Caucus News

Senate Bill 390 (SB 390), authored by Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), was signed into law this week by Governor Gavin Newsom. Currently, school security officials who work less than 20 hours per week are not required to complete training that details areas such as laws and liability, role and responsibilities, school security awareness, conflict resolution, or the dynamics of student behavior. SB 390 would require that all part time school security officers complete training created by the state on fundamental aspects of their jobs.

NAPA – Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, issued the following statement today regarding the second anniversary of the Oct. 8, 2017 wildfires:

“After the toughest times, it’s heartening to see our community come together and work so hard to rebuild,” Sen. Dodd said. “At the same time, we can’t overlook the people who are still struggling to recover. Helping our neighbors and protecting California from future infernos must to be our focus going forward. It’s been my focus for the past two years, and we’ve made considerable progress that we must continue building upon.”

Sacramento, CA – October 2, 2019 – There is good news today out of Sacramento for Californians experiencing record numbers of illegal robocalls. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law the Consumer Call Protection Act of 2019 (Senate Bill No. 208) by Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego). The law sets a deadline of January 1, 2021 for telecommunications providers to implement Caller ID authentication measures that can help identify illegal robocalls and prevent consumers from being scammed.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senator Melissa Hurtado’s (D-Sanger) legislation, SB 436, which would help prevent child abuse and neglect. The bill, which received bi-partisan support, will formalize Family Resource Centers (FRC) as a key delivery network of services and as conduits to strengthening families via family-centered, community-based and culturally sensitive services that include cross-system collaboration with the goal of helping to prevent child abuse and strengthen family connections.

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed legislation from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to enable collaboration and innovation between the state Department of Parks and Recreation, universities and researchers.

“This will encourage discovery while allowing California to realize substantial social, ecological and economic benefits,” Sen. Dodd said. “I commend the governor and my fellow lawmakers for passing this commonsense bill, which will allow researchers to better utilize scientific discoveries made in state parks,”

"Governor Newsom recognizes that safety is a fundamental requirement for the utilities that serve California, as his signing of 22 bills that build on his Strike Force report shows," Senator Hill said. "I am grateful for the Governor’s and the Legislature’s support of my SB 550. Safety must be integral to any merger, acquisition or change of control involving major electric or gas companies; and in sales of public utility assets, the impacts to ratepayers and the workforce must be considered as well.

Sacramento, CA – Just days before the second anniversary of the 2017 North Bay Firestorm, Governor Newsom signed a package of wildfire mitigation, preparedness and response bills to build resilience, recover from wildfires, and protect Californians from catastrophic wildfires and natural disasters. 

SACRAMENTO – Four wildfire-safety bills from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to help prevent and prepare for the kinds of climate change-driven infernos that have burned across California were signed into law today by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Sacramento, CA – Senator Mike McGuire issued the following statement in response to today’s initial ruling on California’s Presidential Tax Transparency & Accountability Act: 

Sacramento, CA – Sept. 30, 2019 – California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law new legislation seeking to reduce exposure to dangerous pathogens, limit beach closures, and address water quality issues in the Tijuana River Valley. Senate Bill No. 690, authored by Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), would encourage the State Coastal Conservancy, when granting 2019-2020 state budget funds for the purposes of addressing transboundary flows and pollution in the Tijuana River Valley, to prioritize those projects identified through studies funded by SB 507 (Hueso, 2017).