Assembly OKs Continued Use of Drug Dealers’ Seized Assets

A bill to continue financing drug and gang prevention projects in Los Angeles County with $1 million in assets seized from drug dealers has been approved by the Assembly.

A 63-7 vote sent the bill (AB 192) by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) to the Senate.

The measure would continue until June 30, 1992, the use of proceeds from the sale of automobiles, boats and homes to fund 14 projects serving high-risk elementary, junior high and high school students.

“This successful program targets kids before they are mixed up with drugs and gangs,” Katz said. “It’s much cheaper to deal with ‘wanna-bes’ before they become ‘has beens.’ ”

ASSEMBLY

Floor Action

* Mental Health: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 59-8 vote a bill (AB 1650) by Assemblywoman Bev Hansen (R-Santa Rosa) to appropriate $10 million to finance a school-based early mental health treatment program for students in kindergarten through third grade. This legislation was requested by Gov. Pete Wilson in his State of the State address.

* Regional Governments: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 41-31 vote a bill (AB 3) by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) to create seven regional governmental bodies to deal with problems such as air pollution that overlap normal city-county boundary lines.

* VDTs: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 41-29 vote a bill (AB 644) by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) to require video display terminals to meet specified design and safety standards starting in 1993.

* Base Closures: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 60-5 vote a bill (AB 2248) by Assemblyman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) to create an advisory council made up of state agency representatives and various other local elected and non-elected officials to look into economic problems caused by the closure of federal military installations.

* Heroin Sales: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 74-1 vote a bill (AB 2124) by Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) to add three, four or five years to the prison sentence of a person convicted of selling heroin within 1,000 feet of a school.

* Sexual Assault: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 73-1 vote a bill (AB 1405) by Assemblywoman Dierdre Alpert (D-Del Mar) to create a state Department of Justice task force to investigate pedophile organizations involved in sexual assaults on children.

* Club Discrimination: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 45-30 vote a bill (AB 28) by Assemblyman Johan Klehs (D-Castro Valley) to deny tax-exempt status for some social clubs that restrict membership on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion or physical disability.

* Trucker Drug Tests: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 59-5 vote a bill (AB 347) by Assemblyman Jerry Eaves (D-Rialto) to require in-state commercial truck drivers to undergo drug tests to help reduce serious highway accidents.

* Environmental Agency: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 41-28 vote a bill (AB 1122) by Assemblyman Byron Sher (D-Palo Alto) to create a California Environmental Agency (Cal-EPA) to include the Air Resources Board, State Water Resources Control Board, Integrated Waste Management Board, Energy Commission and a Department of Toxic Substances Control.

* Minority Health: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 46-30 vote a bill (AB 136) by Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. (D-Inglewood) to create an Office of Minority Health Affairs within the state Health and Welfare Agency.

Committee Action

* Hate Crimes: The Public Safety Committee approved a bill (SB 98) by Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) to substantially increase penalties for hate crimes committed against victims solely because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or sexual orientation. A 5-0 vote sent the bill to the Ways and Means Committee.

SENATE

Floor Action

* Schools: Passed and sent to the Assembly on a 28-8 vote a constitutional amendment (SCA 13) by Sen. Leroy Greene (D-Carmichael) to allow local school districts by majority vote to impose a special tax to finance construction of school facilities.

Capital Fact

Cattle rustling did not disappear with the Old West. It remains a frequently committed crime in California, according to the Department of Agriculture.