Leroy F. Greene

Infobox State Senator


name=Leroy F. Greene


state_senate=California
state=California
district=6th
term_start=1982
term_end=1998
preceded=John Foran|
succeeded=Deborah Ortiz
state_assembly2=California
state2=California
district2=3rd and 6th
term_start2=1962
term_end2=1982
preceded2=Lloyd W. Lowery
succeeded2=Lloyd Connelly
date of birth=birth date|1918|1|31|mf=y
place of birth=Newark, New Jersey
date of death=death date and age|2002|9|23|1918|1|31|mf=y
place of death=Carmichael, California
spouse=Denny Miller (1941-1991), Syma Reynolds (1995-2002)
profession=Engineer
religion=
party=Democratic
alma_mater=Purdue University|

Leroy F. Greene (January 31, 1918-September 29, 2002) was a long time Democratic politician in the State of California. He represented the Sacramento metropolitan area in the State Assembly from 1962 until 1982 and in the State Senate from 1982 until he was term limited in 1998.

Legislative Career

Greene sponsored hundreds of bills and measures regarding education and school facilities during his 36 year legislative career. The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 requires the State Allocation Board to certify that funding to provide funding for modernization and construction of school facilities is sufficient to complete the project.

Another of his bills prohibited the advertising of previously frozen meat as fresh meat. Another of his bills required buildings housing public services be built to be earthquake and fire resistant. He also wrote the bill that legalized bingo in California. The California Exposition and State Fair received an independent board of directors thanks to a bill written by Greene.

Greene also wrote the bill requiring newborns to be tested for PKU, a brain destroying disorder that can be controlled.

Greene also wrote a bill advocating for the legalization of prostitution after a survey showed most of his constineunts supported such a bill. The measure did not pass.

For quite a time, Greene had a life sized mural of himself (paid for by himself) covering his office door in the State Capitol.

He once proposed printing a colleague's speech upside down in the Assembly Journal so that then-Gov. Jerry Brown could read it while standing on his head, meditating, given Brown's tendency for such meditative practices.

Private Life

Greene married Denny Miller in 1941. They were married until her death in 1991. They had a daughter, Dennie, together. A tree was planted on the Capitol grounds upon Denny's death. In 1995, Greene married educational lobbyist Syma Reynolds. They were married until his death in 2002.

Post Legislative Career

A middle school in the Natomas district of Sacramento was named for Greene following his departure from the legislature. Upon his departure, he also became an education consultant and served on the California Medical Assistance Commission.

References

[http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.lib.csus.edu/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0F664AEEEF0E5683&d_place=SCBB&f_subsection=sMAIN+NEWS&f_issue=2002-09-30&f_publisher= Long-serving local senator is dead at 84]