Skip to main content

Newsroom

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry Introduces Internet for All Act of 2021, Announces Partnership with Senator Lena Gonzalez to Deliver 21st Century Connectivity to All Californians

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced Assembly Bill 14, known as the ‘Internet for All Act of 2021’. The Assemblymember has also reached agreement to work in partnership with Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) to revolutionize the State’s broadband deployment program under the California Advanced Services Program, and provide new and increased funding to bring California into the technological 21st Century.

The two Members, who individually advanced legislation elevating the discussion of the sorry state of internet connectivity in the State, have joined forces to bring forward the funding and reforms necessary to truly achieve Internet for All.  The bills will build on the extension of the CASF program under AB 1665, signed into law in 2017 (joint authored by Assemblymembers Garcia, Aguiar-Curry, Holden, McCarty, Bonta, Gallagher, Low, Santiago, Wood, and then-Assemblymember, now Senator Brian Dahle).

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry Proposes Innovative Children’s Mental Health Access Network to Bring Care to All Kids in California

SACRAMENTO— On Wednesday, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced Assembly Bill 2464, which creates and funds the establishment of a Children’s Mental Health Access Network to ensure that all California doctors and allied health professionals caring for youth have access to specialty mental healthcare services, regardless of their location. Many children and adolescents’ mental health needs could be effectively managed in a primary care setting, but their pediatric primary care providers currently lack the specialized training and resources they need. This bill utilizes existing health technology and collaboration between providers to solve the problem.

“Too many of our children are in crisis, and the lack of trained mental health professionals is an enormous contributor,” said Aguiar-Curry. “We must continue efforts to recruit and train new specialty mental health professionals, but we must also act now to connect children’s primary care providers with mental health experts.  By using telehealth and provider-to-provider consultation, we can make children’s mental health services accessible throughout California today.”

Read more here. 

Assemblymembers Aguiar-Curry and Limón Introduce Legislative Package to Tackle Alzheimer’s Crisis

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and Monique Limón (D- Santa Barbara) introduced Assembly Bill 2047 and Assembly Bill 2048, flanked on the floor of the State Assembly by advocates from the Alzheimer’s Association. These two companion bills would promote greater awareness and earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and dementia. The bills provide seniors, providers, and caregivers with the tools they need to recognize and plan for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and lay the groundwork for treatment strategies later in the life of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

Alzheimer’s disease is a growing public health crisis. It is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, which results in memory loss, impaired cognitive function, and ultimately death. The over-65 population in California is projected to grow to 8.6 million by 2030, and though Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of growing old, aging is the greatest known risk factor for developing the disease. According to the California Department of Public Health, deaths in California due to Alzheimer’s disease increased 243% from 2000 to 2015, and in 2015 Alzheimer’s was the third leading cause of death.