Assemblyman Leland Yee: Update from Sacramento

I have always appreciated that the residents of the 12th Assembly District are eager to maintain a high level of involvement with issues that affect their community, city and state. For this reason, as the year progresses, I feel it is important to keep you apprised of significant pieces of legislation as they make their way through the legislative process.

I have crafted a bill package that addresses issues that are important to San Franciscans and to all Californians: healthcare, education, children and families and language access. As a child psychologist, I know that mental health services are just as important as medical services and, therefore, should not be overlooked when enacting legislation.

In recent years, concerns about the adequacy of insurance benefits and quality of care for individuals with mental illness have led the majority of states and the federal government to require equal coverage for both mental health and medical conditions. For this reason, my legislative package contains several bills to address mental healthcare for Californians, including children.

Among them is Assembly Bill 938 (AB 938) which will ensure that mental health services are available to children by offering loan forgiveness incentives to graduate students preparing to go into the mental health field.

Another bill, AB 1102, would address the stigmatization that often surrounds mental health issues by instating sensitivity training for law enforcement officials. The bill would expand on a program currently employed in San Francisco and help offer assurances statewide that officers will know how to respond when faced with the difficult challenges that arise through public confrontations involving mental health patients.

Being a former school board member, I understand the importance of providing equal access to educational opportunities, particularly in light of the challenges faced by California's students with special needs. Equality in education must address the programs and services available, as well as the cultural and historical relevance of the curriculum being offered.

In the area of education, I would like to ensure the teaching of information about the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, thus offering students broader exposure to historical events that have impacted many members of our community.

My AB 1259 attempts to address the cultural and ethnic make-up of the state board of education appointees, ensuring fair representation for California's diverse population of students and teachers. As a Chinese-American I am acutely aware of the language barriers faced by those who speak English as a second language.

Merchants should not be made into criminals for using their native language while conducting routine business and parents who speak limited English should feel as comfortable as English speakers when seeking medical care or accessing government services.

I have also authored several bills to tackle the language access needs of California's increasingly diverse population. Assembly Bill 566 would permit on-site translation of non-English receipts, allowing merchants to avoid criminal prosecution for conducting business in their native tongue.

Additionally, you are probably aware of my AB 292, which would ban the use of children as interpreters in medical and counseling arenas. The bill would help keep children out of traumatic situations and would ensure that limited English speakers and their family members receive equal medical care or quality service from their government without errors due to inadequate interpretation.

You can read the content of these and other bills at www.leginfo.ca.gov. I encourage you to take a moment to learn not only about the bills I am bringing before the legislature, but also to look into other policy issues currently affecting your community. Feel free to contact me at (916) 319-2012 with questions about my legislative package.

Assemblyman Leland Yee is the assistant speaker pro tem at the California state Assembly.