Of the five state senators who represent portions of Orange County, Sen. Dave Min authored the highest ratio of bills that became law this year, when local senators combined passed a total of 33 bills.
Min also had the best attendance for key votes in the final month of the session, and he held the most town halls. Sens. Bob Archuleta, Tom Umberg and Pat Bates have a three-way tie for most informative websites.
With this year’s legislative session closed, the Register took a look at what State Senators who represent portions of Orange County got done in 2021.
It’s not a ranking, per se. Authoring more bills doesn’t necessarily mean better laws, for example. Also, it’s not fair to compare bills passed across party lines given that Democrats hold a supermajority in Sacramento. And there are, at times, legitimate reasons why members miss votes.
But voters should be able to expect attendance, advocacy and communication from the people they pay to represent them in Sacramento. So here’s a report card of sorts for how each local state senator put your taxpayer dollars to work in 2021.
Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, of SD-29
Newman, 57, represents the 29th District, which includes northeast Orange County plus portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. He serves on committees overseeing the budget, business, elections, labor, military and transportation.
Legislation: Newman authored 16 bills and two resolutions this year. Five bills were signed into law, including legislation to expand Chino Hills State Park, a bill that lets veterans refinance CalVet loans, and another that prohibits pharmacies from imposing quotas on pharmacists who fill prescriptions or provide other services.
Communication: Newman held one virtual town hall this year with the Department of Consumer Affairs, a virtual workshop about governor appointments, 22 vaccine clinics and one blood drive. His website and social media accounts provide legislative updates, press releases and some other resources, and he sends out a newsletter.
Helping constituents: Newman’s office resolved 885 unemployment cases, eight tax cases, six housing cases, six DMV cases, four public health cases and one each for insurance, justice, corrections, social services, utilities, small business and teacher credentialing.
Vote record: Newman missed 17% or 6 out of 36 key votes tracked in September by Vote Smart. Over the entire session, his team reports he abstained from 3% or 40 out of 1,169 votes, with one missed day due to possible COVID-19 exposure. (For some context, 2% is the average record of missed votes in Congress.) Here’s how he voted on three high-profile bills approved this year:
– Missed vote on Senate Bill 9, which will let Californians build up to four housing units on current single-family lots
– Yes on Senate Bill 2, which creates a process that can strip law enforcement officers of their badges if they’re convicted of crimes or some forms of misconduct
– Yes on Assembly Bill 101, which requires all high school students to take an ethnic studies course
Personal highlight: Newman touts getting his top priorities included in the state budget, such as addressing public safety and homelessness via the North Orange County Public Safety Collaborative, preserving additional open space at West Coyote Hills, expanding programs at the historic Hunt Library, and boosting support for emergency food networks.
Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, of SD-32
Archuleta, 76, is in his first term representing the 32nd District, which includes southern Los Angeles County cities plus most of Buena Park. He serves on committees overseeing veterans, business, governmental organization, transportation and insurance.
Legislation: Archuleta authored 19 bills and seven resolutions this year. Seven bills were signed into law, including one that requires the state to study its capacity for supporting enough zero-emission trucks, buses and off-road vehicles to meet its air pollution goals and one that allows licensed plumbers to do repairs on homes their own company has inspected.
Communication: Archuleta held more than a dozen virtual community forums in 2021. He also sends out a newsletter and his website and social media accounts provide press releases and other resources, though the section covering legislation is blank.
Helping constituents: Archuleta’s office handled roughly 600 unemployment cases in 2021 and helped around 150 veterans inside and outside the district.
Vote record: Archuleta missed 6% or 2 out of 36 key votes tracked in September by Vote Smart. Here’s how he voted on three high-profile bills approved this year (see details of bills above):
– Yes on SB 9
– Missed vote on SB 2
– Yes on AB 101
Personal highlight: Archuleta has touted securing $1 million for La Habra Heights Fire Department improvements and getting a resolution passed that urges Congress to build a National Museum of the Surface Navy aboard the Battleship USS Iowa at the Port of Los Angeles.
Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, of SD-34
Umberg, 66, is in his first term representing the 34th District, which includes northwest Orange County from Anaheim south to Fountain Valley and Santa Ana west to Seal Beach. He serves on committees overseeing judiciary, veterans affairs, housing, transportation and rules.
Legislation: Umberg authored 22 bills and nine resolutions this year. Eight of his bills were signed into law, including one that aims to speed up civil court trials and reduce costs and another that tackles catalytic converter theft. A proposal to protect patients and their families from dishonest substance abuse treatment providers was pushed to next year.
Communication: Umberg held eight virtual town halls in 2021 covering topics such as aging, anti-hate and business. He also hosted seven vaccines drives and awards ceremonies to honor local women and leaders. His website and social media accounts provide legislative updates, press releases, event listings and other resources.
Helping constituents: Umberg’s office resolved 1,892 cases this year, with 97% related to unemployment issues. The other 3% were related to housing, DMV, and small business relief grant requests.
Vote record: Umberg missed 6% or 2 out of 36 key votes tracked in September by Vote Smart. Here’s how he voted on three high-profile bills approved this year (see details of bills above):
– Yes on SB 9
– Yes on SB 2
– Yes on AB 101
Personal highlight: Umberg touts bringing millions of state budget dollars back to his district for the OC Diaper Bank, Be Well OC, Westminster Freedom Trail and housing for the homeless in motels. He also notes his perfect ratings from Planned Parenthood, Equality CA and the CA League of Conservation Voters, plus being named legislator of the year by the OC Business Council and MemorialCare.
Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, of SD-36
Bates, 82, is in her second and, due to term limits, final term representing the 36th District, which covers the coastal portions of southern Orange County and northern San Diego County. She serves on committees overseeing appropriations, environmental quality, housing, rules, transportation, business and insurance.
Legislation: Bates authored 18 bills and one resolution this year. Five bills were signed into law, including SB 434, or “Brandon’s Law,” which prohibits licensed addiction treatment facilities from lying in ads and marketing materials, and SB 248, which will make it easier for a state hospital to hold a sexually violent predator who is convicted of a new felony.
Communication: Bates declined to respond to a request about how many town halls she held in 2021. Her website lists two events this year: a blood drive and a child passenger safety workshop. Her website and social media accounts provide legislative updates, press releases, event listings and other resources.
Helping constituents: Bates declined to respond to a request about her constituent case work this year.
Vote record: Bates missed 6% or 2 out of 36 key votes tracked in September by Vote Smart. Here’s how she voted on three high-profile bills approved this year (see details of bills above):
– No on SB 9
– No on SB 2
– No on AB 101
Personal highlight: Bates declined to respond to a request to discuss what she views as a personal highlight from the past year.
Dave Min, D-Irvine, of SD-37
Min, 45, is in his first term representing the 37th District, which stretches from Anaheim south to Laguna Beach. He serves on committees overseeing budget, energy, transportation, business and banking.
Legislation: Min authored 15 bills and five resolutions this year. Eight of his bills were signed into law, including one that ends gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds and one that will require courts to consider a parent’s history of violence and substance abuse before allowing them to have unsupervised visits with their children. He also was principal coauthor of a bill that invested $2.1 billion toward California’s Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant program, with funding doubled to $4 billion in July.
Communication: Min held 20 town halls, including constituent service workshops and informational webinars. He also sends out a newsletter and his website and social media accounts provide press releases and other resources, but no details about his legislation or events.
Helping constituents: Min’s office resolved 1,500 unemployment cases this year and 500 cases with other states agencies.
Vote record: Min missed 3% or 1 out of 36 key votes tracked in September by Vote Smart. Here’s how he voted on three high-profile bills approved this year (see details of bills above):
– Yes on SB 9
– Yes on SB 2
– Yes on AB 101
Personal highlight: In the wake of the Dec. 1 oil spill off Huntington Beach, Min was the first legislator to call for a total ban on offshore drilling in California.
Source: Orange County Register
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