The General Assembly of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)
Thursday - April 20, 2006, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Moscone North Convention Center

ABAG’s General Assembly is a bi-annual conference that brings Bay Area city and county elected officials and private-sector decision makers together to explore key issues and trends in a regional context.

This conference is being held in conjunction with the 1906 Earthquake Anniversary Conference. It is open to all 4-day 1906 Earthquake Anniversary Conference participants. A separate 1-day registration is also available.

ASSESSING THE PRESENT Thursday - April 20, 2006, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
8:00 - 8:30 a.m.	Registration
8:30 - 8:35 a.m.	Opening Remarks: Dave Cortese, ABAG President and Councilmember, City of San Jose Welcome: Representative, City and County of San Francisco
8:35 - 10:00 a.m.	Plenary Session— Earthquake Scenario: What would happen if the 1906 earthquake occurred today? What do we know about how much ground shaking occurred in 1906, and what areas might shake next time? What is likely to be the damage to our housing, businesses, and infrastructure? How will we respond?
	An expert panel will address what may happen providing the latest simulations and modeling technology. - Greg Beroza Professor of Geophysics, Stanford University - Charlie Kircher Structural Engineer, Kircher and Associates - Richard K. Eisner Regional Administrator, Governor's Office of Emergency Services Coastal Region Response Panel: - Supervisor John Gioia Contra Costa County - Supervisor Fiona Ma County of San Francisco (invited)
10:00 - 10:20 a.m.	Break
10:20 - 12:00 p.m.	Taking Responsibility and Avoiding Blame Who is responsible for informing government, businesses, and the public on risk? Who pays for major infrastructure improvements? Who decides what the public versus local government is responsible for and who serves special needs population?
	Moderator: Mayor Irma Anderson, City of Richmond Panelists: - Laurence Kornfield Chief Building Inspector, City and County of San Francisco - Steve Heminger Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission - Ana Marie Jones Executive Director, Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters Policy Response: - Mayor Sheila Young City of San Leandro - Councilmember Jean Quan City of Oakland
12:00 - 12:30 p.m.	ABAG Business Meeting
12:30 - 2:00 p.m.	Lunch and Luncheon Speaker: California Senate President pro Tem, Don Perata
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.	Leading to Action: How can benefit-cost analysis help - and hinder- decisions? How important are the public facilities of city hall, fire stations, libraries, and schools versus health facilities, housing, and the downtown business district? Who decides how much mitigation is enough? How willing are we to pay for safety? What functions are critical and what are not?
	Moderator: Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, San Mateo County Panelists: - Senator Pete Courtney President pro Tem of the Oregon State Senate - Philip Ganderton Chair, Department of Economics, University of New Mexico - Raymond Brady Systems Solutions Consulting, New Orleans Policy Response: - Councilmember Olden Hensen City of Hayward - Supervisor Mark Luce, Napa County - Mayor Tom Bates, City of Berkeley
3:30 - 4:00 p.m.	Wrap Up: Dave Cortese, ABAG President and City of San Jose Councilmember Next Steps

Founded in 1961, ABAG is the regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns, and nine counties of the Bay Area and is recognized as the first council of governments in California.

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