SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly Joint Resolution 4, authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), passed out of the Assembly Public Safety Committee with a bipartisan, 7-1 vote. The bill will next go to the Assembly Floor for a vote of the full State Assembly. Passing AJR 4 will put California’s Legislature on record demanding U.S. Congressional passage of and a Presidential signature on House Resolution 8, by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act.”

“This success is particularly meaningful today, because the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 will be considered for a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow.  I will do everything I can to support Congressman Thompson’s efforts,” said Aguiar-Curry. “Nearly 1200 children have been killed by guns in our country since the Parkland Shootings in Florida last year.  I simply cannot understand why Congress has not acted to pass a measure which prevents criminals and the mentally ill from bypassing checks on their ability to obtain weapons, especially ones meant for no other purpose than to hurt or kill human beings.” 

Sacramento, CA – Today, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced Assembly Bill 958, to provide local, organic food to children in schools. School meals with organic foods offer benefits for health, the environment, and California’s economy by increasing access to organic food for low-income children, decreasing pesticide exposure, increasing climate resilience, and supporting the organic market for California farmers.

California farmers grow food for the whole nation, and they grow more organic produce than any other state. Despite this, many low-income California communities do not have an adequate food supply of their own, and many children lack access to fresh, healthy food.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced Assembly Bill 324, the “Childcare Professional Development Act.” This bill will provide expanded childcare workforce development grants to new providers, so that our state has the capacity to administer a higher level of care to an increased number of children.

“For the third year in a row, I will fight for high-quality, affordable childcare in California,” said Aguiar-Curry. “My bill, AB 324, will ensure that our kids and families can access early education programs by empowering new providers to enter the system and encouraging existing teachers to continue learning.  We now know that the job of education starts on day one.  Training and retaining qualified, committed professionals is critical to our children’s future.”

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry issued the following statement in response to the California State Auditor’s Report on the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) and Department of General Services (DGS) mismanagement of State Veterans Home Properties:

I am deeply troubled by the results of the audit detailing the mismanagement of the state’s Veterans Home properties.  I can only speak for the Yountville Home in my 4th Assembly District, but I have consistently expressed my concerns about the management of the home and conditions for veterans. The findings in the report that DGS and CalVet did NOT assure lease revenue generated on Veterans Home properties were returned back to the Homes is shocking. The conditions at the Yountville Home MUST be improved after years of underinvestment and deferred maintenance.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) made the following statement today after the announcement that the investigation of the Tubbs Fire has been concluded:

Today Governor Newsom and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE) announced the completion of the investigation of the October 2017 “Tubbs Fire.”

I’ve been briefed by CAL-FIRE that the cause of the Tubbs Fire was a “private electric facility.”  This “facility” consisted of private power lines connected to a home from PG&E main lines, legally and through agreement with the utility.  Maintenance for such facilities is the legal responsibility of the homeowner.  The fire resulted from a failure of the homeowner’s equipment, most likely caused by weather conditions at the time.

I remain most concerned about the victims of the Tubbs Fire, and the increasing number and seriousness of the wildfires over the past several years.  The effort to rebuild after these horrific events continues and we must be ever-mindful of each victim’s well-being and their irreplaceable loss of family members and homes that they’ve spent their lives assembling.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) has introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 4 with coauthors Senators Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), and Assemblymembers Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), Marc Levine (D-Marin), and Tim Grayson (D-Concord). This bill puts California’s Legislature on record demanding U.S. Congressional passage of, and a Presidential signature on House Resolution 8, the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act.

Introduced by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who also serves as the Gun Violence Task Force Chairman, H.R. 8 requires uniform and universal background checks on all gun purchases and transfers. The law would obligate unlicensed gun sellers to perform background checks on gun purchasers and transferees by requiring them to utilize licensed dealers to sell and transfer firearms. This would include a carefully formulated definition that details the exception of guns purchased in the context of gifts to family members, hunting, target shooting, and self-defense.