Caucus News

SACRAMENTO – A bill from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would protect California’s elderly and adults with disabilities from abandonment by caretakers has cleared a key committee. Senate Bill 314, inspired by the abandonment of seniors at two Santa Rosa assisted living facilities in the 2017 wildfires, was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary committee Tuesday. It heads next to the Senate floor.

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) today released the following statement in response to an Executive Order from the White House mandating action from DHS, DoD, DoE, and the State Department to address the threat of electromagnetic pulses:

State Senator Jerry Hill with Senators Steve Glazer, Anthony Portantino and Nancy Skinner, Assemblymembers Kevin McCarty, Jim Wood and Al Muratsuchi, physicians, teens and national health and anti-smoking advocates held a news conference in the Capitol March 27 to urge support for Senate Bill 38. The bill, coauthored by more than 18 lawmakers, would prohibit sales of flavored tobacco products in stores and vending machines throughout California.

SACRAMENTO – Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and state senator representing the Sacramento region and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez who represents the San Diego area, introduced SB 276 today to strengthen oversight of the medial exemption process which a handful of doctors in the state are abusing by selling medical exemptions to parents.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – A legal settlement that protects whales and sea turtles from entanglement in commercial Dungeness crab gear was announced today by the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA). 

The CROWN Act would ‘Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair’

SACRAMENTO –The Senate Judiciary Committee today passed a bill by Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, to end a centuries-long history of racial discrimination based on hairstyles.

Senate Bill 188 amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act to prohibit employers from enforcing purportedly “race neutral” grooming policies that disproportionately impact persons of color.

SACRAMENTO – With unanimous support, the Senate Public Safety Committee today passed important legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) requiring that law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories promptly analyze and test all newly collected rape kit evidence in California.

SACRAMENTO – Legislation by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to stabilize state budget costs from major disasters cleared a key committee vote Tuesday.

NEW YORK, NY – March 26, 2019 – The CROWN Coalition, a national alliance comprised of the National Urban League, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Color Of Change, and Dove, is proud to announce it is sponsoring SB 188, the Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural hair (CROWN) Act.

Sacramento –  Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced the introduction of Senate Bill 378, which creates a California estate tax modeled on the federal estate tax, but with a lower exemption rate of $3.5 million ($7 million for a married couple). The tax phases out at the current federal estate tax exemption — $11.4 million ($22.8 million for a married couple) - thus avoiding double taxation. SB 378 contains the same exemptions as the federal estate tax (e.g., transfers to a surviving spouse and family farm exemptions) and the same tax rate (40%).