Maze's Child Safety Bill Heads to Governor's Desk

Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia) saw the passage of Assembly Bill 299 in both houses of the California State Legislature without a single "no" vote. AB 299 marks the first bill of Assemblyman Maze's 2005 legislative package to head to the Governor's desk.

Under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, certain types of government employees and other workers, known as mandated reporters, must report known or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect.

In existing law, a mandated reporter who observes or reasonably suspects a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect is required to report the incident by telephone to a law enforcement or child welfare agency. A child welfare agency is required to report incidents of suspected child abuse to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Similarly, this bill makes clarifications to the law that would allow follow-up reports of these types of cases to be transmitted by telephone, fax, or electronic transmission.

Said Maze, "I'm proud of the work we've done on AB 299. Children in abusive situations are among the most vulnerable in our society. We have a moral responsibility to do what we can to prevent and improve these situations. Delays in getting the appropriate information shared between investigative agencies can make a huge difference for the abused or neglected child. Anything we can do to help expedite the flow of information improves the overall system."

This bill is an example of a good bipartisan measure in the Legislature. It really stands as a testament to how things can work here. Now, my job is to impress upon the Governor that this bill is worthy of his signature."