On July 19, CAJPA President Martin Brady was sworn in as a Member to the Commission on Health, Safety and Workers' Compensation by Director of the Department of Industrial Relations, Christine Baker.  

Beth Lyons, ARM, ARM-P, a risk manager known for her city and special district public entity expertise, joins Bickmore Risk Services' (BRS) administration and risk management consulting practice.   

 

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President's Letter
By Martin Brady, Executive Director, Schools Insurance Authority

 

Legislative Update
By Julianne Broyles, CAJPA Legislative Advocate, California Advocates

Every year under the California Constitution, the state Legislature must pass a balanced budget by June 15.  That is a rare occurrence in California, including this year.  According to the Department of Finance data, only four budgets have been passed on time since 1978.  

This year, however, the Legislature passed a budget the Governor would sign before the new fiscal year began on July 1 - although based on a risky assumption of voter approval of a $5.6 billion tax increase initiative, Proposition 39, set for the November 2012 ballot. If the ballot initiative is not approved, scheduled trigger cuts to many critical programs will occur.  The good news, however, is that state revenues continue to perform slightly better than projected - now over $600 million higher than projected in May.  


It's hard to believe, but when the California Legislature returns from its summer break, there are only 20 working days left before the two-year session ends.  

The last few policy and fiscal hearings will occur the week of August 6 and then both the Assembly and the Senate will start daily floor sessions as they grind toward the constitutionally required close of session on August 30.

In that time, many issues of interest and importance to CAJPA members will be debated. At the same time, CAJPA must stay alert for either new bills or hostile amendments inserted into existing bills in the final churning of the closing days of session. 

 

Learn the secrets to success from industry leaders who will share advice and lessons they have learned from their many years of experience.  Presented in a small, informal setting at the Embassy Suites on both Wednesday and Thursday, these short, half an hour sessions are designed to be interactive and informational. We hope you will take advantage of this new opportunity to learn from seasoned and experienced experts in the industry who have a wealth of knowledge to impart.


Both conference and golf tournament registration are available online at www.cajpa.com/conference as well as information on exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities.

Master Your Meetings: Robert's Rules in Real Life
By Ann G. Macfarlane, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, Jurassic Parliament

Do you have folks at your meetings who engage in arguments with one another? Are there members who ramble on, carrying their point way beyond the topic under discussion? Do directors on your board insist on revisiting previous decisions, pointing out how mistaken they were? None of this is permissible conduct at board meetings - unless you as a member permit it.

At Jurassic Parliament we hear sad stories of evenings wasted, hours dribbled away, time spent without much return, from colleagues in the nonprofit trenches. Yet a lot of this waste is unnecessary. Every board of directors can have efficient, fair and pleasant meetings, if a few members are willing to apply the hard-won wisdom of Robert's Rules.

Accreditation Corner
By James Marta, Accreditation Manager

At the June meeting of the CAJPA Accreditation Committee, the Committee proposed the following changes that were subsequently approved by the Board.

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