Senator Susan Rubio (D–Baldwin Park) introduced SB 871, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act — life-saving legislation to strengthen enforcement of domestic violence restraining orders and prevent abusers from getting dangerously close to their victims.
Domestic violence remains a serious public safety and public health crisis in California. Nearly one in five women and one in seven men experience severe physical violence from an intimate partner, and intimate partners account for nearly half of all female homicide victims nationwide.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Catherine S. Blakespear, D-Encinitas, introduced legislation Wednesday to balance reforms made to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) last year with needed protections for the environment, workers and endangered species.

SACRAMENTO – Today, the Senate Education Committee approved Senate Bill 1006, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). The strengthens financial aid for California college students by increasing and modernizing the Cal Grant B access award.

SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, today announced new legislation – SB 1406 – that would close the so-called “Montana Loophole,” which costs California approximately $20 million a year in lost tax revenue.
SB 1406 would strengthen state law by barring tax scams in which California residents create an out-of-state shell company to buy exotic luxury cars or recreational vehicles in Montana to avoid paying California sales taxes and vehicle license fees.

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, Senator Josh Becker (D–Menlo Park) announced legislation to expand the use of local, clean power to reduce costs and increase grid reliability.
SB 913 allows customer-owned clean energy resources like home batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats to compete on a level playing field with traditional power sources to provide grid reliability at the lowest cost.

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water advanced SB 949 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) to formally designate the Santa Cruz Mountains as a Landscape of Statewide Significance, a landmark step to protect one of California’s most ecologically vital landscapes and strengthen coordinated conservation, climate resilience, and watershed protection efforts statewide.

SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, today announced the introduction of SB 1196, which will streamline the creation of accessory dwelling units by accelerating utility service connections.
SB 1196 would establish clear timelines for utility hookups for ADUs, also known as backyard cottages or “casitas,” and institute penalties for utilities that fail to provide timely service connections.

SFO incident shines a spotlight on necessity of tracking ICE activity

Viral video of ICE brutally detaining a woman and child at San Francisco International Airport is a preview of ICE’s new expansion to airports across the country.

State government should function to serve the people. Instead, residents have encountered a lack of transparency and inconsistent enforcement of policies that have severely impacted tenants' health, financial stability, and access to affordable housing.