Sen. Norma Torres

This measure would declare the week of June 6 through June 12, 2011, to be Dropout Recovery Week and would state the Legislature's intent to encourage the support of dropout recovery high schools with creative teaching strategies, alternative assessments, and adequate resources.

The California Constitution requires the Legislature to divide the state into districts, each containing a court of appeal with one or more divisions. Under existing statutory law, the state is divided into 6 court of appeal districts. The 4th Appellate District consists of the Counties of Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, and Imperial, which consists of 3 divisions. One division consists of 10 judges and holds its regular session in San Diego, a 2nd division consists of 7 judges and holds its regular sessions in the San Bernardino/Riverside area, and a 3rd division consists of 8 judges and holds its regular sessions in Orange County. This bill would reorganize the court of appeal districts into 7 districts by removing the Counties of San Bernardino, Inyo, and Riverside from the 4th Appellate District and creating a 7th Appellate District consisting of those districts. The 7th Appellate District would consist of one division of 7 judges and would hold its regular sessions in the San Bernardino/Riverside area, and the 4th Appellate District would thereafter consist of 2 divisions that would hold regular sessions in the Counties of San Diego and Orange. Existing law provides that upon the creation of a new court of appeal district or division, the Governor shall appoint judges to serve on that court, and specifies the procedures to be followed for the election of the judges. This bill would specify that those provisions would not apply to the creation of the 7th Appellate District, and that the existing justices of the division of the 4th Appellate District that would be reorganized as the 7th Appellate District would serve as the judges of the new district. The bill would specify that the terms of office of those judges would not be affected by the reorganization, and would also specify that no action by the Commission on Judicial Appointments would be necessary. The bill would specify that the judge serving as the currently presiding judge in the division of the 4th Appellate District that would create the new court of appeal district would serve as the administrative presiding judge of the new district.

This measure would recognize that the California Prayer Breakfast is commemorating and celebrating its 50th year of existence at the State Capitol in 2011 with the California Prayer Breakfast being held on May 19, 2011, at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel.

This measure would declare March 2011 to be California School Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and urge that the issue of bullying, and methods of preventing it, be discussed with appropriate activities in California schools during this time.

This measure would acknowledge the 50th anniversary of service by African American justices in the California courts, and would encourage all Californians to share in statewide and local celebrations throughout the year to recognize the contributions and diversity of these and other judicial trailblazers. The bill would also call upon the leadership of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government, and the greater legal, educational, and justice communities, to sponsor and participate in educational and outreach activities that highlight the work of the justices of the California Courts of Appeal and the California Supreme Court.

This measure would proclaim May 1 through May 8, 2011, as California Holocaust Memorial Week and would urge Californians to observe these days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.

This measure would acknowledge the month of April 2011 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and encourage the people of the State of California to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools.

This measure would recognize April 28, 2011, as Workers Memorial Day.

This measure would recognize April 24, 2011, to April 30, 2011, inclusive, as Black April Memorial Week, and April 2011 as Vietnamese American month.