The California Special Districts Association, representing local agencies that deliver water, sanitation, fire protection, parks, resource conservation, health care, mosquito abatement, and other essential services throughout the state, has named state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil its Legislator of the Year.

Alvarado-Gil, who represents the state’s largest senatorial district in terms of total area — including Stanislaus and 13 other counties — was presented with the award last week in Placerville.

The award comes on the heels of a rather dubious distinction for the senator, who received a 1 percent score from the California Environmental Voters — one of the worst scores ever received by a Democrat.

The average score for Republicans was 8 percent. Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) received a score of 15 percent. 

“I can’t repeat what I said when I found out, it’s not senatorially appropriate,” said Alvardo-Gil. “These report cards come out all the time, but I have to sit down with the environmental justice committee to have discussions about votes. So, it was a surprise to me. I’m not quite sure what I did to earn that.”

The freshman legislator went on to say that real, tangible crises took up a considerable time during the past legislative year.

“Having the largest district in California, I represent a variety of priorities,” said Alvarado-Gil. “We had a very hard year in terms of extreme weather — avalanches, floods, walls of ice — so I’m not going to apologize for not focusing on the policies that this particular group wanted me to. When it comes to members that represent rural communities on the ag and water, and small businesses committees, there are few of us. I need to make sure my voice resonates across senate floor. My record shows that I’ve been successful at that. I’m very proud.”

Last week, Alvarado-Gil announced that she is introducing or backing several new bills, including Senate Bill 1074, Assembly Bill 2336, SB 1261.

Along with Alanis, Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) and others, Alvarado-Gil co-authored the bipartisan SB 1074, also referred to as the “Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement Act” (SAFE Act).

The bill, according to a joint press release, aims to prevent the state from continuing to try to secretly dump sexually violent predators (SVPs) in unsuspecting communities throughout the state with no regard to public safety.

“As a legislator who represents predominantly rural communities from Lake Tahoe to Death Valley, I have seen our neighborhoods become dumping grounds for sexually violent predators,” said Alvarado-Gil. “The decision-making process surrounding the placement of these predators has been unclear from the beginning, and this lack of transparency only fuels public distrust and exacerbates the challenges we face. I stand with Minority Leader Brian Jones in holding the Department of State Hospitals accountable for every single step of the placement process.”

Alvarado-Gil was a vocal critic of a court decision that would’ve allowed convicted child molester Kevin Gray to be released in Merced County, this month even though he resided in Stanislaus County at the time of his 1991 crimes.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Carrie M. Stephens reversed that decision last week and Gray remains in custody.

AB 2336, according to Alvardo-Gil, would close loopholes in the fight against fentanyl compared to other illegal substances.”

“I vehemently advocate for legislation that unequivocally criminalizes the possession of fentanyl,” said Alvarado-Gil. “This poison requires only the equivalent of two grains of salt to claim a life. It is an insidious threat that demands swift action.”

Alvarado-Gil introduced SB 1261 to increase funding and support for local and state fairs. California is home to 78 fairs, including 23 county fairs, two citrus fruit fairs, and the California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo). 

The network of California fairs is composed of district agricultural associations (DAA), and for more than 70 years, the source of state funding for California fairs depended on horse racing licensing fees. In 2012, DAAs were expected to become self-sufficient as a result of the dwindling state budget for fiscal year 2011-2012. To address this issue, in 2017, the Legislature passed AB 1499, which directed the governor’s budget to allocate three-quarters of a percent of the gross sales made on fairgrounds to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The CDFA would then transfer the generated revenue to the Fairs and Exposition Fund. 

"By increasing the percentage of CDFA's budget that is allocated to fairs, SB 1261 will directly support the essential funding required for operational necessities and addressing critical issues like deferred maintenance and emergency preparedness within our fairs,” said Alvarado-Gil.