Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Download Sample Letter To GovernorSB 345 Letter (225)

SB 345 passed the Senate floor today 26-7 and now will head to the Governor!

We are thrilled with the progress that has been made on SB 345 – the bill to strengthen the State
Ombudsman office and ensure that the State Ombudsman will have the ability
to take action on behalf of residents in long term care facilities and local
Ombudsman programs as required by Federal law.

Words cannot express how rewarding it has been to work on a piece of
legislation that will give aging adults and disabled persons in long term
care a voice at the state level and an autonomy they have never had. It has
been especially rewarding for the members of the Committee for an
Independent State Ombudsman (CISO), the proud sponsor of SB 345, who have
worked so diligently on this bill over the past 3 years.

It has taken a team effort and we owe a huge debt to Senator Wolk, author of
SB 345, and her hardworking and committed staff who stuck with us throughout
this long and arduous process. Even when the future of SB 345 seemed very
unclear and shaky, they never gave up on this bill. None of this would have
been accomplished without their consistent attentiveness and passion for SB
345 and all that it stood for. Also, I especially want to thank my county,
the County of Ventura, and most especially Supervisor Steve Bennett, who was
instrumental in 2009 in having our county put an independent state ombudsman
office into their legislative agenda, and has had a supportive presence at
every hearing of SB 345 since the very beginning.

We are trusting that SB 345 will pass off the Senate floor with the same
widespread support it received in the Assembly and its next stop will then
be the Governor’s desk where we are hopeful he will sign it into law. But,
there is never a guarantee that a bill will be signed into law, even if it
has received widespread support in the legislature.

Support letters to the governor are needed to help ensure we finish well
with SB 345. Would you please write a letter to Governor Brown urging him
to sign SB 345 into law. I am attaching a sample support letter from
Senator Wolk to the Governor for your review and to assist you in writing
your letter.

Please make sure Senator Wolk’s office gets a copy of letters you send to
the Governor. Their fax number is 916-323-2304 or you can also email your
letters to: Marivel Barajas at Marivel.Barajas@sen.ca.gov or Megan Baier at
Megan.Baier@sen.ca.gov

Again, please accept our deepest thanks for all your support.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Taylor-Stein
Team Leader,
CISO

Sylvia Taylor-Stein
Executive Director
Long Term Care Services of Ventura County, Inc.,
2021 Sperry Avenue Suite 35
Ventura, CA 93003
T: 805.656.1986 ext 102
Fax: 805.658.8540
www.ombudsmanventura.org
a 501 (c) 3 public benefit corporation