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Guide to the Herschel Rosenthal Papers
LP220:80-133, LP443  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Agency History
  • Scope and Content
  • Accruals
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Guide to the Herschel Rosenthal Papers
    Dates: 1975-1998
    Collection number: LP220:80-133, LP443
    Creator: Rosenthal, Herschel
    Collection Size: 18 cubic feet of textual records and 14 artifacts
    Repository: California State Archives
    Sacramento, California
    Abstract: The Herschel Rosenthal Papers consist of 18 cubic feet of textual records and 14 artifacts and cover the years 1975 to 1998. The records are organized into the following record series: Bill Files, 1975-1998; Bill Records, 1975-1998; and Artifacts, 1975-1998.
    Physical location: California State Archives
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Administrative Information

    Access

    While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

    Publication Rights

    For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Herschel Rosenthal Papers, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

    Agency History

    Herschel Rosenthal, Democrat, served California as a State Assembly Member from 1975 through 1982 and as a State Senator from 1983 through 1998. He represented the 45th Assembly District, which included the Los Angeles communities of Beverly-Fairfax, Miracle Mile, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Hancock Park, Hollywood Hills, parts of North Hollywood, and Studio City. In 1982, he won election as State Senator to represent the 22nd Senatorial District. Rosenthal was endorsed by every major Democratic incumbent in the state. Subsequently, he took office as a member of the Legislature's upper house on December 6, 1982, where he served until 1998. His 22nd Senatorial District included the cities of Encino, Sherman Oaks, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, West Los Angeles, Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood, Tarzana, and Woodland Hills. After redistricting in 1991, Rosenthal's 20th Senatorial District included Canoga Park, East Los Angeles, North Hollywood, San Fernando, Van Nuys, Pacoima, Reseda, Panorama City, Sepulveda, and Sylmar.
    Herschel Rosenthal was born on March 13, 1918, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father worked as a pattern cutter in the garment industry, and his mother was a homemaker. Herschel established residency in California in 1929 and lived in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles. He attended UCLA where he studied at their School of Engineering. During World War II, he served in the Navy. Then, in 1946, he married Patricia (Staman) Rosenthal, with whom he had two children, a son, Joel Rosenthal, and a daughter, Suzanne Hellerstein. The Rosenthal's marriage lasted over 62 years until Herschel's death in 2009.
    Rosenthal was very active in the Jewish Centers movement. He was President of the Westside Jewish Community Center, Vice President of the Jewish Centers Association, President of the American Jewish Congress, President of the National Association of Jewish Legislators, and was a member of the American Jewish Committee as well as the Jewish Community Alliance. He also served as Commissioner for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans with Disabilities Association, California Delegation to Democratic National Convention, Common Cause, International Typographical Union No. 174, the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
    Herschel Rosenthal died on June 19, 2009, at a nursing home in Hollywood, California shortly after being treated for a case of pneumonia.
    During his term in the California Legislature, Rosenthal served on the following committees according to the California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks) and the California Blue Book
    Assembly Standing Committees
    Aging, 1979-1981
    Energy and Natural Resources, 1981-1982
    Governmental Organization, 1975-1982
    Vice Chair, 1975-1976
    Health, 1975-1982
    Labor and Employment, 1981-1982
    Rules, 1977-1982
    Ways and Means, 1977-1978
    Assembly Subcommittees
    Health Care Investigations, 1977-1978
    Health Personnel, 1977-1982
    Joint Rules, 1977-1982
    Land Use, 1977-1978
    Mental Health and Development Disabilities, 1975-1976
    Motion Picture Development, 1975-1982
    Social Benefits and Services Advisory Board, 1977-1982
    Assembly Select Committees
    Economic Problems in Timber and Related Industries, 1979-1982
    Genetic Diseases, 1977-1982
    Chairman 1979-1980
    Health Sciences Education, 1975-1976
    Landslide Prevention, 1979-1980
    Assembly Special Subcommittees
    Healthcare Investigations, 1975-1976
    Medi-Cal Reform, 1979-1980
    Senate Standing Committees
    Business and Professions, 1983-1998
    Elections and Reapportionment, 1987-1998
    Energy and Public Utilities, 1983-1994
    Chairman 1983-1992
    Energy, Utilities and Communications, 1995-1998
    Governmental Organization, 1983-1998
    Health and Human Services, 1983-1994
    Industrial Relations, 1983-1998
    Insurance, 1993-1998
    Chairman 1997-1998
    Insurance Reform, 1993-1994
    Local Government, 1995-1996
    Natural Resources and Wildlife, 1991-1992
    Revenue and Taxation, 1991-1992
    Toxics and Public Safety Management, 1987-1990
    Senate Select Committees
    California Quincentennial, 1991-1992
    Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health, 1997-1998
    Entertainment Industry, 1997-1998
    Healthcare Delivery Systems 1987-1988
    Horseracing, 1997-1998
    Insurance Reform, 1993-1994
    Motion Picture, Television, Commercial, and Recording Industries 1983-1988
    Chairman, 1983-1990
    Northridge Earthquake 1995-1996
    Chairman 1995-1996
    Women in the Workforce 1987-1998
    Senate Subcommittees
    Bioethics, 1987-1994
    Cable Television, 1983-1988
    CEQA, 1995-1996
    Diseases, 1983-1984
    Energy Costs and Industrial Development, 1985-1990
    Healthcare Cost Management, 1983-1992
    Health and Human Services, 1990-1991
    Healthcare Reform, 1995-1998
    Chairman, 1995-1996
    Horseracing, 1991-1998
    Mental Health, 1983-1984
    Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Genetic Diseases, 1985-1994
    Nuclear Facility Safety, 1985-1986
    Prescription Drugs, 1993-1998
    Women in the Workforce, 1983-1990
    Senate Special Committees
    Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health, 1991-1996
    Greenhouse Effect, Ozone Depletion, and Atmospheric Pollution, 1989-1990
    Senate Joint Committees
    1992 California Quincentennial of the Voyages of Christopher Columbus, 1989-1992
    Energy Regulation and the Environment, 1989-1990
    GAIN Implementation, 1987-1990
    Lowering the Cost of Electric Services, 1995-1998
    Workers Compensation, 1983-1984, 1997-1998

    Scope and Content

    The Herschel Rosenthal Papers consist of 18 cubic feet of textual records and 14 artifacts and cover the years 1975 to 1998. The records are organized into the following record series: Bill Files, 1975-1998; Bill Records, 1975-1998; and Artifacts, 1975-1998.
    The Bill Files document his legislative activity during his term as a member of the California State Legislature. The Bill Records provide a summary of the bills introduced by Rosenthal during each legislative session. The bills introduced by Herschel Rosenthal pertain to a wide array of subjects including public utilities, health, horseracing, and the environment.
    He played a major role in passing legislation to protect the Santa Monica Mountains (SB1323 (1989-1990) and was a leader in the efforts to create more locally based film industry jobs by encouraging California-based production (SB2293, SB2294, SB2295, SJR26 all from the 1985-1986 session). A strong supporter of Israel, two particularly intriguing bills in this collection are SJR54 as well as SJR 58. SJR54 concerned the release of Dr. Yosef Begun from his exile in Siberia, while persuading the government of theSoviet Union to permit his emigration to Israel. SJR 50 requested that the President and Congress support and ratify the Genocide Convention.

    Accruals

    No further accruals are expected.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
    California Legislature Senate