Jacqui Irwin

Irwin is the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs,[7] and the Assembly Select Committee on Cybersecurity.[8] She also serves on the Committees on Agriculture, Business & Professions, Higher Education, and Privacy and Consumer Protection.[9]

Irwin has also been appointed to other significant roles including the Governor's Military Council,[10] and as Co-Chair of the National Conference of State Legislature’s Task Force on Cybersecurity.[11]

During her first term in office, Irwin passed significant legislation. Irwin improved the cybersecurity of the state by mandating state agencies undergo independent security assessments,[12] she banned powdered alcohol,[13] expanded the ability of University of California research to be turned into real-world applications,[14] and worked with Attorney General Kamala Harris to create the OpenJustice Web portal to provide better access to criminal justice data.[15]

During her second term in office, Irwin helped secure critical funding for infrastructure projects in Ventura County, including $68.6 million for a grade separation project at Rice Avenue in Oxnard, California,[16] and $9.5 million for emergency wastewater treatment facility repairs in Oxnard, CA.[17]

She continued her work passing significant cybersecurity legislation, enacting into law the first ever security requirement for Internet of Things devices.[18] Irwin also significantly changed how California Community Colleges approached remedial education in an effort to get students into transfer level courses.[19][20]

In 2019 Irwin focused heavily on gun violence prevention legislation in response to the Borderline Shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA. Her legislation strengthened Gun Violence Restraining Orders, in part by allowing them to extend up to five years. She also required law enforcement agencies to have policies about using Gun Violence Restraining Orders.[21] Irwin also secured $3 million to support local law enforcement efforts to recover firearms from individuals listed in the Armed and Prohibited Possessors System.[22]

Irwin also authored ACR-17 which renamed a portion of U.S. Route 101 in Thousand Oaks after Sgt. Ron Helus, from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office who died in the line of duty during the Borderline Shooting.[23]

In 2020, Irwin shifted the majority of her efforts towards assisting her district's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Irwin spearheaded efforts to collect personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line health care workers[24] and organized blood drives during a local shortage.[25]

Irwin also brought together local governments, academics, private businesses, and non-profits to conduct a COVID-19 antibody testing study in Ventura County.[26] Irwin worked with the group to acquire reliable and available serology tests to be used for the study. She also helped identify and secure locations that would be utilized as testing sites for the countywide study which offered free COVID-19 antibody testing to residents.[27] The antibody testing study was developed to not only understand the prevalence of COVID-19 in Ventura County, but was also modeled to understand the prevalence in targeted groups including first responders, low-income households, and those experiencing homelessness.[28] [29]