The California Senate Thursday passed Assembly Bill 3034, by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani, a measure to correct flaws in the November ballot’s High Speed Rail, Proposition 1. The bill contained a series of accountability provisions to address concerns raised by Senator Ashburn. In recent weeks Senator Ashburn has been seeking to have Proposition 1 corrected or removed from this year’s ballot to address serious accountability concerns with the planning and spending of the $10 billion in funds that will be raised by the bond measure.

Senator Roy Ashburn today announced that Senate Bill 1621 to provide relief to California’s nursing shortage has been signed into law. Senate Bill 1621 provides an incentive for practicing nurses to become instructors by extending student loan forgiveness through the State Nursing Assumption Program of Loans for Education (SNAPLE) program. SB 1621 will extend eligibility for loan forgiveness from current students and very recent graduates to also include experienced registered nurses who desire to teach.

Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) today announced that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed Senate Bill 1263. The measure will allow Amtrak to provide bus service to Frazier Park and the Mountain Communities by way of its Santa Clarita-to-Lebec “feeder bus” route.

Throughout 2005 and 2006 legislative Republicans warned their Democrat counterparts about the consequences of Assembly Bill 32, a measure by former Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles, to ostensibly reduce global warming through restrictions on carbon emissions. The bill embraces left-wing global warming theory by instituting a mandatory cap on so-called “greenhouse gases” in California, aiming to limit emissions by the year 2020 to 1990 levels. The law directs the Air Resource Board to establish a mandatory reporting system to track and monitor emissions levels and imposes fees on businesses to pay for this monitoring.

Governor Schwarzenegger speaks out in support of Ashburn volunteer legislation at apress conference in Sacramento April 7th, 2008. [transcript]

Senator Roy Ashburn was joined by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger along the banks of the American River in Sacramento this morning where the two held a press conference in support of Ashburn’s state volunteers measure, Senate Bill 1345. "Government has its job to do, but government cannot do it all - the real action comes from the people. From the raging Southern California wildfires to the devastating Bay Area oil spill, we have seen the positive difference Californians make through volunteering,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Without this law, public works projects - like building playgrounds or cleaning up beaches, rivers and parks - will be in jeopardy of not being completed." ... more