Caucus News

Sacramento, CA – Californians left in the dark during power shutoffs or who face oncoming firestorms have their lives put at risk when their cell phones, cable, and landlines go down.

Last year, as the Kincade Fire burned in Sonoma County forcing the largest evacuation in the county’s history during one of the biggest Public Safety Power Shutoffs in California history, hundreds of cell towers residents have come to rely on went dark. This left hundreds of thousands of Californians in harm’s way without their cell phone during a disaster.

Sacramento - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced new criminal justice reform legislation, Senate Bill 938. This bill would amend the standards used for evaluating expert testimony and forensics in court pre- and post-conviction. Faulty forensic and scientific evidence, provided by expert witnesses, are the second most common reason that individuals are wrongfully convicted for crimes they did not commit. Today, courts have discretion over which expert testimonies are admissible.

SACRAMENTO –Dr. Richard Pan, state senator representing the Sacramento region and Chair of the Senate Health Committee is in close contact with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and monitoring the response to novel coronavirus outbreak. 

“While the novel coronavirus is a serious public health concern and health officials are taking every precaution to protect the public, the risk to the general public in California remains low,” said Dr. Richard Pan, pediatrician and state senator representing the Sacramento region.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado’s (D-Sanger) legislation, SB 207, which would simplify the process for voters updating specified personal information or party preference in the two weeks prior to and including Election Day, passed through the Senate Floor. The bill, coauthored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), received bipartisan support with a 28-9 vote – moving the bill to the Governor’s desk.

SACRAMENTO - Yesterday, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation, SB 932, to address the major increase in syphilis infections by authorizing HIV counselors to perform rapid syphilis tests. Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) is principal coauthor of the bill. HIV counselors are authorized to perform rapid HIV tests, but not rapid syphilis tests. This test is inexpensive, simple to use with minimal training, and produces results in about 10 minutes.

Sacramento - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will introduce legislation which would turn PG&E into a publicly owned utility, the Northern California Energy Utility District. The legislation will fundamentally and structurally reform PG&E, whose faulty power lines have caused deadly wildfires, killing hundreds, incinerating thousands of homes, and destroying an entire community.

Senator Jerry Hill introduced legislation today to require retailers in California to accept cash payments for goods and services purchased in person, lifting a barrier for would-be customers who cannot participate in cashless transactions. Senate Bill 926 does not prohibit cashless transactions, but retailers that now rely on them exclusively would also have to accept dollars and cents as payment if the legislation becomes law.

SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) issued the following statement regarding Governor Newsom’s pardon of Bayard Rustin, a gay civil rights hero who was wrongfully convicted in 1953 on “lewd conduct” charges for violating a morality offense that was often used to discriminate against Black and LGBTQ communities and has since been repealed. He was arrested for having consensual sex in a parked car.

Rustin was a close confidante of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and was one of the chief organizers of the Great March on Washington in 1963.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, introduced legislation today to allow UC Davis to sell wine made by viticulture and enology students, which would otherwise go to waste. The proceeds would generate funds for the university.

Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, announced today Senate Bill 906, which is designed to protect existing live-work and warehouse spaces used for housing to ensure safety improvements are made without residents being displaced. SB 906 would allow cities to work cooperatively with property owners to make live-work and warehouse spaces and other types of housing safer.