November Capitol Report: How They Voted

November 29, 2009 (Washington and Sacramento) – Do you know how your Congressional and State Legislative representatives voted on important recent bills? Find out here!

For more information on these and other bills, visit www.vote-smart.org, www.govtrack.us, www.opencongress.org and www.aroundthecapitol.com.

FEDERAL BILLS & VOTES (CONGRESS)

H.R. 3548: WORKER, HOMEOWNER AND BUSINESS ASSISTANCE ACT

Status: Signed into law by President Obama

Description: his bill would extend unemployment insurance benefits by 13 weeks in states that have jobless rates above 8.5 percent.

Votes: Reps. Bilbray, Davis, Filner, Hunter, and Issa: Aye

Senators Boxer and Feinstein: Aye

H.R. 3590 : THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT


Status: Passed House, brought to full Senate by motion; awaiting vote on Senate Floor.


Description: The bill would expand health care coverage to 31 million currently uninsured Americans through a combination of cost controls, subsidies and mandates. It is estimated to cost $848 billion over a 10 year period, but would be fully offset by new taxes and revenues and would actually reduce the deficit by $130 billion over the same period. Notably, the bill would create a government-run insurance plan (a.k.a the public option) to compete with private insurers, but individual states would be able to choose whether or not to offer it to their residents. (Note: this description is from www.opencongress.gov.) The Democratic Policy Committee has a more detailed summary of the health care bill at http://dpc.senate.gov/dpcdoc.cfm?doc_name=lb-111-1-151. This measure is being used as the vehicle for similar reform in the Senate.

Votes: Senators Boxer and Feinstein: Aye (on cloture to bring bill to Senate Floor)

On passage of bill in House: Representatives Bilbray, Davis, Filner, Hunter,and Issa: Aye

H.R. 3962: AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE FOR AMERICANS ACT

Status: Passed House, awaiting vote in Senate

Description from OpenCongress.gov: This is the House health care bill that was approved by the House of Representatives on Nov. 7, 2009. Broadly, it seeks to expand health care coverage to the approximately 40 million Americans who are currently uninsured by lowering the cost of health care and making the system more efficient. To that end, it includes a new government-run insurance plan (a.k.a. a public option) to compete with the private companies, a requirement that all Americans have health insurance, a ban on denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition and, to pay for it all, a surtax on individuals with incomes above $500,000.

Vote: Reps. Davis and Filner: Yes

Reps. Bilbray, Hunter and Issa: No

H.R. 2454: AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009

Status: Passed House, Awaiting vote in Senate

Description: This is the Waxman-Markley comprehensive energy bill, known for short as "ACES," that includes a cap-and-trade global warming reduction plan designed to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020. Other provisions include new renewable requirements for utilities, studies and incentives regarding new carbon capture and sequestration technologies, energy efficiency incentives for homes and buildings, and grants for green jobs, among other things.

Vote: Reps. Davis and Filner: Yes

Reps. Bilbray, Hunter and Issa: No

STATE BILLS: CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE

AB 24: FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR NEW CSU CAMPUS IN CHULA VISTA

Status: Vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger

Description: Would have required a feasibility study on the need for a new California State University campus in Chula Vista to accommodate San Diego County’s growing population’s educational need, with funding for study provided from non-state sources.

Votes: Assemblymembers Block, Harkey, Jeffries, Salas and Saldana: Yes

Assemblymembers Anderson and Garrick: No

Senators Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Kehoe and Wyland: Yes

AB 1020: PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS ANTI-ENTRAPMENT DEVICES

Status: Signed by Governor

Description: Requires public swimming pools to install anti-entrapment devices to prevent deaths that have occurred when swimmers become sucked into a pool drain, and imposes penalties for pool operators that fail to comply within specified time limits. This bill passed the Senate unanimously and passed the Assembly by a 73-2 vote.

Senators Ducheny, Kehoe and Wyland voted yes.

Senator Holllingsworth did not vote.

Assemblymembers Block, Fletcher, Garrick, Harkey, Salas and Saldana voted yes.

Assemblyman Anderson voted no.

AB 920: CALIFORNIA SOLAR SURPLUS ACT

Status: Signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger

Description: AB 920 requires utility companies to pay households or businesses for any extra electricity produced by the customer’s solar power system. Supporters said the bill would encourage customers, who previously had no incentive to use less electricity than was generated, to be more efficient.

Votes: Assemblymembers Block, Fletcher, Garrick, Harkey, Salas and Saldana: Yes

Assemblyman Anderson: No

Senators Ducheny and Kehoe: Yes

Senators Hollingsworth and Wyland: No

SBx 7 1: SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA MANAGEMENT PLAN

Status: Signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger

Description: Senators Hollingsworth, Ducheny, Kehoe and Wyland: Yes

SB 94: MORTGAGE LOANS

Status: Approved by Governor on October 11

Description: Increases protections for consumers in the mortgage industry and tightens regulation of foreclosure consultants.

Votes: Senators Ducheny, Kehoe and Wyland: Yes

Senator Hollingsworth: No

Assemblymembers Block, Fletcher, Garrick, Harkey, Salas and Saldana: Yes

Assemblyman Anderson: No