Local state legislators reflect on session

Assemblyman Gallagher, Sen. Nielsen proud of Lake Oroville legislation

Local legislators say there were a lot of positives to come out of the state Capitol during the 2017-18 legislative session.

Assemblyman James Gallagher said there were a number of bills he was excited to see come to fruition after working

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“I was part of a bipartisan opioid legislative package that will increase public awareness and ensure there is prescribing practices that take into account the abuse associated with these drugs,” Gallagher said.

“There was dam safety legislation. Just this week Senator (Jim) Nielsen and I got another local oversight coalition bill through, which is going to provide for a true local stakeholder oversight board. All of those are going to be good.”

He said efforts to build Sites Reservoir look promising, as well.

“I’d say there were some really good highlights from this session. Obviously, there are some policies I didn’t agree with that went through,” he said.

“For me, I want to continue working on some of these big issues – infrastructure, battling the opioid crisis, ensuring access to affordable health care. These are all issue I’m going to continue working for, as well as trying to bring down the cost of living, which is getting out of control.”