SACRAMENTO, CA — California State Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) welcomed the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board's approval of the Track and Systems construction contract and its decision to engage Plenary in developing a public-private partnership framework for California High-Speed Rail.

Sacramento, Calif. (June 1, 2026)—Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) has been named the recipient of the 2026 LocalMotion Elected Official of the Year by the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG). The Senator’s focus on transportation priorities in the Central Valley has led to improved safety, increased economic vitality and critical infrastructure investments.

SACRAMENTO, CA — California State Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) announced that his Senate Bill 1246 (SB 1246), legislation aimed at strengthening oversight, transparency, emergency response, and public safety standards for autonomous vehicles operating on California roads, has successfully passed the California State Senate and will now move to the Assembly for further review and consideration.

Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) today released the following statement on the State Senate's passage of SB 1203: Stand for Security Act — landmark legislation to modernize training standards for California's more than 330,000 licensed private security officers:

Senate Bill 1367–Prohibiting Zoning for Detention Centers by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside)–was approved Tuesday by the Senate. The legislation would prohibit new land-use authorizations in a manner that allows the construction of a detention facility or a change of use that permits the use of an existing building as a detention center.

Sacramento, Calif. (May 29, 2026)—Ahead of the Legislature’s House of Origin deadline, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) announced that key components of her 2026 Valley Taxpayers Protection Plan successfully advanced through the California State Senate and now heads to the State Assembly for consideration.
The 2026 Valley Taxpayers Protection Plan focuses on lowering costs for working families, strengthening public safety, supporting economic growth in the Central Valley and improving government accountability and transparency.

SACRAMENTO—Yesterday, Senator McGuire’s critical fisheries legislation, SB 1393, passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support. 
 
California’s commercial fishing fleet and recreational fishermen support more than 100,000 jobs and drive hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity each year. The Dungeness crab fishery alone, centered on California’s North Coast, generates tens of millions of dollars annually and remains one of the most vital commercial fisheries on the West Coast.
 

Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), Chair of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee, today released the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom's executive order to direct a broad review of California's labor policies in light of the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI):

Sacramento, Calif. (May 28, 2026)—Ahead of the Legislature’s House of Origin deadline, the California State Senate approved Senate Bill 1025, the Food Access and Affordability Act authored by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield). The measure now moves to the State Assembly for consideration. The bill seeks to improve coordination between California’s food assistance programs, expand outreach to underserved communities and make it easier for families to connect with critical food resources.

The Masuma Khan Justice Act passed the Senate on a 39-0 vote