| |
CANA
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Updated September 28, 2004
Welcome
to the Government Relations Page for CANA. The Government Relations
Committee of CANA is responsible for monitoring legislative and regulatory
activities in California that impact healthcare policy, particularly as it
relates to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. The committee works
closely with our legislative advocate, Governmental Advocates Inc. to be
“part of the solution for a healthier California”. In this section you
have direct access to committee members and our advocates, Andrew Govenar
and Melissa Cortez. You will also find highlights of current work in
progress such as our recent work on SB 358, and pending legislation and a
profile of prominent individuals in the California political process.
See the
section on Senator Aanestad who has a long commitment to healthcare
policy, particularly in rural districts. He has a record of support for
CRNA practice and patient access to our service.
This
month we would like to add a profile of United States Congresswoman Mary
Bono, from the Inland Empire's 45th Congressional District.
State Government Relations (GRC) Committee
Report
Laurie Hanna,
CRNA, MSN
Chris Stein, CRNA, MS
The
committee has been actively monitoring the bills listed in the table
accompanying this report. Key bills which impact our profession this
legislative session are related to nursing workforce issues and nursing
education funding directed at increasing the number of registered nurses.
We
continue to provide testimony to the Board of Chiropractic Examiners
regarding their proposed regulation concerning Manipulation Under
Anesthesia. The current proposed language excludes nurse anesthetists from
providing this service (see the regulation section at
http://www.chiro.ca.gov). If you are
currently performing this service, we would appreciate your input, and the
support of the Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine who performs the procedure.
If you
missed the AANA meeting, you missed politics in action. An emergency
resolution regarding the AANA mediation process with the ASA was
introduced and discussed, reintroduced, further discussed and voted down
by the membership. This again demonstrated the value of the AANA
membership in formulating the direction of the organization. As California
is becoming a focal point of activity (please see practice report) our
Region Director Evan Koch has submitted names of California CRNAs to serve
on the State GRC Committee of the AANA. This voice will be helpful in
bringing national recognition to the situation in California. Limited
resources for healthcare, under-funded critical access facilities, and
emergency rooms crowded with the uninsured and working poor are forcing
hospitals large and small to face closure or limitation of services. We
stand ready to be “part of the solution”, working with all interested
stakeholders to provide safe anesthetic service to those in need.
Please be
sure to become involved in your local and national elections, by direct
involvement in a campaign, by financially supporting your PAC, and by
voting. Remember, YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!!! We look forward to seeing you in
October, at the fall meeting in Berkeley.
CANA Position:
Support
AB 2177 (Jackson) Community colleges: Nursing programs.
Status: Held in Assembly – DEAD.
Summary: The bill would require that the admissions criteria include,
but not necessarily be limited to, overall college grade point average,
grade point average in English classes, grade point average in core
biology classes, and the number of times any one of the core biology
classes was repeated. The bill would authorize community colleges that
operate associate degree nursing programs to waive or supplement these
criteria by adding or substituting a factor or factors found, by
appropriate faculty or administrators of that community college, after
identifying, conducting, or contracting for a pertinent validation study,
to be consistent with relevant state and federal statutes and regulations.
This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
AB 2226 (Spitzer) Nurse practitioners: Qualification requirements.
Status: Passed Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill would, on and after January 1, 2008, require an
applicant for initial qualification or certification as a nurse
practitioner who has never been qualified or certified as a nurse
practitioner in California or in any other state to meet specified
requirements, including possessing a masters degree in nursing, a master’s
degree in a clinical field related to nursing, or a graduate degree in
nursing, and to have satisfactorily completed a nurse practitioner program
approved by the board.
AB 2532 (Hancock) Hospitals: Lift teams.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill would, with certain exceptions, require each
general acute care hospital to establish a health care worker back injury
plan and to provide as part of this plan, at least one designated lift
team trained to lift and transfer patients. By changing the definition of
a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
AB 2874 (Diaz) Health facilities: Access to emergency care.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill sets forth various requirements that must be met
for hospitals planning reduction or elimination of the level of emergency
medical services or hospital services, or for proposed closure of a
general acute care hospital.
SB 1245 (Kuehl) California State University: Entry-level master’s
nursing programs.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill would establish, until January 1, 2014, the
Entry-Level Master’s Nursing Programs Act. The bill would require the
Chancellor of the California State University, in consultation with the
Board of Registered Nursing, to determine, in accordance with the bill,
which campuses are eligible for supplemental funds for establishing
entry-level master’s programs in nursing at campuses of the California
State University, and to annually establish the total amount of funding
necessary to support four entry-level master’s degree programs in nursing
at the California State University.
SB 1549 (Figueroa) Professions and vocations.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill makes minor changes to statutory provisions
affecting several boards regulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Including a provision to clarify that if an anesthetic other than local is
required for any procedure done by a doctor of podiatric medicine, the
anesthetic shall be administered by another licensed health care
practitioner, who is authorized to administer the required anesthetic
within the scope of his or her practice.
Notes: Previously, this code section referenced a “health care
practitioner licensed under this division”. This bill clarifies that
“division” is Division Two of the Business and Professions Code.
SB 1555 (Speier) Maternity services.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill would require a health insurer to provide coverage
for maternity services.
Notes: This closes the loophole for individual policies.
CANA Position:
Neutral
AB 932 (Koretz) Podiatric medicine.
Status: Signed into law.
Summary: Existing law provides for the certification and regulation of
the practice of podiatry by the Division of Licensing of the Medical Board
of California and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine in the
Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires an applicant for a
certificate to practice podiatric medicine to show that he or she has
successfully completed a specified medical curriculum, and requires an
applicant to pass an examination in certain subjects. This bill would
instead require an applicant to pass an examination in the subjects
required in the podiatric medicine medical curriculum. The bill would also
require an applicant to obtain a specified passing score on the National
Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners Part III examination. The bill would
require the board, in consultation with the Office of Examination
Resources of the Department of Consumer Affairs, to ensure that the Part
II examination adequately evaluates the full scope of practice for
podiatric medicine. This bill contains other related provisions and other
existing laws.
AB 1812 (Bermudez) Drivers’ certificates: medical examination.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill would include, as an alternative, a report of a
medical examination given by a licensed physician’s assistant, advanced
practice registered nurse, or a doctor of chiropractic. The bill would
repeal this authority on January 1, 2007. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws.
Notes: This bill was added to the CANA’s bill folder when it was amended
to include “Advance Practice Nurses”.
SB 1913 (Senate Committee on Business and Professions: Professions.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill makes minor changes to statutory provisions
affecting several boards regulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs,
including the Respiratory Care Board.
Notes: CANA was “oppose unless amended.” Original proposal included
language allowing respiratory therapists to administer medical gases for
the purpose of conscious or deep sedation. This language was removed at
the request of CANA.
CANA Position:
Watch
AB 1821 (Cohn) Nursing Workforce Education Investment Act.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill would establish the Nursing Workforce Education
Investment Act. The act would establish in OSHPD a state nursing contract
program with accredited schools and programs that educate and train
licensed vocational nurses and registered nurses to increase the supply of
nurses in California.
AB 2281 (Berg) Rural health.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: Existing law requires the Secretary of the California Health
and Human Services Agency to establish an Office of Rural Health or an
alternative organizational structure in one of the departments of the
California Health and Human Services Agency. Existing law requires the
office or alternative organizational structure to serve as a key
information and referral source to promote coordinated planning for the
delivery of health services in rural California. This bill would clarify
that the secretary established the Rural Health Policy Council as an
alternative organizational structure to the Office of Rural Health.
AB 2300 (Dymally) Health facilities: staff-to-patient ratios.
Status: Failed passage in Assembly (Dead).
Summary: This bill would require hospitals to develop a staffing plan
for professional, technical, and support staff to determine the need for
other professional, technical, and support staff to ensure safe and
adequate patient care. The bill would require whenever the patient
classification system is reviewed or revised that the professional,
technical, and support staffing plan be reviewed or revised, and would
require when the professional, technical, and support staffing plan is
reviewed or revised that the patient classification system be reviewed or
revised.
AB 2510 (Nakanishi) Public health care.
Status: Failed passage in Assembly (Dead).
Summary: This bill would provide that licensed health care
professionals that contract with a governmental contractor to provide free
health care services are agents of the contractor while acting within the
contract, and would make the exclusive remedy for injury or damage
suffered as a result of any act or omission a lawsuit against the
governmental contractor. The bill would require a contract to contain
certain provisions, and would require the governmental contractor to
provide notification of certain information to patients receiving health
care services pursuant to these provisions and to establish a quality
assurance program to monitor services provided pursuant to these
contracts. The bill would require the department to compile and report
specified information regarding the program annually to the Legislature
and to adopt rules to administer these provisions. The bill would apply
only to incidents occurring on and after January 1, 2005.
AB 2560 (Montanez) Nurse practitioners: furnishing drugs or devices.
Status: Signed into law.
Summary: The Nursing Practice Act, the violation of which is a crime,
licenses and regulates nurse practitioners. The act authorizes a nurse
practitioner to furnish drugs or devices, in specified health facilities
and under specified circumstances, when furnished or ordered in accordance
with standardized procedures or protocols developed by the nurse
practitioner and his or her supervising physician and surgeon. This bill
would instead authorize a nurse practitioner to furnish drugs or devices
under the standardized procedures or protocols when the drugs and devices
furnished or ordered are consistent with the practitioner’s educational
preparation or for which clinical competency has been established and
maintained. The bill would also expand the types of health facilities to
which these provisions are applicable. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws.
AB 2626 (Plescia) Physician assistants.
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: Existing law provides for regulation of physician assistants
by the Medical Board of California, and authorizes a physician assistant
to issue a drug order, subject to specified requirements. Existing law
requires a supervising physician and surgeon to review, countersign, and
date the medical record of a patient cared for by a physician assistant
for whom the supervising physician and surgeon’s drug order has been
issued. This bill would limit this requirement to Schedule II drug orders.
AB 2731 (Dymally) Medi-Cal: provider reimbursement.
Status: Failed passage in Assembly (Dead).
Summary: This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to provide a special reimbursement program designed to
preserve economically endangered facilities that offer access for Medi-Cal
beneficiaries and uninsured and underinsured patients to certain essential
hospital services, including emergency room services, obstetrical
services, and neonatal intensive care services.
AB 2769 (Richman) Public health administration.
Status: Failed passage in Assembly (Dead).
Summary: This bill would establish within the California Health and
Human Services Agency the State Department of Public Health, under the
direction of the State Health Officer, and would require the department to
administer various health-related programs. This bill contains other
related provisions.
AB 2839 (Daucher) Nursing schools.
Status: Signed into law.
Summary: Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, establishes the Board
of Registered Nursing. This bill would require the board to establish a
workgroup or use an existing committee to encourage and facilitate
transfer agreements or other enrollment models between associate degree
and baccalaureate degree nursing programs.
AB 2919 (Ridley-Thomas) Workers’ compensation: Physician assistant:
Nurse practitioner.
Status: Signed into law.
Summary: Existing workers’ compensation law generally requires
employers to secure the payment of workers’ compensation, including
medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out
of, or in the course of, employment. Existing law, until January 1, 2006,
authorizes medical treatment of a work-related injury to be provided by a
state licensed physician assistant or nurse practitioner, acting under the
review or supervision of a physician and surgeon pursuant to standardized
procedures or protocols within their lawfully authorized scope of
practice. This bill would eliminate the January 1, 2006, repeal date
thereby extending the operation of this provision indefinitely.
SB 1433 (Romero) Trauma care funding.
Status: Failed passage in Senate (Dead).
Summary: This bill would establish the Trauma Care Fund Advisory
Board, and would set forth its membership and duties, including, but not
limited to, review of allocations and expenditures from the fund, and
making recommendations regarding trauma center funding to the authority,
the Governor, and the Legislature. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws.
SB 1843 (Karnette) Health care service plans.
Status: Failed passage in Senate (Dead).
Summary: Under existing law, a health care service plan that provides
maternity coverage is generally prohibited from restricting inpatient
hospital care to a time period less than 48 hours following a normal
delivery and less than 96 hours following a delivery by caesarean section,
except a decision to discharge the mother and newborn may be made by the
treating physicians in consultation with the mother. This bill would also
require the mother to consent to the newborn’s discharge before the end of
those time periods.
SB 1782 (Aanestad) Pain Management
Status: Passed out of Senate and Assembly – On Governor’s desk.
Summary: This bill makes findings and declarations regarding review of
cases involving the prescription of pain medication. This bill states the
intent of the Legislature that the California District Attorneys
Association, on or before January 1, 2006, to collaborate with interested
parties to develop protocols for the development and implementation of
interagency investigations in connection with a physician's prescription
of medication to patients.
Top of Page
Senator Sheila James Kuehl
23rd District California Legislature
 Sheila
James Kuehl was elected to the State Senate in 2000 and again in 2004
after serving for six years in the State Assembly. During the 1997-98
legislative session, she was the first woman in California history to be
named Speaker pro Tempore of the Assembly. She is also the first openly
gay or lesbian person to be elected to the California Legislature. A
former pioneering civil rights attorney and law professor, Ms. Kuehl
represents the 23rd Senate District in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
She is the chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and
chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Energy, & Water and sits on
the Agriculture, Budget and Fiscal Review, Environmental Quality, Health,
Judiciary, Labor, and Governmental Modernization, Efficiency and
Accountability Committees. Ms. Kuehl is also chair of the Select Committee
on School Safety and chair of the Select Committee on the Health Insurance
Crisis in California.
In her 12 years in the State Legislature, Sen. Kuehl has authored 160
bills that have been signed into law, including legislation to establish
paid family leave, establish the rights contained in Roe vs. Wade in
California statute, overhaul California’s child support services system;
establish nurse to patient ratios in every hospital; require that housing
developments of more than 500 units have identified sources of water;
further protect domestic violence victims and their children; prohibit
discrimination on the basis of gender and disability in the workplace and
sexual orientation in education; increase the rights of crime victims;
safeguard the environment and drinking water; many, many others. She was
selected to address the 1996 Democratic National Convention on the issue
of family violence and the 2000 Democratic National Convention on the
issue of diversity. In 1996, George magazine selected her as one of the 20
most fascinating women in politics and the California Journal named her
“Rookie of the Year.” In 1998 and, again, in 2000, the California Journal
chose her as the Assembly member with the greatest intelligence and the
most integrity. In 2006, the Capitol Weekly picked her as the most
intelligent member of the California Legislature.
Prior to her election to the Legislature, Senator Kuehl drafted and fought
to get into California law more than 40 pieces of legislation relating to
children, families, women, and domestic violence. She was a law professor
at Loyola, UCLA and USC Law Schools and co-founded and served as managing
attorney of the California Women’s Law Center.
Senator Kuehl graduated from Harvard Law School in 1978 where she was the
second woman in the school’s history to win the Moot Court competition.
She also previously In her youth, she was known for her portrayal of the
irrepressible Zelda Gilroy in the television series, “The Many Loves of
Dobie Gillis.”
Top of Page
Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas
26th Senate District
 Senator
Mark Ridley-Thomas serves the constituents of California’s 26th Senate
District. Elected to the State Senate in 2007, he succeeds former Senator
Kevin Murray after serving two distinguished terms in the State Assembly.
Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata has nominated Ridley-Thomas to
chair the five-member State Senate Committee on Business, Professions and
Economic Development. The committee has policy and legislative oversight
of the state Department of Consumer Affairs and important state licensing
boards and commissions governing business, professional and consumer
relationships in industries and professions ranging from auto repair and
construction contractors to dentists, nursing home administrators,
veterinarians and private postsecondary vocational education providers.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas' legislative work will continue to address the range of
economic and workforce development, health, public safety, education,
budget accountability and civic participation issues confronting his
district and broader state. He has authored legislation to expand
School-based Health Centers; encourage the Los Angeles Board of
Supervisors to address the county’s chronic health care crisis through
better and more transparent planning efforts; protect homeowners from
losing their homes as a result of unscrupulous mortgage lending practices;
attract private capital investment to urban neighborhoods; promote animal
welfare; and, advance the interests of homecare workers and the recipients
of their services.
In addition to his committee chairmanship duties, Senator Ridley-Thomas’
legislative efforts focus on improving and adequately funding the state’s
Community College system, with a renewed focus on economic
competitiveness, workforce preparation, lifelong learning and access to
four-year colleges and universities. Senator Ridley-Thomas is also working
to pursue progressive ways to address health issues including mental
illness. The Senator also plans to introduce legislative proposals to
address issues of environmental justice and economic development.
Mark Ridley-Thomas was first elected to public office in 1991 and served
with distinction on the Los Angeles City Council for nearly a dozen years.
He is widely regarded as the Father of the Neighborhood Council Movement,
and his interest in neighborhood empowerment and civic participation
continued when he was elected to the State Assembly in 2002 through his
work to extend the Empowerment Congress movement to the 48th Assembly
District and state-related issues. Using the Eighth City Council District
Empowerment Congress model he developed as a dynamic partnership between
his office and the district's neighborhood groups, residents, businesses
and religious institutions while on the City Council, the Empowerment
Congress works to increase citizen participation in and understanding of
state and local government proposals, actions, and decisions.
A lifelong resident of the City of Los Angeles, Mr. Ridley-Thomas has
dedicated his career to public service. His political career was preceded
by a decade of service as Executive Director of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, the local affiliate of the
national civil and human rights organization founded by Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Since 1992, he has served as a member of the Aspen Institute's
Domestic Strategy Group designed to foster bipartisan consensus on
national public policy issues. Mr. Ridley-Thomas is a member of the
prestigious 16-member State Mental Health Services Oversight and
Accountability Commission (MHSOAC). The MHSOAC was created via the passage
of Proposition 63 in the November 2004 election to determine priorities
and the ultimate distribution of an anticipated $700 million earmarked for
mental health services throughout the state of California. Senator
Ridley-Thomas has been a long-time supporter of the National Association
for the Mentally Ill and has fought to ensure the availability of mental
health services in the African American and broader communities. He is the
only Southern California elected official appointed to the MHSOAC.
A graduate of Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, Mark Ridley-Thomas
has a baccalaureate degree in Social Relations and a master's degree in
Religious Studies from Immaculate Heart College. The Assemblyman earned
his Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California. He
is married to Avis Ridley-Thomas, the Director of the Los Angeles City
Attorney's Office Dispute Resolution Center. They have twin sons,
Sebastian and Sinclair.
The 26th Senate District includes Arlington Park, Athens, Athens-Westmont,
Canterbury Knolls, Chesterfield Square, Country Club Park, Culver City,
Exposition Park, King Estates, Koreatown, Ladera Heights, Lafayette Park,
Leimert Park, Magnolia Square, Morningside, Manchester Square, North
University Park, St. Andrews Square, University Expo Park West, University
Park, Vermont Knolls, Vermont Square, Vermont Vista, View Park, West
Adams, West Park Terrace, Windsor Hills, and Wilshire Center.
Top of Page
Federal
Political Director Report
Jennifer L. Woolley, CRNA, MSN
The AANA Mid Year Assembly
was held this year from April 30th to May 5th. Joe Burkard, Chris Stein,
Fred Cardinal, Amy Saft, Evan Koch, and I attended the conference. We also
spent three days on Capitol Hill, lobbying for issues that effect not only
our practice but also healthcare in general. Some of those issues
included:
-
Patient Safety Reporting: On
March 12, 2003 the House of Representatives passed H.R. 663 and the bill
was sent over to the Senate as bill S. 720 and we encouraged our two state
senators to pass this legislation. The AANA supports legislative
initiatives to provide a confidential environment for healthcare providers
to voluntarily report medical errors. Our association is committed to
advancing patient safety.
-
Nurse Anesthesia Education
Funding: We sought support in strengthening total funding for Title VIII
nursing workforce programs to $205 million. As part of that funding we
requested an increase in funding for nurse anesthesia education from $3 to
$4 million for FY2005.
-
Medical Liability Reform: We
encouraged Congress to pass a comprehensive medical liability reform
legislation to ensure patient access to healthcare. A solution is also
needed to ensure that all healthcare providers can obtain medical
liability insurance.
-
Strong Medicine for Seniors:
We hope Congress can enact legislation to reverse Medicare Part B
physician fee schedule cuts that are scheduled for 2006.
We were fortunate to have
the opportunity to visit with nineteen of our representatives and both
offices of our senators. Our message was warmly welcomed. We also were
able to drop off information from the AANA and our CANA News letter to
every member from our State.
Congress is currently on a six week recess and will be returning to
Washington D.C. at the end of the summer. For further information please
visit the CANA website at
http://www.canainc.org and look under Committee Reports and click on
the Federal Political Director Report.
Top of Page
State
Assembly Member Mike Eng
49th Assembly District
 Assembly
Member Mike Eng represents the 49th Assembly District. It is located
within eastern Los Angeles County and includes Monterey Park, Alhambra,
Rosemead, San Gabriel and South El Monte.
Eng has a long history of serving the needs of the local community and he
is a former city councilmember and mayor. As mayor of Monterey Park
(2004-2005), he initiated a summer science program for low-income
students; enhanced after school programs; organized the City’s first
annual Clean Up the City Day; organized the City’s first workshop for
home-care workers; and founded and funds numerous scholarship
opportunities for high school students.
Eng served three terms as a Monterey Park Library Board Trustee and
chaired the successful library building campaign that raised local
matching funds and qualified for state funding for a $13 million library
expansion. Eng was named California’s Outstanding Library Trustee in 2002
for his work. He was also Monterey Park’s “Volunteer of the Year” for his
original Emmy-winning video production that prepares viewers for the U.S.
citizenship exam.
As a longtime grassroots activist in the community, Eng has served on the
Board of Directors of the West San Gabriel Valley Boys and Girls Club; has
led numerous voter registration efforts; and has provided free immigration
legal advice to immigrant working families. In addition, Eng served on the
Garfield Medical Center Board of Directors and served two terms on the
Department of Consumer Affairs State Acupuncture Board.
He earned his law degree from UCLA after completing his Masters and
Bachelors Degrees at the University of Hawaii while working as an
emergency room technician. He is a also a part-time community college
instructor and immigration lawyer.
Eng is a second-generation Californian andthe grandson of a Chinatown
waiter and son of a garment wholesaler. He has lived in Monterey Park,
with his wife, former Assemblymember Judy Chu, for almost two decades.
Top of Page
State Assembly Member
Mervyn M. Dymally
 A
former California Assemblyman, State Senator, Lt. Governor and US
Congressman, Mervyn M. Dymally has returned to where he began his
political career in the State Assembly, representing South Los Angeles and
the cities of Compton, Paramount and North Long Beach. Regarded as a
senior member of the Legislature, Dymally was elected by his peers as
Chairman of the Assembly Democratic Study Group, an organization committed
to promoting progressive social and economic legislation.
Assemblyman Dymally earned a BA in Education from Los Angeles State
College, MA in Government, California State University at Sacramento; and
a Ph.D. from the United States International University at San Diego,
California (now Alliant International University).
A Teacher before entering the political arena, Dymally’s career began with
teaching handicapped children in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
He was a Lecturer at various universities, including posts at Central
State University, Ohio and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and
Science, Los Angeles.
Dr. Dymally, a native of Trinidad, British West Indies, completed high
school there and worked as a fledgling labor reporter for The Vanguard, a
weekly newspaper published by the Oil Workers’ Trade Union. At 19 years of
age, the Caribbean youth came to the United States to study journalism at
Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. After a cold winter, he
traveled to sunny California to attend Chapman College in Los Angeles and
later transferred to Los Angeles State College.
While teaching, he joined the Young Democrats and served as State
Treasurer. In 1960 he was actively involved in the Democratic National
Convention in Los Angeles. Later he was chosen Field Coordinator for the
John F. Kennedy Campaign for President. Two years later, he successfully
ran for the State Assembly. In 1966, he became the first African American
to serve in the State Senate, and was soon elected as Chairman of the
Senate Majority Caucus.
In 1974,
he made history when he was elected the first of two African American
Lieutenant Governors in the United States. Later he was elected
Congressman from South Los Angeles County, the first foreign-born Black to
be elected as a Member of the US Congress. During this time, he also
served as Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and Chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.
Dymally retired from Congress in 1992. Since then, he has traveled
extensively to Africa, Asia and the Caribbean as a foreign affairs
consultant. He currently serves as Honorary Consul to the Republic of
Benin in West Africa and Chief Protocol Officer of the California
Assembly. Married to former school teacher Alice Gueno, a native of New
Orleans, Assemblyman Dymally is the father of a son, Mark, a daughter,
Lynn and grandfather to Miya, Christian and Cameron.
Top of Page
CANA State
GRC Committee Members
Laurie Hanna
- 805.583.8448
lauriehanna@sbcglobal.net
Fred Cardinal - 530.637.4671
cardinal@starband.net
Chris Stein - 661.269.8004
astein1590@aol.com
Bill Jenkins - 530.824.5770
crna@dm-tech.net
|
|
