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SACRAMENTO — Today, AB 1927, Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath’s bill establishing an amnesty clause to encourage victims and witnesses of sexual assault to testify in court passed the Assembly Floor on a bipartisan 75-0 concurrence vote.

AB 1927 would provide immunity for victims and witnesses of sexual assault from the consequences of illegal alcohol or drug use occurring at the time of their alleged assault. Higher education institutions nationwide, including the University of California, have already implemented such amnesty clauses on their campuses.

“Victims of sexual assault who were under the influence of alcohol and drugs during the abuse are more reluctant to testify against their assailants for fear of personal prosecution,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “This fear should not be the reason to stop them from getting the justice they deserve. AB 1927 will provide assault survivors with a safe space to provide testimony before a judge without incriminating them for their behavior.”

SACRAMENTO — AB 1949, Assemblymember Boerner Horvath’s bill to strengthen and expand the marine hatchery program in Carlsbad passed the Assembly Floor on a bipartisan 75-0 concurrence vote.

The Leon Raymond Hubbard Jr. Marine Fish Hatchery in Carlsbad is the only salt-water fish hatchery on the West Coast and operates as the main facility for the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP). The hatchery has historically been used to experiment with techniques for using cultivated white seabass to enhance their depleted wild populations.

AB 1949 reforms the program in step with the core recommendations from a California Sea Grant evaluation conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the state’s request in 2015. This includes a restructuring of the program’s advisory panel so that it facilitates a more direct decision-making process while providing stakeholders with more appropriate representation, among other changes.

“At a time when climate change continues to put strain on the world’s oceans, we need to be finding more innovate ways to balance our commercial and sport fishing industries with the need to safeguard against overfishing,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “This bill gives us a shot at securing a sustainable fishing future by equipping us with the tools needed to become effective stewards of our marine resources.”

SACRAMENTO — AB 1426 by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) to enshrine in state law a settlement agreement protecting San Onofre State Beach from infrastructure development passed the Assembly Floor on a bipartisan 61-10 concurrence vote. 
 

AB 1426 prohibits any transportation agency or government entity from authorizing, funding, or constructing any new infrastructure that encroaches on the land currently protected by a combination of San Onofre State Beach and the Richard H. and Donna O’Neill Conservancy.
 
For nearly two decades, a broad coalition of conservation groups have advocated against the use of the park in a proposal to build a multi-lane extension from the Foothill south toll road in Orange County south to Highway 5.  This bill will put into law the settlement reached in 2016 between the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA), the Save San Onofre Coalition, and the State has prevented road construction to date.
 
“AB 1426 will make sure that the hard work and advocacy of everyone who has fought to keep this place protected cannot be undone,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “Protecting this park in statute will bring an end to the years of litigation, and today’s vote brings us one step closer to protecting this special place for future generations of campers, birders, hikers, fishermen, and surfers.”

SACRAMENTO — A bill authored by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) to streamline the application process for the state’s Work Share Program administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD), passed the Senate Labor, Public Employment, and Retirement Committee on a 4-1 vote. 

Work-sharing, or short-time compensation, gives employers the option of reducing employee hours during an economic downturn to avoid layoffs by providing the employee prorated unemployment benefit payments to replace the loss in wages. Despite the many benefits the program provides for employers and employees, this state program is currently underutilized because the application process can be administratively burdensome and the employers may not even be aware the program exists. 

"As our economy opens and closes to help manage the spread of the coronavirus, participating in the work share program is a better alternative to layoffs,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “AB 1731 will help employers retain trained workers, employees on reduced hours will keep their benefits, and the state will maximize federal dollars already allocated to fund the program by streamlining an application process that incentivizes employers' participation in the program. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

VISTA— Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath joins volunteers from Unite Here Local 30 and Carlsbad Councilmember Cori Schumacher to host a drive-thru food distribution for hospitality workers at the North County Food Bank. Hotel workers in the cities of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, and Vista are some of the most severely impacted as a result of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In San Diego County, employment in the hospitality industry plummeted by about 50% in the one month between March and April as travel for work and leisure fell significantly in the wake of the pandemic. This means many of the staff from North County hotels and resorts have found themselves in need of other ways to support their families.

“I’m volunteering today to help provide some much-needed assistance to hospitality workers and spotlight the efforts happening in my district. As I’m sure you can imagine with three out of four direct hotel employees laid off or furloughed, putting food on the table and ensuring no child goes hungry is a top priority,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “I am so thankful for the regional leadership of the San Diego Food Bank and their focus on food insecurity during these challenging times.

SACRAMENTO - Assemblymember Boerner Horvath’s bill to strengthen the structure of the marine hatchery program in Carlsbad, AB 1949, was unanimously approved by the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee.

The primary hatchery facility for the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) activities is the Leon Raymond Hubbard Jr. Marine Fish Hatchery in Carlsbad. The Carlsbad hatchery is the only marine fish hatchery in the state conducting research on marine species, their habitats and their survivability at a time when climate change severely strains the world’s oceans. AB 1949 ensures that the legacy of sustainability-based hatchery management can continue in coastal North County.

“I am proud to continue the good work of former State Senator Dede Alpert in support of the marine fish hatchery. The goal of this bill is to implement sound recommendations to ensure sustainable fishing,” said Boerner Horvath. “The program was established to evaluate the economic and ecological feasibility of releasing hatchery-reared fish to restore depleted, native, marine fish populations.”