This session, I am honored to be recognized as a "Mental Health Super Hero" by the Steinberg Institute because of my work on mental health policy, advancing mental health parity to physical health and working to expand access to care. In addition, I supported nine bi-partisan bills, which were all forwarded to the Governor for his signature.

I co-authored three of these bills, signed by the Governor on Sept. 25. Senate Bill 855 (Wiener) expands Californians' ability to obtain treatment for substance abuse and mental health disorders by requiring insurers to pay for medically necessary trea...