Caucus News

SACRAMENTO, CA – Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) introduced legislation on Tuesday to help preserve land and expand recreational opportunities in Solano County. The bill, which is co-authored by Assemblymembers Tim Grayson and Jim Frazier, authorizes the formation of a regional park district in Solano County.

SACRAMENTO – Senate Bill 1, an urgency bill to kick-start billions of dollars in long overdue street and highway repairs, was approved today on a 8-3 vote by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

“This is a first step toward making our roads safer, improving our quality of life and giving a much needed boost to our economy,’’ said Senator Jim Beall, who oversees the committee. “With much of our road and bridge infrastructure past its expected lifespan, rehab and maintenance costs for both the state system and local streets and roads are skyrocketing. 

(Sacramento) – Today, Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) and Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona) introduced legislation which will help ensure access to recovery and rehabilitation programs for veterans who are battling substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other service-related disorders.

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee today voted 7-2 in favor of Senate Bill 57, an urgency measure by State Senator Henry Stern to stop the reopening of the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility until state regulators have completed an investigation to determine the root cause of the massive methane leak which took four months to plug and displaced more than 8,000 families from their homes.

Sacramento, CA – Today, Senator Anthony Portantino introduced SB 328 which will require California school districts to start their middle and high school days no earlier than 8:30 am. 

“Every year we discuss as parents, educators, and legislators, best practices and interests of the children and education?  Well data is clear; starting the school day later improves the quality of education, health and welfare of our children. So let’s do it” said Sen. Portantino.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – In an effort to combat the numerous public health problems associated with the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) introduced Senate Bill (SB) 300, which requires health warning labels to be placed on sugary beverages sold in California.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, has introduced legislation that allows consumers to sign up for a free trial without agreeing to an automatic renewal for the service that comes with a charge.
In addition, SB 313 requires businesses to make it just as easy for consumers to cancel the arrangements as it was to sign up for them. The bill directs businesses to notify consumers three days before they are charged for an automatic renewal, and it requires businesses to obtain a consumer’s separate authorization for the renewal.

PRESS ADVISORY:
Sacramento, CA – Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who has become a legislative leader when it comes to the unique hurdles that occur with legalization of recreational marijuana, will kick off Tuesday’s Senate Oversight Hearing on cannabis taxes and regulatory timelines. The hearing will be chaired by Senator Mike McGuire.
Governor Hickenlooper will discuss his experiences, the challenges and lessons learned when his state faced implementing recreational cannabis with Colorado’s original taxing system.

Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D- San Francisco) announced the introduction of a Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 to set the voter approval threshold for transportation funding measures at 55%, down from the current threshold of 2/3, or 66.6%. This would put transportation funding measures on the same level as school funding measures, which were set at 55% by California voters in the year 2000. SCA 6 requires a 2/3 approval in the state legislature to be placed on the ballot, where it then requires majority approval by the voters.

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) released the following statement in response to new information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement about raids they conducted across California this week: