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

"Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much." 

- Walter Lippmann 

 

Journalist Walter Lippmann's observation is an important reminder of the value and importance of diversity of thought, exposure to new ideas, and the welcoming of new perspectives.

Such values are as applicable to the pooling community as to other entities or individuals. In this era of fiscal challenge and uncertainty, pools can no longer see themselves simply as passive recipients of contributions or claims. Rather, they must strive to be architects of the future, vigorously pursuing best practices and new approaches in a constantly changing environment. 

 

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

Outcomes for 2013 Assembly/Senate Bills
 

Over 1000 bills headed to Governor Jerry Brown's desk in the final days and weeks of the 2013 session year. Of those, only 11 % (96 bills) were vetoed. This represents one of the smallest rejection rates of proposed new laws in recent years. This is a far lower rejection rate than that of other recent governors, including Pete Wilson, Gray Davis or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

Another interesting change is that the volume of bills ending up on the Governor's desk has also fallen. As recently as 5 years ago, 1500 or more bills would have made it through the legislative process to the Governor's desk. This year only about 900 Assembly and Senate bills made it through the process out of approximately 2500 bills introduced in the first year of session.

 

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

It sometimes comes as a shock to newly elected board chairs that running good meetings requires being a dictator. It is essential for the chair of a meeting to enforce the rules that the group has decided upon for fair discussion.

 

If your board has adopted an agenda that allows 20 minutes for a given topic, and 19 minutes have gone by, the chair has the duty of calling this to everyone's attention and asking what the group wants to do about it. If your board says that everyone must have a chance to speak once before anyone may speak a second time, the chair must make sure that extroverts and strongly-opinionated folks don't dominate the floor. If a member starts bad-mouthing another member and attacking his motives, the chair must interrupt and remind everyone that personal attacks and discussions of motives are never allowed.

 

 

We would like to send out a big thank you to everyone who played a part in the success of the CAJPA "Passport to Innovation" 2013 Conference:  Our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, CAJPA committee members, and to you...our members and attendees.

 

Handouts:

Our results show that the sessions this year were some of the best ever, so our speakers and committee members outdid themselves with a great program.  Session handouts and materials are still available, so check out the link and download your favorite.

 

Exhibitors/Sponsors:

The success of our conference is due in large part to our sponsors and exhibitors.  Please reach out and join us in saying "thank you."  All of our exhibitors and sponsors are listed here.

 

Conference Photos:

As a remembrance of the conference, you might find yourself in a conference photo.  Please check out all of the photos from many of our breakouts and conference events.

 

Next Year:

Mark your calendar for next year's conference:  September 15-18, 2014 in South Lake Tahoe!