Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield was elected to the State Assembly in 2008.  He represents the 45th Assembly District, which spans the northwest portion of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, including the communities of Bell Canyon, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Hidden Hills, Northridge, Reseda, Tarzana, West Hills, Winnetka and Woodland Hills.

Considered a “pragmatic progressive,” Bob has a solid track record of bringing people together to reach consensus-based solutions to difficult issues.  As a lawmaker, Bob has fought for the Valley, state budget reform, and technology modernization as a tool to make our air cleaner and our schools better.  As Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, his efforts have brought California to its best budget forecast in a decade, having gone from record deficits to projected surpluses.

Bob is a graduate of Duke University and the UCLA Anderson School of Management Business Executive Program.  He is 45 years old and lives in Woodland Hills with his wife, Kafi, and their two children, Nia and Obi.  Kafi Blumenfield is President of the Liberty Hill Foundation.

Further information about Bob’s legislative accomplishments, appointments, awards and honorarium, and professional background follows.

Accomplishments

Bob has authored numerous laws to help the Valley, consumers, seniors, veterans, the environment, education, and jobs such as:

• ridding the San Fernando Valley of unsightly mobile billboards – a major source of blight in the community – by providing cities and counties the authority to ban them
• a first-in-the-nation consumer protection requiring car dealerships to disclose if a vehicle has been previously totaled or junked– a policy sought by consumer advocates for more than a decade, and automating all new car registrations, saving the state $10 million and reducing DMV wait times
• a breakthrough measure protecting seniors and other consumers from being sold life insurance annuities that rip off their life savings
• recreating a program to help seniors who can’t afford their property taxes remain in their homes
• helping veterans graduate from a state college or university, get jobs, and gain access to the benefits they have earned as a result of their military service
• moving schools into the 21st century by making digital textbooks a viable option for school districts and expanding access to online classes for high school students
• prohibiting state park closures, while redirecting millions to parks at risk of closure
• making it easier to buy, commute in and refuel clean or zero-emission cars
• giving prosecutors new tools to confront human trafficking and insurance fraud
• saving the state billions of dollars by cracking down on contractors who defraud the government, pension funds or the UC system
• reducing California’s financial ties to Iran and, therefore, Iran’s ability to amass the resources needed to produce a nuclear weapon: specifically, prohibiting the state and local governments from contracting with companies with ties to Iran’s energy sector and prohibiting California insurers from crediting investments in companies with ties to Iran as assets to offset risks to policyholders.

Bob was named to a special task force of legislators who negotiated a plan that will help bring an NFL stadium and expanded convention center to downtown Los Angeles, creating 20,000 jobs without weakening environmental laws or costing any state money.

When the state budget crisis threatened to stall progress on construction of a carpool lane on northbound Interstate 405 between the 10 Freeway and Highway 101, Bob was instrumental in keeping the project on track by pushing through legislation that directed federal stimulus funds to keep the carpool lane on schedule.

As Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, Bob is a champion for Cal Grant student loans for low-income students, and he fought to protect domestic violence shelters and safety net programs that help senior citizens stay in their homes and out of nursing homes.  He has also been a vocal opponent of proposals to eliminate crucial health and social services programs.  Bob led the fight to preserve the Adult Day Health Care program.  Using his knowledge of the federal government, Bob is also a leading voice for bringing more federal dollars to California.

Appointments

Bob chairs the Assembly Budget Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation.  He also serves on the Banking and Finance, Transportation, and Water, Parks and Wildlife committees.  Bob is also a proud member of the California Film Commission.

Awards and Honorarium

Capitol Weekly called Bob “a shining light among the Assembly’s freshman class” with a “reassuring amount of perspective that is uncommon among so many politicians.”

He has been honored with various accolades, such as:

• Planned Parenthood named Bob “Advocate for Access” and “Champion of Choice” for his strong defense of family planning funding in the state budget
• New Horizons gave Bob the “Partners for a Bright Future” award for his work on behalf of the developmentally disabled
• The Child Care Resource Center named Bob a “Champion for Children” for defending early child care, health and education programs during contentious state budget negotiations
• Easter Seals California gave Bob the Assembly Leadership Award for protecting services for disabled Californians during tough budget negotiations
• The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence named Bob the Domestic Violence Legislative Champion for working to identify solutions in the Capitol and in the Valley community to end domestic violence, including legislation to help stalking victims conceal their home address through participation in the Safe at Home program, without having to file a lengthy police report
• The Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters gave Bob the Smith-Weiss Environmental Champion Award for authoring laws to encourage water conservation, renewable energy, recycling and public transit
• The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California gave Bob the Jerry Sampson Memorial Award for fighting to protect California’s most vulnerable citizens throughout California’s budget crisis.

Bob has also been named “Legislator of the Year” by:

• Californians Against Waste for authoring the first successful state law bringing recycling to millions of tenants living in apartment buildings who previously had no access to recycling at home
• The California Association for Adult Day Services and ONEGeneration for fighting to save Adult Day Health Care
• TechAmerica named Bob “High-Tech Legislator of the Year” for pushing through legislation to help bring digital textbooks into our schools.

Professional Background

From 1989 – 1996, Bob worked in Washington, DC as a staff member in the offices of Senator Bill Bradley, Congressman Howard Berman and the House Budget Committee.  He later worked as Director of Government Affairs for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and then as district director to Congressman Berman in the San Fernando Valley.