Assemblyman talks local issues
James Gallagher discusses PG&E, healthcare, state housing crisis
A half dozen community leaders from various fields – health, law enforcement, business, real estate, etc. – sat down with local Assemblyman James Gallagher Tuesday to review action by the Legislature.
This is part one of two parts about the discussion, the video of which is also On the heels of the 2019 legislative session, local Assemblyman James Gallagher met with a handful of Yuba-sutter leaders to discuss what actions were taken by state lawmakers and what still needs to be addressed when the Legislature recon
venes in January. Some of the topics discussed during the hour-long roundtable touched on health care, housing, and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The following is a recap of that discussion, which took place at the Appealdemocrat office in Marysville on Tuesday morning.
Gallagher talked about the most recent legislative session, which wrapped up on Sept. 13. He said his priority this year was to ensure the state was helping in any way it could with the recovery effort in the area of Butte County impacted by last year’s Camp Fire, and the surrounding areas that were indirectly affected.
Highlighted by the passing of AB 430, a bill Gallagher authored that will expedite and alleviate some of the environmental regulations and barriers for developers planning to rebuild in the fire-impacted area and surrounding communities, the assemblyman said 2019 saw a productive legislative session.
“For me, we really tried to work with all the local stakeholders, nonprofits and local governments on ways to build the infrastructure necessary to recover in the aftermath of this disaster, but also to thrive as a region,” Gallagher said. “That’s been a big focus and we had some good successes this year.”
Other successful actions the Legislature took this year that Gallagher noted included updates to law enforcement use-of-force legislation that protects law enforcement and increases training requirements, and a bill authored by state Sen. Jim Nielsen that will help establish an emergency room facility in the town of Paradise that was devastated by the Camp Fire in 2018.
PG&E
One issue at the forefront for many Californians
is PG&E and its implementation of power shutoff events during extreme weather conditions that pose problems to the company’s infrastructure and public safety.
Julie Gill Shuffield, who serves on several local nonprofit boards and is president of the Casa de Esperanza Board of Directors, asked Gallagher what he thought went well following the most recent power shutoff, what could use improvement and what role might “community choice aggregation” play in helping the Yubasutter area to better control its own power supply.
Gallagher said the biggest problem currently facing PG&E is with mismanagement at the top level. He said the power company has been aware of its antiquated infrastructure and need for improvements but has not carried them out to a level that meets its mission, which is to provide reliable power to its customers in a safe manner.
That issue is compounded, he said, by the fact that the power company is in a situation where it has to serve too many masters, whether it be with meeting state-mandated renewable power goals or
satisfying their shareholders due to the nature of the company’s financial structuring.
Gallagher said the longterm solution is to ensure the California Public Utilities Commission is making safety and reliability of power a priority moving forward.
He said lawmakers might also need to consider whether or not PG&E, in its current form, is the best solution to providing safe, reliable power to its customers. If not, he said, one option would be to break it up to allow different entities to purchase assets of the company, though he is not in favor of a public takeover.
One local entity, the Yuba Water Agency, generates and owns the power generated along the Yuba River; industrial and agricultural industries have invested heavily in solar power capabilities in recent years; some municipalities have the capability to generate their own power; even Sites Reservoir, once constructed, will be able to generate power for the north state – all of these entities, or similar ones in other communities, could be utilized moving forward by coming together
to potentially purchase assets from PG&E, Gallagher said.
“I think we should be asking the question, ‘is there a better way to do this?’” Gallagher said. “This was the way to do this in the early 1900s, but we are in the 21st century now.”
Health care
Yuba County Sheriff Wendell Anderson said one of the biggest issues facing many law enforcement officials across the state is the lack of available bed space in state hospitals for incarcerated individuals that are struggling with mental health issues.
Anderson said the north state could benefit from a regional mental health facility to ensure inmates in need of services don’t have to wait months for a bed to open up.
Gallagher agreed the state needs to that look
into the possibility of opening regional mental health facilities throughout California. When the state shutdown most state hospitals in the 1960s and 1970s – largely due to problems such as people being involuntarily committed when they shouldn’t have and because of the great cost of running the facilities – it was “like throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” Gallagher said, and many are starting to see the repercussions of that now. He said a regional facility will come with a cost, but it’s doable if communities and local organizations can also come together to help carry the load. That being said, Gallagher said, it will be more costly in the long run if the issue isn’t addressed soon.
Steve Hammarstrom, network strategies executive at Adventist Health/ Rideout, said obesity and type 2 diabetes have reached an epidemic level. He asked what the state can do to go from the traditional health care model of “sick care” and transition to a model that is more proactive in its approach.
Gallagher said organizations like Adventist Health/rideout are creating a model every time they go out into the community in hopes of affecting a change in unhealthy lifestyles. He said the solution boils down to educating society and families about good habits.
“I think community organizations and nonprofits in the area play a huge role in helping educate the public,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher said the government can try to incentivize programs and models that help, but it ultimately comes down to health becoming something the community as a whole celebrates.