[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING RICHARD A. ELBRECHT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise 
today to honor Richard A. Elbrecht on the occasion of his retirement 
from the California Department of Consumer Affairs, an agency with 
which Elbrecht has served the public since 1976. As the Supervising 
Attorney of the Legal Services Unit, he promoted and practiced the 
ideal that the law must be accessible to those whom it affects.
  Mr. Elbrecht graduated from Yale University in 1955 with a degree in 
economics and a focus on money, banking and the antitrust law. He also 
attended the University of Michigan Law School and earned his J.D., 
1960. Mr. Elbrecht worked for Legal Aid, the National Consumer Law 
Center and in private practice in San Jose and Santa Cruz.
  But his greatest impact on the people of California was made during 
his years at the Department of Consumer Affairs where he constantly 
inspired his staff and co-workers through his intellect, enthusiasm and 
energy. He has created and maintained a work environment where 
excellence and innovation flourished. His unit provides a wide range of 
legal services, including legislative drafting, advocacy before 
administrative agencies, litigation and education. He has personally 
worked in a variety of areas of importance to consumers, including 
banking, electronic funds transfer, telecommunications, insurance, 
sales, warranties, credit and cable communications. He helped design 
and administer California's state quality awards program and has 
performed research on the application of computers and 
telecommunications to education.
  Through this work, Elbrecht has achieved many extraordinary 
accomplishments on behalf of California's consumers. He drafted the 
1991 and 1992 rewrites of the California Small Claims Act and 
supervised coordination of the Small Claims Court Experimental Project, 
which led to numerous significant improvements to the small claims 
court process. He fundamentally reformed practices for selling hearing 
aids through his representation in People and Director v. Beltone 
Electronics Corp. He assisted policy makers in developing regulations 
of interest rates in retail installment sales. He played a key role in 
the conceptualization and enactment of the California Lemon Law, the 
Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and the Moore Universal Telephone 
Service Act.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Richard A. Elbrecht for 
his many years of service to California's consumers. His advocacy and 
hard work will be greatly missed, and we wish him much happiness and 
contentment in his retirement.

                          ____________________