Guide to the Salvatore (Sal) Cannella Papers

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 653-2246

Fax: (916) 653-7363

Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Guide to the Salvatore (Sal) Cannella Papers

Collection number: LP454

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California

Processed by:: Cori Schmidtbauer
Date Completed:: January 2014
Encoded by:: Sara Roberson

Descriptive Summary

Title: Salvatore (Sal) Cannella Papers

Dates: 1990-1996

Collection number: LP454

Creator: Cannella, Salvatore

Collection Size: 5 cubic feet

Repository: California State Archives

Sacramento, California

Abstract: Sal Cannella, a Democrat, was first elected to the Assembly on January 30, 1990 in a special election and served for six years. The Sal Cannella Papers consist of 5 cubic feet of textual records that cover the years 1990-1996.

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], Sal Cannella Papers, LP454:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Biography

Sal Cannella, a Democrat, was first elected to the Assembly on January 30, 1990 in a special election and served for six years. Cannella initially represented the 27th Assembly District, which consisted of Stanislaus County and the northeastern part of Merced County. He was re-elected in the November 1990 general election. He ran again in 1992 and 1994 to represent the 26th Assembly District, which included the southwestern portion of San Joaquin County, part of Stanislaus County, and all of Merced County, until the end of his term in 1996.

Salvatore (Sal) Cannella was born on September 23, 1942, in Newark, New Jersey, and moved to Stanislaus County in 1953. He attended Ceres High School and, as a senior, carried the Olympic torch through town on its way to the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.

Before he became a California Assembly Member, Cannella was involved in local politics. From 1976 to 1980, he served on the Ceres City Council, and he was the Mayor of the City of Ceres from 1980 until 1982 when he was elected to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. Cannella was also an active participant in United Cerebral Palsy, the Boy Scouts, and the Riverdale Park Tract Community Service District.

Cannella's family included his wife Donna and three children -- Nicole, Anthony, and Vincent. Anthony followed in his father's footsteps by serving on the Ceres City Council, 2003-2005, and becoming Mayor of the City of Ceres, 2005-2009. In 2010, Anthony Cannella was elected as California State Senator for the 12th District as a Republican.

During his tenure in the Legislature, Cannella was honored as Legislator of the Year by groups like the Association of the Physically Handicapped, Police Officers Research Association of California Narcotics Officers, and California Trucking Association. He has received awards from the United Cerebral Palsy Association, California Teachers Association, California Firefighters Historical Society, and Military Order of the Purple Heart. Although California state term limits prevented Cannella from seeking reelection in 1996, he did run for the California State Senate 12th District seat against Republican incumbent Dick Monteith in 1998. Cannella lost to Monteith by 53% to 44%.

After Cannella served in the California State Assembly, he managed his own consulting business for five years, worked in the Senate Office of Research as a consultant, and was a computer operator with an engineering firm before being appointed to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board in July 2001. In September 2002, at age 59, Sal Cannella was appointed by the Senate Rules Committee and sworn in as the newest Board official with the California Integrated Waste Management Board-the State's primary recycling agency and a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

During his term in the California Legislature, Cannella served on the following committees according to the Assembly Final History, California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks) and the California Blue Book:

California State Assembly, 1990-1996

Standing Committees

Agriculture, 1990-1996

Appropriations, 1995-1996

Consumer Protection, Governmental Efficiency, and Economic Development, 1991-1992, 1995-1996

Governmental Organization, 1995-1996

Housing and Community Development, 1990-1992, 1995-1996

Labor and Employment, 1990

Local Government, 1990-1996

Natural Resources, 1996

Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security 1990-1996

Chair, 1991-1994

Vice Chair, 1995-1996

Water, Parks, and Wildlife, 1993-1996

Select Committees

California-Africa Affairs, 1996

California Wine Production and Economy, 1991-1996

Committee on Construction Issues, 1990

Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling, 1990

State's Economy, 1990

Subcommittees

Fairs and Expositions, 1991-1992

Chair, 1991-1992

Joint Committees

Fairs Allocation and Classification, 1995-1996

Vice Chair, 1995-1996

Scope and Content

The Sal Cannella Papers consist of 5 cubic feet of textual records that cover the years 1990-1996. The records are organized into one record series: Bill Files, 1990-1996.

The bill files document his legislative activity during his term as a member of the California State Legislature. The bills introduced by Sal Cannella include a wide array of subjects such as law enforcement and crime, agriculture, environmental protection, retirement benefits, healthcare, and other state and local matters.

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.

Agriculture - California

Environmental Protection

Health insurance

LP454:1-106

Series 1 Bill Files 1990-1996

Physical Description: 106 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by legislative session, then numerically by bill number.

Scope and Content Note

Bill Files were created by Sal Cannella while he served as a state assembly member from 1990-1996. The files may include bill analyses, amendments and resolutions, author's statements, testimony, position statements in support or opposition, Legislative Counsel opinions and conflict letters, press releases, newspaper editorials and clippings, background reports, information, and data that pertain to law enforcement and crime, agriculture, environmental protection, retirement, healthcare, and other state and local matters.

Crime was one of Cannella's target issues, and he authored legislation against drug trafficking, gun violations, and the roles of minors in criminal transactions: (AB2992 and AB4152, 1990; AB606 and AB2308, 1991-1992; AB494, AB2740, AB2844, and AB2872, 1993-1994).

Additionally, a 1994 law (AB2741) made it illegal to make annoying or harassing phone calls to 911 emergency dispatch operators.

Retirement benefits were also very important to Cannella. He author such legislation as AB3934, 1990; AB2224, 1991-1992; AB348, AB349, AB631, AB1192, AB1237, AB1452, AB1470, AB1471, AB1501, AB2722, and AB3278, 1993-1994; AB399, AB430, AB1122, and AB2550, 1995-1996 which address Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and California State Teacher Retirement System (STRS).

Environmental safety legislation addressing air pollution and toxic waste included: AB2370, 1991-1992; AB924, AB956, AB2871, AB3204, and AB3404, 1993-1994; and AB524, 1995-1996. Similarly, policies for food production, benefits of agriculture, and concerns regarding the use of pesticides are addressed in AB2957, 1991-1992; AB363, AB389, AB697, AB1476, and AB2340, 1995-1996.

Cannella was also sensitive to cultural heritage. AB548, 1995-1996, created the Korean War Veterans Commemorative Medallion Act requiring the California Department of Veterans Affairs to create a medal to commemorate the 3,016 Californians who lost their lives during the Korean War. AJR24, 1995-1996, protested the illicit sale of Assyrian artifacts.

Other notable legislation that Cannella participated in were AB3632, 1990, which concerned the Medfly (Mediterranean Fruit Fly) and called for exotic pest inspections at international crossing locations; AB693 (1993-1994) which created the Local Agency Military Base Recovery Act that provided economic incentives for closed military bases; and SB450, 1995-1996, which required California Community Colleges' Board of Governors to develop a common course numbering systems for all colleges.

1989-1990: AB2992-AB4249, HR55 (9ff) LP454:1-9

1991-1992: AB606-AB3741 (22ff) LP454:10-31

1993-1994: AB69-AB3832, ACR48, ACR118, ACR126, AB151X (45ff) LP454:32-76

1995-1996: AB6-AB3038, ACR17, AJR24 (29ff) LP454:77-105

1995-1996: SB450 (1ff) LP454:106