SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) released the following statement following Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State address this morning.

“As a legislator, I’ve listened on the Assembly Floor to 13 State of the State addresses, delivered by three different governors. Today’s speech was by the far the best and most optimistic vision for California I’ve ever heard from a governor.

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SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) adjourned today’s session of the State Assembly in memory of Charlie Rudd of Arcata, who died on Nov. 19, 2012. Chesbro shared Rudd’s life with members of the Legislature during a brief speech on the Assembly Floor.

“Charlie Rudd left this world early Monday morning, November 19, 2012,” Chesbro said. “He had resided in Arcata since 1979, and was well known and respected within the local folk music and academic communities. He was a beloved member of the Humboldt County community and a role model for persons with disabilities, as all his life he ignored his own serious physical challenges to live life to the fullest.

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St. Bernard’s High & HSU alum serves on Gov’s Interagency Council on Veterans

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) has honored Lorraine Plass of Healdsburg as the First Assembly District’s 2012 Veteran of the Year.

“Lorraine has given so much of herself in the service of veterans, ensuring that those who served have their needs met after their military careers are over,” Chesbro said. “She is highly respected by both sides of the aisle here at the state Capitol for her tireless advocacy on behalf of veterans.”

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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law legislation authored by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) that streamlines the process and reduces the cost of acquiring conservation easements under California’s Forest Legacy Program. AB 2169 ensures these acquisitions are not subject to needless duplicative review.

“Gov. Brown recognized this legislation accomplishes his goal of streamlining governmental processes while protecting the public’s interest,” Chesbro said. “His signature on AB 2169 helps ensure we can continue to preserve critical ecosystem habitat and maintain employment for rural communities under the Forest Legacy Program.”

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SACRAMENTO – Due to some last minute negotiating by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) on the last night of session, the state Legislature approved a sweeping timber reform bill supported by the timber industry and environmentalists alike that promises to boost rural economies. AB 1492 was the last bill to be voted on in the Assembly before the Legislature completed its session for the year.

AB 1492 is a bill authored by the Assembly Budget Committee, on which Chesbro serves, which will generate revenue to pay for comprehensive environmental reviews of timber harvest plans (THPs), provide long-term funding for environmental restoration projects and extend the time period for THPs.

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SACRAMENTO – A bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) to protect California’s renowned big-game wildlife has passed both houses of the Legislature with bipartisan support and is on the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown.

“Poaching of trophy wildlife has become a big problem in California.” Chesbro said. “AB 1162 ensures poachers pay back the full value of the wildlife resources they take from the public. This legislation is modeled after laws in other destination hunting states, such as Montana and New Mexico.”

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SACRAMENTO – The full Legislature has approved Assembly Joint Resolution 39 by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast), which urges the federal government to use seafood import revenues to market American fish and seafood.

“The competition in America from products imported from foreign countries is hurting California’s fish and seafood industry,” Chesbro said. “The federal government collects about $400 million a year in foreign seafood import revenues. AJR 39 urges the feds to allocate a portion of this revenue to start a program to promote and market American fish and seafood and the sustainable practices the domestic industry uses.”

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SACRAMENTO – AB 1886, a bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) that would help the Department of Fish and Game educate the aquaculture industry about sustainable practices, has been approved by both houses of the Legislature and is on the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill would expand the duties of the Aquaculture Coordinator, a self-funded program within the DFG, and the industry will pay for the expansion.

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SACRAMENTO – The Legislature has given final approval to and sent to the governor a bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) to give law enforcement tools to battle illegal drug operations, protecting environmentally sensitive forest lands and those who use them. AB 2284 goes to the governor for his signature nearly a year after the death of Ft. Bragg City Councilmember Jere Melo, who was killed when he stumbled on an illegal grow while inspecting forest lands near the city on Aug. 27, 2011.

“The best way to prevent illegal drug operations from damaging the environment and threatening those who use our forests is to stop these operations from being established in the first place,” Chesbro said. “This legislation gives law enforcement new tools to protect our public resource lands and private industrial timberland. AB 2284 also increases the financial penalties for conducting criminal enterprises on our forest lands to provide the funding needed to investigate these cases and clean up the environmental damage.”

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SACRAMENTO –  AB 2169, a bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) to reduce costs and eliminate redundancy in the Forest Legacy Program, is headed to the governor’s desk after winning final approval from the Assembly today. The bill will streamline the program and save money by clarifying that conservation easements acquired through the Forest Legacy Program should be treated the same as other easement acquisitions by the Wildlife Conservation Board, and not be subject to a duplicative review by the state Public Works Board.

The Forest Legacy Program was created by legislation Chesbro authored in 2000 when he served in the State Senate. The program helps forest landowners protect environmentally important forestland threatened with conversion to non-forest uses, such as residential subdivisions or commercial development, by allowing the purchase of conservation easements.

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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation authored by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) that will bring more doctors to rural areas in accordance with President Obama's Affordable Care Act.

The Affordable Care Act allows Native American health programs to bring in doctors to practice at tribal clinics when they are not licensed in the state where the clinic is located, as long as they are licensed in another state. Chesbro's AB 1896 changes California law so that it is aligned to the new federal law.

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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown has signed AB 1812, a bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) that ensures craft beer aged in wooden barrels that previously contained distilled spirits remains legally classified as a beer.

"California's craft beer industry has gained worldwide acclaim for the use of traditional Belgian-style brewing techniques that incorporate the use of wooden barrels for aging," Chesbro said. "These empty wooden barrels are expensive and are typically recycled by craft brewers from previous use by the wine or distilled spirits industries. These beers may take on a hint of flavor from minute amounts of distilled alcohol retained in the wood. This legislation ensures that these brews continue to be classified as beer and not as distilled spirits."

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EUREKA – Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) announced today Sofia Pereira has joined his staff as a field representative in the First Assembly District's Eureka District Office.

"Sofia came to the North Coast to attend Humboldt State and she has never left," Chesbro said. "Like so many of us, she fell in love with the North Coast and decided to make it her home. While at HSU, Sofia became extremely involved in our community through her volunteerism and campus activities. I was fortunate to have Sofia as an intern in the Eureka district office last summer. Needless to say, she was an outstanding intern. I feel very fortunate that she will be working as my field representative serving the North Coast."

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Common-sense Measure Provides Needed Funding Strategies to Prevent Closures

Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro talks about the importance of state parks and bipartisan legislation he has jointly authored with Democrats and Republicans alike at a news conference Monday, May 21, at the Trout Pond on grounds of the State Capitol. Behind him are seven Democratic and Republican members of the Assembly who are joint authors or coauthors of AB 1589, the California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012. Also joining leglislators at the news conference was Robert Hanna, a great-great grandson of John Muir, fourth from the left in the back row.

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) joined a bipartisan block of legislators today to support a sweeping state parks rescue bill he has jointly authored in the Assembly.

“It is phenomenal the amount of bipartisan support this bill has,” said Chesbro, speaking of AB 1589, the California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012, at a news conference this morning on the grounds of the State Capitol. “It is major legislation that will change the relationship between the state and State Parks, making State Parks more self-sufficient and well-funded with sustainable revenue sources. It will stop park closures, with a net long-term savings to the state’s general fund.”

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(Sacramento) -- Peter Douglas, the long-time Executive Director of California Coastal Commission, died of lung cancer at the age of 69. Douglas made it his mission to keep California's beautiful beaches open to the public. California State Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (N-North Coast) honored Douglas's life and legacy on the floor of the California Assembly. Learn more in this Assembly Access Video.