California State Senator Liz Figueroa
Liz Figueroa, a Democrat, was elected to the California State Senate in November of 1998 to represent the 10th Senate District. Prior to her election she served two terms in the California State Assembly; she is the first Northern California Latina to be elected to the Legislature. Her parents are both from El Salvador.
Senator Figueroa currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Business and Professions, the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee, and the Senate Select Committee on Technological Crime and the Consumer. She is a member of the Senate Committees on Transportation, Health and Human Services, Insurance, Environmental Quality, and Industrial Relations. She also serves on the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation, the Select Committee on the California Horse Racing Industry, and the Senate Insurance Committee’s Subcommittee on Managed Care Reform. While in the Assembly, Figueroa chaired both the Insurance Committee and the Select Committee on Aerospace.
Figueroa has been named Legislator of the Year by numerous organizations, including the March of Dimes, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of Retarded Citizens, Leadership California and the California National Organization for Women. The American Electronics Association named Figueroa Legislator of the Year three years in a row. Figueroa successfully fought to include research and development tax credits for aerospace and high-tech firms for several years in the state budget.
In her first term the Assembly, Figueroa delivered nine bills to the Governor’s desk, all of which were signed into law -- the highest percentage of any freshman legislator. She has consistently carried legislation that demonstrates her dedication to serving the needs of her constituents—improving access to and the quality of health care, streamlining business regulations, and protecting consumers. Figueroa worked with the White House on landmark legislation that ensured a two-day hospital stay for mothers and their newborns, a bill that mirrored a successful California law Figueroa authored. In 1997, Figueroa co-chaired the conference committee that drafted California's Healthy Families program, which provides health insurance for the children of the working poor. Her work on behalf of women and human rights has gained international recognition. This includes such important issues as outlawing female genital mutilation, banning California’s use of products made by slave labor, and prohibiting insurance companies from discriminating against victims of domestic violence.
As Senator, Figueroa has been a leader in the high profile fight to reform managed care in California. Governor Gray Davis characterized her bill giving patients the right to sue their HMO as the "crown jewel" in the HMO reform package, and signed into law more HMO reform bills authored by Figueroa than by any other legislator. In addition, Figueroa’s bill to protect the privacy of patient medical records makes California the nation’s leader in guaranteeing confidential medical information is not abused by HMO’s for any purpose not directly related to health care. Other legislation authored by Figueroa compelled insurance companies to replace child safety seats damaged in a collision, restricted false and misleading advertising for cosmetic surgery advertisements, and secured funding for the 410 mile-long San Francisco Bay Trail.
The Senator was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to serving in the State Legislature, she owned and operated Figueroa Employment Consultants, a business that specialized in placing injured workers in jobs, for seventeen years. In 1985, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Union Sanitary District and served as the district’s president, the first female in its 71-year history.
Senator Figueroa currently serves as a board member for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Women in Government, Hispanic Community Affairs Council, Fremont Adult School Advisory Board, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, Legal Assistance for Seniors, and is President of the Board for the California Elected Women’s Association for Education and Research (CEWAER). Figueroa is the mother of AnaLisa Luippold and Aaron Bloom. She is grandmother to Andrew Luippold.
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California State Senator Liz Figueroa, 10th District
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
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1999-2000 Awards
American Academy of Pediatrics – Injury Prevention Award
Consumer Attorneys of California – Senate Stalwart of the Year
Santa Clara County Psychological Assn. - Legislator of the Year (2/00)
Kaiser Permanente Northern California Regional Psychological Society – Distinguished Legislator of the Year (2/00)
California Assn. for Bilingual Education – Legislative Leadership Award (3/00)
California Psychological Association – Distinguished Legislative Achievement for Psychology (3/00)
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1997-98 Awards
American Muslim Alliance Community Development Award
Children’s Health Award – California Chapter 1, American Academy of Pediatrics
Leadership California – 1998 California Leader Award
San Francisco Manila Sister City Committee
Tomas Rivera Award from the National Hispanic University
Women’s Fund – Woman of Achievement Award
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Legislator of the Year Awards
Alameda County Democratic Central Committee
American Electronics Association
California Association of Rehabilitation & Reemployment Professionals
California Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
California Commission on the Status of Women, "Crystal Star Award"
California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
California National Organization for Women
March of Dimes Northern California Chapter
Multiple Sclerosis Society
Northern California Association for Retarded Citizens
Perinatal Network of Alameda/Contra Costa
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1995-96 Awards
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
Recognition for Health Care Legislation
American Electronics Association High Tech Recognition Award
Democratic Activists for Women Now for Activism in
Advancing Women in Santa Clara County
Southern California Public Health Association 1996 Legislator of the Year
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California State Senator Liz Figueroa, 10th District
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP HISTORY
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1999/2000 (SENATE)
Chair:
Committee on Business and Professions
Select Committee on Technological Crime and the Consumer
Joint Legislative Sunset Committee
Member:
Environmental Quality Committee
Health and Human Services Committee
Industrial Relations Committee
Insurance Committee
Transportation Committee
Health and Human Services Subcommittee on Alzheimer’s
Insurance Subcommittee on Managed Care Reform
Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation
Select Committee on Defense, Conversions, Retention and Space Flight Industries
Select Committee on the California Horse Racing Industry
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1997 /1998 (ASSEMBLY)
Chair:
Insurance
Select Committee on Aerospace
Member:
Budget
Consumer Protection, Governmental Efficiency & Economic Development
Health
Judiciary
Transportation
Budget Subcommittee #5 on Information Technology/Transportation
Select Committee on Education Technology
Select Committee on California’s Women
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1995 /1996 (ASSEMBLY)
Vice-Chair:
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
Human Services
Insurance
Member:
Budget
Higher Education
Judiciary
Natural Resources
Budget Subcommittee #5 on Information Technology/Transportation |
