1:31pm | There are also changes to the committees that Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D – 54th District) will serve on, according to her staff. Lowenthal was appointed to the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, and removed from her positions on the committees for Aging and Long-Term Care, and Water, Parks and Wildlife.

10:13am | In an era of future economic uncertainty, largely due to future public employee pension and retirement costs that legislators say are unsustainable, one of Long Beach’s own representatives in the State Assembly has been appointed the Chair of the committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security (PERSS).

Warren Furutani (D – 55th District) had previously served as Vice Chair of the four-member committee. The committee website describes its responsibilities thusly: “Primary jurisdiction is oversight of Classified school employees, Judges Retirement Law, Public employee collective bargaining, and Public retirement administration and investment strategy.”

Full press release from Furutani’s office below:

Speaker Appoints Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani Chair of
Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security (PERSS)
 
(Sacramento, CA) – Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani (D – South Los Angeles County) today announced his appointment as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security (PERSS). The jurisdiction of the committee includes oversight of the public retirement administration and investment strategy, classified school employees, public employee collective bargaining and judges’ retirement law. Assemblymember Furutani has served on the committee since 2009 and was appointed vice chair.
 
“I’m honored to serve as chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security. This is a critical role since pension reform is a key priority as we work to resolve the structural budget deficit California faces every year,” said Assemblymember Furutani. “I am eager to oversee our country’s largest pension system while continuing to protect working families and ensuring government accountability through transparency. I look forward to working with Governor-elect Jerry Brown, Speaker John Pérez and the leadership in California as we work towards economic recovery during these tough budget times.”
 
Assemblymember Furutani’s additional committee assignments include the Assembly Committees on Transportation, Utilities and Commerce, and Labor and Employment.

Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani (D-South Los Angeles County) represents the 55th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Carson, Harbor City and the Harbor Gateway, Lakewood, parts of Long Beach, and Wilmington.