[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 153 (Monday, November 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1993-E1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING HELEN MacLEOD THOMSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 29, 2010

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Helen MacLeod Thomson for her 36 years of public service that began in 
1974 when she was elected as a member of the Davis Joint Unified School 
District Board of Education and where she served 3 terms. She was 
elected to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors in 1986 and re-elected 
in 1990 and 1994. In 1996 she won the 8th district seat in the 
California State Assembly where she served three terms.
  As a legislator Thomson chaired both the Health Committee and the 
Select Committee on Mental Health and served on numerous standing and 
select committees. She was on the leadership teams of four Speakers, 
including as Majority Floor Whip and Assistant Speaker Pro Tem. She led 
legislative efforts to reform the state-local government fiscal 
relationship and to end discrimination against those who suffer from 
serious mental illness.
  Assemblywoman Thomson authored 81 bills signed into law by both 
Democratic and Republican governors. Most notably was AB 88, the mental 
health parity bill, which ended the historic discrimination in 
insurance benefits for those who suffer from mental illness and AB 
1421, ``Laura's Law,'' which established a court ordered program of 
Assisted Outpatient Treatment for those persons who are severely 
mentally ill. Thomson's legislation spanned a spectrum of subjects 
including local government finance, civil grand jury reform, highway 
safety, county social services delivery, water conservation, and the 
rights of the disabled.
  In 2002, when her assembly term ended, Thomson again was elected to 
the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and was re-elected without 
opposition in June 2006. She will retire at the end of her term in 
December 2010. Supervisor Thomson has served on a variety of local and 
statewide boards. Of continuing importance to her is the Children's 
Health Initiative, which works to insure children 0-18, who are not 
covered by other health insurance programs, the Yolo Indigent Health 
Medical Services Program and the county's alcohol, drug and mental 
health programs. A registered nurse, she is a member of the National 
Advisory Committee for the newly established Betty Irene Moore School 
of Nursing at UC Davis.
  A champion of Yolo County agriculture, Supervisor Thomson is a 
founder of the Yolo Land Trust and this year was awarded its 2010 
Thomson-Rominger award for her decades of work in land conservation. A 
major goal of her county service was the adoption of the new County 
General Plan in December 2009. This 2030 General Plan continues Yolo 
County's historic preservation of agricultural lands, natural resources 
and open space, while creating opportunities for strategic economic 
development. It emphasizes policies that address issues of ``smart 
growth'' and climate change.
  Madam Speaker, it is appropriate at this time to acknowledge and 
thank Helen M. Thomson for her 36 years of exemplary leadership and her 
lasting contributions that have

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done so much to directly improve the lives of those she has so ably 
represented.

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