Caucus News

SACRAMENTO – A broad coalition of California businesses today announced its strong support for Senate Bill 350, the Golden State Standards.

SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today passed important legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) that will dramatically increase payments for past due child support claims through an insurance payment intercept program.

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, has announced the following appointments by the Rules Committee:

Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) announced today that the California Department of Education has awarded a $12.8 million grant to the Riverside Community College District for programs that blend academic and career technical education, connect employers with schools, and train students for jobs in high-demand fields such as health care, advanced manufacturing, information technology and software development.

SACRAMENTO – Marking an early milestone in rolling out Senate Bill 1275 initiatives in the Central Valley region, California President pro Tempore Kevin de León handed over the keys to a 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid to a working family from Stockton in need of more reliable transportation. Facing a crisis due to a recent smog failure, the family will now be able to put the $125 per month they spend for recurring repairs toward financing a clean and fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid, and their fuel costs will go from $245 to $83 a month.

Sacramento - The State Senate today approved SB 476 authored by Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), on a unanimous bipartisan vote of 39 to 0. The bill will protect the well-being of California’s children by ensuring that day camps in the state are held to the same high standards as resident camps where children stay overnight. The bill now goes to the State Assembly for consideration.

Sacramento –The State Senate today approved SB 792 authored by Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) on a bipartisan vote of 34 to 3. The bill will protect California children in day care from contracting serious diseases by requiring family day care home and day care center workers to be vaccinated against measles, pertussis, and influenza among others. The bill now goes to the State Assembly for consideration.

SACRAMENTO -- State Sen. Fran Pavley is not letting up on a drive to protect California’s underground drinking-water supplies from contamination.The senator is pushing to redirect a budget proposal that would earmark $3.5 million to fund 23 experts and other technicians from the state oil and gas regulator to the state’s water quality regulators to expedite their evaluation of potential groundwater contamination from oil and gas production.

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, has announced the following appointments by the Rules Committee:

Sacramento, CA – Yesterday’s oil spill in the once pristine waters off Santa Barbara County’s Refugio State Beach is a grim reminder of just how risky coastal oil development can be. 
Local environmental and state agencies along with emergency crews, have sprung into immediate action to limit the damage from an estimated 21,000 gallons of oil that spilled from a ruptured pipeline, draining crude oil for three hours and creating nine miles of toxic sheen in ocean waters.