SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Fong (D-Cupertino) was honored by the California Senior Legislature (CSL) with the Henry J. Mello Legislator of the Year Award at their annual legislative session. This award is given to a member of the Legislature for his or her distinguished legislative service to the senior citizen community. Assemblymember Fong has been chosen by the CSL for this honor for his work and advocacy on the behalf of aging Californians and their families.

"I am honored to receive the Henry J. Mello Award," said Assemblymember Fong. "The Honorable Henry J. Mello was a distinguished public servant who dedicated his life to ensuring that the best possible care is given to California's senior population. It is a pleasure to work with a group dedicated to this noble cause and I look forward to working with CSL in the future."

The CSL is a volunteer body whose primary mission is to gather ideas for legislation at the state and federal levels, craft ideas into formal proposals, present them to members of the Legislature or Congress, and advocate for laws implementing the ideas. The CSL was founded largely through the efforts of Senator Henry Mello, who in 1980 requested through ACR 129 that the California Commission on Aging call a session of the Silver-Haired Legislature. In 1982, this became the California Senior Legislature.

Assemblymember Fong serves as Chair of the Elections and Redistricting Committee and is a member of the Higher Education, Utilities and Commerce, and Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committees. In addition, Assemblymember Fong serves as Chair of the Select Committees on High Technology and Climate Change and Coastal Protection and is a member of the Select Committees on Aerospace, Biotechnology, Community Colleges, Domestic Violence, and Innovation and the Bay Area Economy. He represents Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and San Jose.

CONTACT: Bryan C. Singh (916) 319-2022