OPINION EDITORIAL: Crime on campus: Local police should investigate incidents like San Jose State's

By Mike Gatto

Special to the Mercury News

The stories are undeniably tragic.

At Occidental College in Los Angeles, the administration allegedly did not report on-campus rapes to law enforcement, apparently concerned that higher crime statistics would make prospective students choose elsewhere.

At San Jose State University, the administration admittedly failed to recognize the brutal abuse of a 17-year-old African-American student, who was targeted for his race, by his roommates.

The failure of administrators in these cases to recognize dangerous warning signs, properly train staff and take student-crime reports seriously has prolonged these students' misery and harmed their chances of seeing justice.

In the roommate abuse case, the young man was allegedly held captive in his room for short periods of time with a bicycle lock around his neck. The university's president has admitted that by "failing to recognize" the warning signs and not "intervening earlier," it "failed" this young man.

Similarly, the unwillingness of officials at Occidental to involve non-campus law-enforcement professionals in on-campus sexual assaults resulted in numerous students not receiving the medical attention they needed, and surely diminished the ability for them to someday see an arrest and conviction of their rapists.

If only the stories ended there. They don't.

Two Southern California colleges are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for their handling of on-campus sexual assaults and other violent crimes.

In addition, five U.S. campuses, including UC Berkeley and two Southern California campuses, are the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging violations of Title IX and the Clery Act. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities participating in federal financial-aid programs to disclose information about crimes that happen on or near campuses.

Victims of violent and demeaning crimes face numerous obstacles to a full recovery. For deeply personal reasons, some victims may choose not to report a crime to administrators or police. But those victims that do report should expect to be taken seriously, and for non-campus law enforcement to be notified immediately.

I think colleges should focus on instruction, and leave law enforcement up to the professionals. Victims of crime should not see their chances of justice hurt, nor their agony prolonged. I suspect that involving local police or sheriffs will result in greater prevention and threat assessment than if such things are left up to university administrators.

For these reasons, on Monday I introduced urgency legislation that would require colleges to promptly report on-campus crimes to local law enforcement. This legislation, AB 1433, strikes a balance between the right of a victim to not report a crime and the need for crime reports to be taken seriously.

It may not address all circumstances. Situations like the one at San Jose State demand additional training beyond the scope of this legislation to help administrators and staff to recognize the warning signs earlier.

But it will ensure that when students do come forward, their voices will not be silenced by bureaucracy or by concerns about student recruitment and retention.

Our college campuses may look like bubbles from the outside. But the crimes that occur there are no different in their effects on victims than crimes occurring elsewhere in our community.

Let's give independent law enforcement the knowledge they need to fight sexual assault and other crimes on campus.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, is chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly. He wrote this for this newspaper (Mercury News.com).

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Protecting Small Businesses from Meritless Lawsuits

by Mike Gatto

Can you imagine being faced with the prospect of having to pay thousands of dollars to put up a $20 sign?

As crazy as it sounds, that’s exactly what happened to a coffee-shop owner from our area when he was threatened with a several hundred-thousand dollar lawsuit for allegedly failing to post a warning sign that beer can cause cancer. In 2012 and 2013, more than three dozen small businesses in Southern California (including several restaurants and cafés in Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank and Los Angeles) were threatened with similar lawsuits—with some paying thousands of dollars in settlements and attorneys’ fees to avoid spending precious time and money defending themselves in court.

These suits are all a result of California’s Proposition 65. Approved by voters in 1986, the act was intended to prevent and warn the public about possible exposure to carcinogens. Regrettably, there are unscrupulous individuals who have taken advantage of certain provisions in Prop. 65 to ensnare small businesses in lawsuits that were never contemplated by the voters when they passed it.

Brett Schoenhals, Owner of the Coffee Table in Eagle Rock
and a member of my Small-Business Advisory Commission
was threatened with litigation under Prop. 65.

To help these people, and all of us who believe in sensible government, I’ve introduced AB 227, which would allow small businesses to correct technical signage violations of Prop. 65 within fourteen days and pay a small civil fine. It essentially creates a “fix-it ticket” for signage violations for the most common, everyday substances covered under Prop. 65. If the business owners comply, they would be safe from legal action — including the crushing $2,500 per-day retroactive fine — plus legal fees, and the stress of battling meritless litigation.

In May, following the exposure I and my Small Business Advisory Commission brought to this issue, Governor Brown announced his support for my AB 227, and said that he was open to additional reforms. I am proud to have brought together so many other individuals and organizations that are normally on opposite sides. It’s not every day that business groups, environmental-justice coalitions, organized labor, and attorneys’ organizations agree on anything, much less how to reform Prop. 65 — a measure that has been substantively amended just once in nearly 30 years.

Threatening a small business with a lawsuit for serving its customers coffee with their breakfast, a burger with their lunch, or a glass of wine with dinner is absurd. Most business owners work hard to follow the law and protect customers so they return. This is especially true with the majority of our local business owners whose customers are neighbors, friends and relatives.

By giving businesses the opportunity to post a sign and fix a simple mistake, AB 227 strikes a balance by helping businesses avoid senseless litigation while preserving the public’s ability to obtain proper warnings about dangerous chemicals. It shouldn’t cost California’s small businesses thousands of dollars because of issues with a $20 sign.

This opinion editorial originally appeared in the Pasadena Star News.  You can read this Op-Ed and more by visiting  http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/20130822/protecting-small-business-from-meritless-lawsuits-mike-gatto

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Mike Gatto chairs the Appropriations Committee in the California Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.

OpEd: Public Should Know When School Employees Have History of Abuse

The opinion editorial below appeared in this week's Crescenta Valley Weekly.  I thought I'd share it with those you outside of the Crescenta Valley.

Public Should Know When School Employees Have History of Abuse

by Assemblyman Mike Gatto

In February, a major scandal rocked the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) when teachers at Telfair Elementary in Pacoima and Miramonte Elementary in South L.A. were discovered engaging in long-time patterns of abuse and misconduct.  Despite the allegations that teachers were sexually abusing students, the district failed to take action, prompting the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the State Auditor to investigate how LAUSD handled allegations of abuse against students.

The report revealed a glaring flaw in school safety procedures – whereas teachers lose their ability to teach if they abuse a child, there are no similar mechanisms for the nearly 300,000 non-teaching school employees, such as janitors, teacher’s aides, bus drivers, office assistants, or groundskeepers.

While accusations of misconduct and disciplinary action against such employees are rare, these non-teaching staff are an everyday part of the education system and often have unsupervised access to students. Indeed, the recent arrest of a teacher’s aide in Lawndale who molested a student in full view of security cameras demonstrates that abuse by school employees can happen and should be taken seriously.

Current laws only require immediate reporting of child-abuse allegations against certified teachers, not classified employees or other personnel who do not maintain the same credentials as teachers. There is also no centralized mechanism to share information about the circumstances under which a classified employee leaves one school district to find employment in another district. Without such a system, a classified employee that is fired, resigns or settles during the course of a child-abuse investigation can easily return to work in another school district.

That’s why I introduced AB 349, which creates a landmark, statewide, information system to help prevent repeat offenders from retaining employment at a different school. This common-sense legislation requires school administrators to report to the Dept. of Education whenever a school employee is dismissed, resigns, is suspended, retires or fired as a result of a child-abuse allegation or while an investigation of alleged abuse is pending.

Protecting our children from predators while preserving the rights of individuals to be presumed innocent until proven guilty is a delicate balancing act. AB 349 maintains this balance with a simple reporting system that will provide hiring administrators the information they need to keep children safe.

Mike Gatto is a father and the chairman of the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, the communities of La Crescenta and Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, and portions of the Hollywood Hills and East Hollywood. Email Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Op-Ed: Laying the Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning

James Baldwin said that "We all profit by, or pay for, whatever [our children] become."  Our responsibility to support and be attentive to our children is the theme of my Op-Ed in last week's Crescenta Valley Weekly.  I've shared that Op-Ed below and give thanks to Robin Goldsworthy of the CV Weekly for allowing me to share my thoughts on this important topic.

Laying the Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning

Throughout history, scholars, theologians, and social justice advocates have spoken of the important role that our children play as the future leaders of our society. Frederick Douglass said, “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” And James Baldwin noted, “We all profit by, or pay for, whatever they [our children] become.”

Second-grade students at Mountain Avenue
Elementary School launched a Barbie into Space

These quotes instill in each of us a responsibility to educate our children and ensure they have the knowledge and skills to lead us in the future. But, in the past month, I have had the honor to meet and interact with some of Crescenta Valley’s next generation of great minds who have inspired me to consider the lessons I can learn from young people.

Last month, at Mountain Avenue Elementary School, I met second graders who launched a Barbie into space, complete with a digital camera and GPS tracking device. One week later, at Clark Magnet High School, students demonstrated their robotics skills with robots that shoot hoops and hovercrafts that can carry adult humans. These are accomplishments that I would have never dreamed of as a child, and still lack the knowledge and skill to pursue today.

Each of these young people, and so many others, prove that with education and support, our children may accomplish anything they can dream.  They also demonstrate that each of us also has a responsibility to allow our children to educate us, with the type of wisdom that only a child can possess.

Aldous Huxley, the best-selling author and life-long resident of the Beachwood Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, said, “A child-like man is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention.”

The Clark High School Robotic Team

Perhaps even more profound was Bishop Desmond Tutu’s insight: “[Children] have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.”

The fact is that young people have great ideas that often go overlooked.  After all, it was students who created and continue to govern organizations like the Fire House Youth Center. Some of these young people are also leaders in our community who serve on the CV Youth Town Council.

This week, young people from throughout the region will travel to the state capitol in Sacramento to participate in the 65th Model Legislature and Court. These intelligent and well-spoken young adults have been studying tirelessly for months to learn the legislative process, parliamentary procedure, and issues that affect our State. I hope you will join me in wishing them the best of luck and in working to support all youth who desire to actively engage and have a voice in the world around them. I also hope the adult leaders, myself included, will truly listen to these young people and learn something in the process as well.

This opinion editorial originally appeared in the Febrursay 14th edition of the Crescenta Valley Weekly. You can read this Op-Ed and more by visiting the CV Weekly HERE

Mike Gatto is the chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada-Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, and portions of the Hollywood Hills and East Hollywood.   www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Op-Ed: State’s sacred sites should be preserved

My op-ed in the San Diego Union Tribune regarding preserving CA's Native American cultural heritage. (I know I love Roman references).

State’s sacred sites should be preserved

By Mike Gatto

Like everything else, protecting cultural treasures requires conscious effort. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than the story of the magnificent equestrian bronze of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, carved in 175 A.D. Now considered one of the world’s irreplaceable cultural treasures, it is hard to imagine that the statute was once merely one of many. Over the years, the other magnificent ancient equestrian bronzes were stolen, melted for coins, or destroyed by vandals. Such neglect seems criminal with the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge of the magnitude of what was lost. Only the conscious efforts of Pope Sixtus IV and others saved the statue of Marcus Aurelius from the fate that awaited the statues of other emperors.

Might future generations lament our neglect in protecting and preserving California’s unique cultural heritage? Let’s face it: Our state has a habit of neglecting or paving over our history. Recently, thieves stole carvings from an unprotected sacred site on the Volcanic Tableland north of Bishop, stealing priceless rock art revered by the local Paiute people. And in the last few years, developers have sought to place things like dumps or granite mines near or on top of ancient sacred sites. This isn’t right. Native peoples deserve protections for sites that are parts of their ancient heritage. And California should treat these sites as historic resources too.

I have introduced AB 52, legislation that will protect California’s Native American cultural treasures and sacred sites. My proposal will include a process for California’s native peoples to weigh in on development that could affect a sacred site, and will feature increased protections for sites that might not necessarily face threats from development but which are nevertheless threatened. Even though some locations must be kept private to avoid crimes as the one committed against the Paiute, the effort to maintain them must be considered an essential activity in the preservation of our state’s historic resources.

This also fits into the larger effort to reform CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, which some people feel has been abused at the expense of economic development in California. Last year, the effort faced additional hurdles because of concerns by Native Americans that a streamlined CEQA would provide lesser protections for sacred sites. We should remove this sticking point from negotiations.

California’s Native American sacred sites should have their own set of protections, and reform efforts should not stall because of the absence of such a law.

Will future generations wonder what happened to California’s pre-Columbian heritage? Or will they thank us and appreciate our efforts for preserving the sacred sites and cultural treasures that still exist? I can’t imagine Rome without the grand statue of Marcus Aurelius. And I can’t imagine a Southwest without Native American petroglyphs, rock carvings and other sacred sites.

Gatto chairs the Appropriations Committee of the California Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale and some neighboring communities

This Opinion-Editorial originally appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune.  You can read this Opinion Editorial and more at the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking HERE

The California Air Resources Board has implemented a regulatory program called the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that has the potential to promote clear-cutting of the Amazon Rain forest and starvation in developing countries due to the conversion of food into fuel.  The policy of turning food into fuel is a mistake that needs to be corrected, and some regulations, though well intended, need to be more carefully considered.  The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and its consequences, are the subject of an Opinion Editorial I wrote that was published this morning in the LA Times.  Highlights are below and the complete editorial can be found at the LA Times website HERE.

Lowering emissions, raising red flags

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard was intended to reduce California carbon emissions, but it may come with some terrible unintended consequences.

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a regulatory program established under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

was intended to reduce California carbon emissions, but it may come with unintended consequences. 

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images )

We've all seen the movie: Some small, seemingly unrelated actions lead to dire and unintended consequences. It happens in real life too, especially in government. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a regulatory program established under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was intended to reduce California carbon emissions, but it may come with some terrible unintended consequences.

The concept underpinning the standard is that most Californians would pay a little more at the pump if that guaranteed cleaner air. But what if the program also unwittingly supported the economy in places like Iraq, promoted clear-cutting of the Amazon rain forest, increased hunger in nations such as Haiti and Guatemala, and eliminated jobs in California? These are some of the unintended consequences if we don't change how the standard is implemented...

...The policy also requires California gasoline to be "improved" by adding ethanol. Alas, the highest-scoring and only cost-effective ethanol is sugar cane ethanol from Brazil. We would then have to ship Brazilian ethanol to California, using much fossil fuel. Environmentalists, including Jane Goodall, cite sugar cane production as the primary reason huge Brazilian corporations are clear-cutting pristine rain forest. We should not have to choose between clean air and massive deforestation...

...And what of California's economy? I want to see a petroleum-free world, like many others. My wife and I own one car, a 45-mpg hybrid, and I bicycle everywhere I can. But as long as Californians are still using gas to fill their tanks and to heat their homes, they should have some of the jobs in that industry. There are more than 200,000 such jobs in Southern California. These are well-paying jobs, and driving them overseas doesn't make sense...