Senate Budget Committee Hearing Held in BSC

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Senate Budget Committee Hearing Held in BSC

The state Senate Budget Committee hearing was held at the Bronco Student Center on April 29, 2011.Local leaders from the Inland Empire described the difficulties of managing the current budget cuts and the potential severe damage of an “all-cuts budget” at a hearing of the state Senate Budget Committee Friday at Cal Poly Pomona.

Chaired by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the committee received testimony from representatives of local government, public safety and education at the public hearing, which was held in the Bronco Student Center. Local leaders urged the senators to put aside partisan politics, work together and find a solution to California’s fiscal crisis.

Panelists were divided into three groups. They included:

  • Panel 1: John Tavaglione (Riverside County Supervisor and CSAC President), John McMahon, (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department), Paul Zellerbach (Riverside County District Attorney)
  • Panel 2: Gary Thomas (superintendent of San Bernardino County Office of Education), James Q. Hammond (superintendent of Ontario-Montclair School District), Abigail Medina (mother of 5 students and member of Budget Advisory Committee of San Bernardino City Unified School District), Dale Marsden (superintendent of Victor Elementary School District)
  • Panel 3: Timothy White (chancellor of UC Riverside), J. Michael Ortiz (president of Cal Poly Pomona), Gloria Macias Harrison (president of Crafton Hills College)

State Senator Mark Leno speaks during the Senate Budget Committee hearing in the Bronco Student Center on April 29, 2011.The Senate budget hearing was the only one in Southern California this fiscal year. Attendees included Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), the vice chair, whose district includes part of Cal Poly Pomona; Sen. Bill Emmerson (R-Hemet); Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto); Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach); Sen. Michael Rubio (D-Bakersfield); Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge), and Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, whose district includes part of Cal Poly Pomona. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) also attended the meeting.

At the end of the hearing, members of the public were invited to provide comment. Comments may also be sent to the committee by emailing Mary Teabo at mary.teabo@sen.ca.gov.

(Top photo: About 250-300 people in the community attended the public hearing on April 29 at Cal Poly Pomona. Bottom photo: Committee Chair Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) speaks during the meeting.)