Latest Press Releases

(SACRAMENTO) - Legislation to lower California’s high school dropout rate while also creating a skilled workforce for the emerging green economy has passed the Senate and now heads to the Governor’s office. The “Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education and Dropout Prevention Program,” SBx1 1 authored by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, passed the Senate on a 21 to 14 vote today.

(SACRAMENTO) – A bill by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) to help enforce workplace laws and make it easier for California’s farm workers to choose labor representation has been passed by the State Senate. SB 104, the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act, would allow workers to organize by using the option of a “majority sign-up” method of voting. Today’s floor vote was 24 to 14.

SIMITIAN’S 33% RENEWABLE ENERGY BILL CLEARS LEGISLATURE

SACRAMENTO –Legislation authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would put California in the national forefront in its commitment to renewable energy is headed to Governor Jerry Brown. Senate Bill 2X would require private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, raising the target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility necessary to meet the higher standard.

Sacramento –Senate Bill 26, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), was approved 6-0 by the Senate Public Safety Committee.  SB 26 would crack down on the illegal proliferation of cell phones and other wireless communication devices in California prisons.  The bill includes tough penalties for both smugglers and inmates.  Current law does not provide any criminal or financial sanctions for smuggling cell phones to inmates.

(SACRAMENTO) – State Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg today announced Senate committee membership assignments. The list of Senate committees and membership is below.

The committee member designations will be formally considered for adoption by the Senate Rules Committee at its next meeting scheduled for 11:15 A.M. on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 in room 113 of the State Capitol. Senate committee chairs have already been nominated and approved by the Rules Committee.

California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg went before people from his largely Democratic Sacramento district Saturday and told a town hall meeting: "There is no money."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/23/3344724/townhall.html#ixzz1C0GoRjjX

As we enter the new year with a new governor, new Legislature and renewed commitment to restoring California's luster, our singular focus as a state must be on job creation in the short term and job competitiveness in the long term. A meeting held in Monterey in November might hold the key that unlocks the door to California's economic future.

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-steinberg-education-20101225,0,3381488.story

Sacramento- Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Roger Dickinson today announced a comprehensive strategy to ensure water quality improvements for the Delta while protecting Sacramento ratepayers from a potential spike in water rates. Steinberg and Dickinson were joined at the event by business, community, and elected leaders from throughout the Sacramento region. Last week, the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board approved a new pollution control permit on the Sacramento region’s wastewater system.

On Monday, Senators were sworn into office for the 2011-2012 session. There are five Democratic Senators who are new to the State Senate this year.

Kevin de León (D-22)
As a community organizer and US citizenship teacher, Kevin de León drew on his life experience growing up in the San Diego barrio of Logan Heights. He was the first in his family to finish high school, and then moved on to university studies where he received his bachelor’s degree from PitzerCollege.

Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) joined parents and advocates today at a Sacramento daycare provider for a press conference to denounce the Governor’s decision to veto from the state budget nearly a half-billion dollars in funding that will have devastating consequences on California’s children, working parents, and economy.