Caucus News

SACRAMENTO, CA – In a bipartisan vote, the California Senate today passed a mandatory kindergarten bill by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) that will ensure all children receive critical instruction in their earliest years of learning.

SB 70 will require all students to complete one year in kindergarten before entering first grade to ensure children are prepared socially and academically before entering elementary school. Currently, parents are able to delay their child’s entrance into school until the first grade.

SACRAMENTO, CA – En una votación bipartidista, el Senado de California aprobó hoy un proyecto de ley sobre jardín de niños (kindergarten) obligatorio, de la Senadora Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), que asegurará que todos los pequeños reciban instrucción vital en sus primeros años de aprendizaje.

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s Senate Bill 260, the Climate Corporate Accountability Act (CCAA), passed the Senate by a vote of 23-7. SB 260 would be the first law in the country to require U.S.-based companies — those doing business in California and generating over $1 billion in gross annual revenue — to disclose all of their greenhouse gas emissions to the California Secretary of State’s office. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will analyze this data and create a report for the Secretary of State to publish online.

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s Senate Bill 467 passed the Senate today with a bipartisan vote of 30-3. SB 467, the End Wrongful Convictions Act, would amend the standards used for evaluating expert testimony and forensics in court pre- and post-conviction. Faulty forensic and scientific evidence, provided by expert witnesses,is the second most common reason that individuals are wrongfully convicted. Today, courts have discretion over which expert testimony is admissible.

Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley), who serves as Chair of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee, made the following statement regarding the announcement to extend Supplemental Paid Sick Leave in California:

For Immediate Release
SACRAMENTO –State Senator Josh Becker introduced legislation today to create the statewide Digital Education Equity Program, called DEEP, to provide California public school districts with equitable access to the professional development for teachers and technical assistance that enable schools to effectively use technology in education.

California state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, today introduced SB 878, Road to Success. It would establish a state-funded program to ensure that every TK-12 public school student in California gets transportation to and from school each day.

“Getting to and from school should never be a barrier to student success. The research is clear: Students with school-provided transportation miss far fewer days and are more likely to graduate,” Sen. Skinner said. “SB 878, Road to Success, will ensure that not having a ride is never again the reason for a child to miss school.”

Sacramento, CA - State Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) testified yesterday in strong support of a $1 million grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) to the One Arroyo Foundation. 

Today, Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley) introduced SB 874, sponsored by the California School Employees Association (CSEA), to ensure parity around promotional probation procedures for classified employees in merit system districts. 
The merit system was created in the 1930’s with the intention of providing fairness in the hiring, retention, and promotion of school employees. Over 90 K-12 and Community College districts fall under the merit system in California. 

SACRAMENTO, CA –  The California Senate passed a bill today by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) that will help low-income families have cleaner indoor air and energy savings while reducing their carbon emissions.

SB 560 will create a targeted financial program, administered by the California Energy Commission, to assist low-income households who want to replace outdated household appliances, such as water heaters, stoves, home heating and cooling systems, refrigerators, and washers and dryers, with low-carbon appliances.