Senator Steven Bradford

SACRAMENTO ­– Late yesterday, Senate Bill 1135 was approved on the Senate Floor with bi-partisan support. This bill, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), will preserve the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program in California law, while increasing the discount families may receive through the program, from 12 percent to 18 percent.

SACRAMENTO ­– Late yesterday, Senate Bill 1135 was approved on the Senate Floor with bi-partisan support. This bill, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), will preserve the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program in California law, while increasing the discount families may receive through the program, from 12 percent to 18 percent.

SACRAMENTO ­– Last week, the California State Senate approved SB 1412. The bill, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), clarifies what information employers may use when screening job applicants. SB 1412 continues the progress that the Legislature and Governor Brown began last year to provide more formerly-incarcerated Californians with a real opportunity to rebuild their lives.

SACRAMENTO ­– This week, Senate Bill 1294, the Cannabis Collaboration and Inclusion Act, was approved on the Senate Floor. This bill, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), will guide the formation and development of California’s first statewide cannabis equity program, while supporting local jurisdictions such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento that have established local equity programs.

SACRAMENTO ­– Yesterday afternoon, Governor Jerry Brown announced his appointment of Debbie Lumpkin of Los Angeles, as Deputy Inspector General for Diversity and Small Business Development in the Office of Audits and Investigations, at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The Office of Audits and Investigation is responsible for services that assist management in accomplishing Caltrans’ objectives, setting priorities and improving accountability.

SACRAMENTO –Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) was appointed Chair of the Banking and Financial Institution Committee, approved by the Senate Rules Committee on March 14th.  The Senate Standing Committee on Insurance, Banking and Financial Institutions was restructured into two separate committees, the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance and the Senate Standing Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions. The two committees were previously combined by Senate President pro Tempore, Kevin De Leon in May, 2017.

SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) introduced Senate Bill 1412, which will clarify how employers may screen job applicants using information about expunged or judicially-sealed convictions.  SB 1412 will continue to build upon the progress that the Legislature and Governor have made, focusing on policies that provide many Californians a renewed chance at being productive, contributing members of society.

SACRAMENTO ­– Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) has introduced Senate Bill 1268. This bill, sponsored by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals, prohibits the practice of “selling” patients to addiction recovery and treatment programs. This practice, commonly known as “patient brokering” or “body brokering” occurs when compensation is given to a person or company for referring patients to a substance abuse treatment program.

SACRAMENTO ­– Today, Senator Bradford (D-Gardena) introduced SB 1135 to help low-income residents of California pay their monthly electric and gas bills. SB 1135 expands the authority of the California Public Utilities Commission to take into account the cost-of-living in a customer’s region when determining eligibility for the State’s highly successful, California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program. This program provides low-income customers a 30-35 percent discount on their electric bill and a 20 percent discount on their natural gas bill.

SACRAMENTO – This afternoon, Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) introduced SB 978, a follow-up to Senate Bill 345 that he authored last year to improve transparency and accountability of local law enforcement agencies across California.