Full Biography for Jim Morrissey

Assemblyman Jim Morrissey:  Family Man, Businessman

Jim and his wife, Margaret, established roots in Orange County almost 40 years ago.  Over the years, his business expanded tremendously.  As such, he began to realize firsthand California was losing its competitiveness through exorbitant tax rates and regulations.  In 1978, he actively supported Proposition 13 and later for Proposition 140, the term limits legislation.

After retiring from his company, Jim decided to run for the Assembly in 1994 and won.  The 69th district includes Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Fountain Valley.  On the strength of securing passage for legislation reducing the tax burdens on all Californians, as well as more stringent public safety measures, Jim won re-election in 1996.

However, the real work of returning the Assembly to the spirit of Proposition 140 remains a strong goal of Jim's.  He has continued press for the passage of (as lead author) ACA 2, the ``no budget, no pay" constitutional amendment in an attempt to inject a sense of responsibility into the Assembly.   He has also rejected the 37% pay raise for legislators, choosing instead to donate this raise—upwards of $67,000 to date—to charities in Orange County.

In 1995, the Legislature passed a Morrissey resolution calling for the release of Jimmy Tran, an American citizen being held as a political prisoner in Vietnam.  Jim later traveled to Vietnam at his own expense to win Tran's political freedom and nine other Vietnamese Americans.

Jim continues to fight for expanded senior rights, including excluding the first $20,000 of seniors' income from state taxation.  He also desires to increase funding for the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, expand three-strikes to include sexual and/or abusive predators, and legislation enhancing the court's ability to impose tougher penalties on swindlers when their victim is over 65.  It is his sole desire to expand all forms of opportunity for all Californians.

Jim, a Korean War veteran, has introduced legislation increasing the homeowners' property tax exemption for veterans, and, in 1996, was named Assembly Legislator of the Year by the California Veterans of Foreign Wars.  He is a member of the VFW and the American Legion.  As a result of his war service, he sits on the Assembly's Select Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Jim was a past chairman of the Assembly's Consumer Protection, Governmental Efficiency and Economic Development Committee and the Legislature's Manufacturers Caucus.  He continues to sit on this committee, utilizing his position in such a fashion to promote expanded opportunity for all Californians. He is currently the vice chair of the Committee on Televising the Assembly.