SACRAMENTO – Six bills by authored Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) moved forward this week.

Four were approved by the full Assembly and are now headed to the Senate. Two were approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee and are headed to the floor for a full vote of the Assembly.

The full Assembly approved the following bills authored by Assemblymember Chesbro:

• AB 2134, a bill supported by owners of small microbreweries, would make it legal for beer manufacturers and importers to conduct and advertise to their customers “beer maker dinners,” featuring craft beers paired with food at local restaurants. The bill would grant the beer industry the same status as the wine industry, which has had good success marketing new products at winemaker dinners. AB 2134 is sponsored by the California Small Brewers Association.

• AB 2615, the “Ocean Fisheries Improvement Act,” would advise the Ocean Protection Council of the Legislature’s intent regarding funding priorities that focus on sustainable fishing practices. AB 2615 is sponsored by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations

• AB 2675 would provide for additional training for those who care for people with disabilities. It would provide those who operate Immediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled (ICFs/DD) with eight additional hours of training on the business side of running a facility. Currently, IFCs/DD licensees are required to complete eight hours of training on California’s developmental disabilities system and program and regulatory requirements. Feedback from new operators and oversight agencies finds that new licensees often struggle to manage the financial aspects of their businesses. Adding a business orientation program would double the required training to 16 hours for licensees. AB 2675 is sponsored by the California Association of Health Facilities.

• AB 2351 would help California’s State forests by allowing Cal Fire to establish recreational user fees for overnight campgrounds, including the Jackson State Forest in Mendocino County. Fees collected by Cal Fire would benefit California’s State forests. AB 2351 is sponsored by Cal Fire and supported by the Sierra Club of California, the California Licensed Foresters Association and the California Native Plant Society.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved the following Chesbro bills:

• AB 2664 would allow the State Lands Commission to charge administrative penalties for structures built on state lands without the proper permits or that are out of compliance with those permits. Many of these structures actually impede the public’s access to state land. Examples include building fences in to lakes and even across state parks. This law is needed because the State Lands Commission often must enter into costly litigation to combat persons or entities building structures on state land.

• AB 2430 would require that an organization or agency whose sole purpose is to provide services to the blind or visually impaired, which receives grants or contracts from the Department of Rehabilitation, have at least 20 percent blind or visually impaired individuals as board members in order to best meet the needs of blind and visually impaired Californians.

Visit Chesbro's Web site at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a01/.