Caucus News

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, introduced legislation today to increase conservation on California’s farms and ranches by offering incentives and technical assistance for adopting practices that protect wildlife and the environment.

“Rural landowners play a huge role in conservation and are critical to the economic vitality of our state,” Sen. Dodd said. “This bill would encourage farmers and ranchers to continue their stewardship, boosting the land’s resiliency and production. It’s an important step that will allow people and the environment to reap the benefits.”

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has taken control of the statewide mountain lion depredation process and promised an “all-inclusive strategy” in response to a letter from the chairs of key environmental committees calling for a comprehensive solution to the Southern California mountain lion extinction crisis.

Sacramento – Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation that would expand the jury pool to include any state tax filers. This would ensure that jury pools would be more diverse and demographically representative of California’s population. Currently, juries are selected using lists of registered voters and licensed drivers or identification card holders. However, these lists are not demographically representative, and thus the jury pool pulled from these lists tend to skew whiter, wealthier, and overall less diverse than the state actually is.

Sacramento, California – State Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) has introduced SB 1017 to allow school districts to better utilize surplus property. 

SACRAMENTO, CA – This week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senator Melissa Hurtado’s (D-Sanger) legislation, SB 207. The bill, coauthored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) will simplify the process for voters updating specified personal information or party preference in the two weeks prior to and including Election Day.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) introduced Senate Bill 999 today, a measure that would restore local control and stem the tide of rapidly increasing rental rates for mobilehomes across California. The County of Los Angeles and Golden State Manufactured Home Owners League are cosponsors of the bill, representing a strong coalition between local government and residents.

Sacramento- Today, in response to a request from Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to audit law enforcement usage of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR), the California State Auditor released a report which found that law enforcement using this mass surveillance technology in cities across the state lacked necessary safeguards against privacy violations and are noncompliant with state law. Senator Wiener requested the audit due to privacy concerns, understanding this technology could be easily over- and misused without regulation and guidelines.

Sacramento, California – Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge) has introduced SB 996 which will establish a statewide effort to grapple with (CECs) which have touched an emerging concern about newly discovered chemicals in drinking water. 

Sacramento- Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), on behalf of the California Legislative LGBTQ caucus, sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom asking him to nominate an LGBTQ judge to the vacancy on the California Supreme Court. With Associate Justice Ming W. Chin retiring, Governor Newsom is able to nominate a new judge to the Supreme Court. The text of the letter follows:

“Dear Governor Newsom,

SACRAMENTO – Today, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) announced a series of hearings to develop a comprehensive Wildfire and Climate Action Plan. Two hearings were held in November and January by the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, and the next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. (Room 112) by the Senate Insurance Committee. In addition, a series of bills will be introduced as part of the Action Plan.