creates a statewide registry of convicted arsonists.

-- AB 3058, cuts bureaucratic paperwork required of the insurance industry.

-- AB 2936, defines illegal drugs for race horses.

-- AB 3169, requires criminal defendants to pay restitution to victims.

Bill passage rate: Of 30 bills Hoge introduced, 9 were signed into law.

Voting record: Hoge abstained or was absent from 4% of his floor votes; 17% of his committee votes. Hoge voted yes 67% of the time, no 28%.

*

Richard Katz, D-Sylmar

39th District (includes Los Angeles, Sylmar, San Fernando)

Elected to the Assembly in 1980

Term limit: 1996

Career before statehouse: graphic artist/printer

Running for reelection Nov. 8

Specialty areas: transportation, earthquake safety, water.

Key bills authored and signed into law:

-- AB 3148, requires unlicensed motorists to forfeit vehicles to the state when caught driving without a valid license a second time.

-- AB 2508, makes an elected official, not taxpayers, responsible for court judgments against him or her.

-- AB 2716, reduces worktime credits available to violent offenders to reduce their sentences.

-- AB 36X, outlaws price gouging after an earthquake or other disaster.

Bill passage rate: Of 45 bills Katz introduced, 23 were signed into law.

Voting record: Katz abstained or was absent from 17% of his floor votes; 14% of his committee votes. He voted yes 80% of the time; no 4%.

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William J. “Pete” Knight, R-Palmdale

36th District (includes Lancaster, Palmdale, Santa Clarita)

Elected to the Assembly in 1992

Term limit: 1998

Career before statehouse: Palmdale mayor, retired Air Force colonel.

Running for relection Nov. 8.

Specialty areas: Veterans affairs, economic development, eliminating state boards.

Key bills authored and signed into law:

-- AB 2411, allows active duty military personnel from out-of-state to pay residents’ community college fees.

-- AB 3634, requires speedy notification when interest rates drop for California veterans home loans.

-- AB 3635, places a cap on fees that state-run veterans’ homes can charge residents.

-- AB 1438, allows the state to create two new enterprize zones, with one possibly going to Palmdale.

Bill passage rate: Of 51 bills Knight introduced, 17 were signed into law.

Voting record: Knight abstained or was absent from 4% of his floor votes; 7% of his committee votes. He voted yes 72% of the time; no 23%.

*

Burt M. Margolin, D-Los Angeles

42nd District (includes Studio City, Sherman Oaks, West Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills)

Elected to the Assembly in 1982

Term limit: 1996

Career before statehouse: congressional aide

Retiring, after losing primary for state insurance commissioner.

Specialty areas: health care, insurance and environmental protection.

Key bills authored and signed into law:

-- AB 1768, eliminates sale of health insurance that excludes pre-existing condition.

-- AB 3682, prohibits unfair discrimination in workers’ compensation insurance rates.

-- AB 1676, protects doctors who recommend medical procedures despite the objections of HMOS.

-- AB 3444, closes a loophole that allows conflicts of interest on state advisory panels.

Bill passage rate: Of 57 bills Margolin introduced, 24 were signed into law.

Voting record: Margolin abstained or was absent from 27% of his floor votes; 26% of his committee votes. He voted yes 69% of the time; no 4%.

*

James E. Rogan, R-Glendale

43rd District (includes parts of Burbank, Glendale)

Elected to the Assembly in June 1994

Term limit: 2000

Career before statehouse: Municipal Court judge

Elected May 3, 1994. Running for relection Nov. 8.

Specialty areas: public safety, judiciary, health care

Key bill authored and signed into law:

-- AB 156X, tightens rules for appointing conservators to mentally incompetent defendants.

Bill passage rate: Rogan entered the Legislature in a special election held after the regular bill introduction deadline. Consequently he has only one bill, which was signed into law.

Voting record: Rogan abstained or was absent from 2% of his floor votes; 14% of his committee votes. He voted yes 73% of the time; no 25%.

Source: Legi-Tech computer tracking service.