During the past several years, California has been hit especially hard by extreme weather events, from our historic five-year drought, to floods, record heat, and, most recently, devastating wildfires. Last year's fires were among the deadliest on record, and this year we saw the largest fire in state history, the Mendocino-Complex. Thousands of firefighters are still battling more than a dozen blazes across the state.

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In 2017, the first year of the current two-year session, Governor Jerry Brown signed all 12 of my bills that were sent to him by the Legislature. This year, as I was beginning my tenure as Senate Leader, I carried six bills through the legislative process. Below is a rundown of those bills.

SB 945: In 2016, Governor Brown signed my bill AB 1795, providing uninsured and underinsured Californians with expanded access to treatment for breast cancer and cervical cancer. SB 945 builds on AB 1795 by removing arbitrary time limits for care. Currently, the state Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program stops providing medical care for breast cancer after 18 months and cervical cancer after 24 months, regardless of medical need. SB 945 removes those limits and requires continuation of treatment as long as necessary. Funding for the expansion of cancer treatment resulting from the removal of these barriers was included in the new state budget that took effect on July 1, making it unnecessary for SB 945 to move forward.

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It won't be long before the old Caltrans complex at Juan and Taylor streets in Old Town is reduced to rubble - and then a memory. In September, I was thrilled to gather with other state and local officials, community members and representatives of the native Kumeyaay people to announce that the process of tearing down the old buildings will soon begin.

In their place will be a magnificent park that respects and reflects the rich history of the land beneath the structures and serves as an entryway to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. The park will pay homage to the people who made the area home as far back as 13,000 years ago and give visitors a sense of the historic importance of the nearby San Diego River, whose route once traversed this property.

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I was so proud to join Rady Children's Hospital in announcing California's investment in Project Baby Bear, in which at least 100 critically ill newborns from families in the Medi-Cal program will undergo whole genome sequencing. This will lead to better, more efficient treatment and higher quality of life. I have high hopes that this pilot project will prove effective and be expanded in the near future.

It was so nice to meet little Maverick, his parents and his adorable big sister, who was having so much fun peering through the transparent podium while her mother spoke. Maverick (pictured above in his mother's arms) was suffering from seizures and under threat of organ failure before whole genome sequencing - and the information that was gathered from it - saved his life.

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My district staff is always available to help constituents navigate a complex web of state agencies.

Recently, a constituent whose brother is an inmate at Donovan State Prison called my office because she learned that he had undergone emergency surgery the day before, but she couldn't get any information about his condition. It seems there was no document on file at the prison allowing for medical information to be released.

My staff contacted the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and learned that the surgery was successful and that the inmate would likely be returning to Donovan the following day. We relayed that information to his sister and worked with Corrections staff to get a release on file allowing her to receive his medical information going forward.

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