Press Releases

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez released the following statement following last night’s deadly wrong way collision on Interstate 80 in Sacramento that killed 3:

“I am angry and deeply saddened that three more lives were lost to another senseless wrong-way driving accident. People are dying every week and California is lagging behind other states in efforts to prevent these crashes. I will meet today with the Director of the California Department of Transportation and the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Transportation to find out what we can do now to prevent further loss of life.”

Assembly Bill 319 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez passed the Assembly Education Committee today. The bill holds the power to create a generation of lifesavers by ensuring high school students learn CPR before they graduate high school.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 424,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital each year, and sadly, only 10 percent survive. Alarmingly, 70 percent of Americans may feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency because they do not know how to perform CPR.  Effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival, but only 32 percent of cardiac arrest victims get CPR from a bystander.

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez will convene a Healthcare Industry Roundtable on Monday, April 20th, in Sacramento to work with healthcare industry employers, the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California Workforce Investment Board (CalWIB), the Division of Apprenticeship Standards at the California Department of Industrial Relations, and the Healthcare Workforce Development Program (HCWDP) and discuss the challenges and opportunities to train more workers in the healthcare field.

“Currently, California does not have sufficient capacity in many key professions and regions to meet current and future health workforce needs. And, with the record number of Californians now having access to health insurance, the need will continue to grow,” said Assemblymember Rodriguez. “We must work together to increase the number of healthcare industry employers that offer apprenticeship programs to train more workers with the skills and knowledge to fill this gap.”

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez, his staff and volunteers from the Pomona chapter of the California Conservation Corps participated in the Pomona Beautification Day Citywide Cleanup on Saturday April 11th . Rodriguez and his team spent the day working in Ralph Welch Park removing trash and weeds from surrounding alleyways and painting the backstop of the baseball diamond.

“Pomona is my hometown and I want to do everything I can to give back to my community,” said Rodriguez. “I got my start in elected office in 2006 by pushing the City to improve Ralph Welch Park so it is only fitting that my team and I spent our time there during Beautification Day.”

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez, Chair of the Select Committee on Local Emergency Preparedness, released a statement following the Committee’s informational hearing “9-1-1 Location Accuracy: Will Rescuers Know Where You Are?”:

“It is a sad commentary on our ability to summon emergency aid when Uber can find you faster than 9-1-1. It’s unacceptable.” said Rodriguez “Cell phones are so prevalent in our society yet our emergency systems are unable to pinpoint a caller’s location unless they are using a landline. The 9-1-1 system is failing cell phone users. We heard valuable testimony today and I will be looking at ways that the legislature can act to help bring our 9-1-1 systems in line with modern technology.”

“If there is one thing that I have learned from this hearing, it is this: if you are using a cell phone to call 9-1-1, you better know exactly where you are because the system may not be able to find you. If you know where you are, that needs to be the first thing you tell 9-1-1 dispatch.”

The Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization today passed Assembly Bill 510 by Assemblymembers Freddie Rodriguez and Das Williams which seeks to eliminate unnecessary delays in receiving emergency care for callers who contact 9-1-1 from a cell phone.

“When someone calls 9-1-1, every second counts,” said Rodriguez. “It is alarming that, in an age where cell phones are so prevalent in our society, our 9-1-1 systems are not able to pinpoint a callers location. This bill, and the hearing we are holding tomorrow, will help to fix the system and prevent any further unnecessary losses of life.”

Assembly Bill 69 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez unanimously passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee today. The bill would establish best practices and procedures for the collection and storage of video footage from police body cameras.

“Body-worn cameras are quickly becoming the norm in police departments across the country. They are valuable tools for giving the public insight on what an officer’s day-to-day experiences are and increasing the trust between the community and the police,” said Rodriguez.

Assembly Bill 162 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez passed the Assembly Transportation Committee today with a unanimous vote. The bill seeks to reduce the number of deadly wrong-way accidents that occur on state freeways by asking the California Department of Transportation to study and review additional countermeasures that could effectively reduce the number of drivers who access freeways on the wrong side of the road.

“During my career as an Emergency Medical Technician, I have seen too many accidents that could have been prevented,” said Rodriguez. “California needs to review the effectiveness of our current safety measures and explore other ideas that may be out there to help save lives.”

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez, Chair of the Select Committee on Local Emergency Preparedness will convene a hearing on Thursday, April 9th to investigate how California’s 9-1-1 emergency system can determine the location of callers placing emergency calls from mobile phones.

“When someone calls 9-1-1, every second counts,” said Rodriguez. “It is alarming that, in an age where cell phones are so prevalent in our society, our 9-1-1 systems are not able to pinpoint a caller’s location. We need to fix our systems so no more lives are lost to senseless delays.”

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez will convene a Healthcare Industry Roundtable on Thursday, April 2nd, in Los Angeles to work with healthcare industry employers, the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California Workforce Investment Board (CalWIB), the Division of Apprenticeship Standards at the California Department of Industrial Relations, and the Healthcare Workforce Development Program (HCWDP) and discuss the challenges and opportunities to train more workers in the healthcare field.

“Currently, California does not have sufficient capacity in many key professions and regions to meet current and future health workforce needs. And, with the record number of Californians now having access to health insurance, the need will continue to grow,” said Assemblymember Rodriguez. “We must work together to increase the number of healthcare industry employers that offer apprenticeship programs to train more workers with the skills and knowledge to fill this gap.”