Caucus News

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) issued the following statement today in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to include $25 million ongoing additional funding for the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine in the 2020-21 state budget:

The bills, cosponsored by The Kennedy Forum and Steinberg Institute, guarantee insurance funding and access to life-saving mental health and addiction treatments.

SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D- San Francisco), Senator Jim Beall (D- San Jose) and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D- Napa) introduced two landmark mental health and substance use disorder bills in an effort to address California’s growing and intertwined mental health and addiction crises.

Today I introduced SB 854 to remove insurance barriers to life-saving medication assisted treatment (MAT) for people with substance use disorders. Mental health parity is an empty promise if people struggling with addiction can’t get effective treatment.

We will fight for mental health! There will be a press conference with Congressman Patrick Kennedy today at 11:30 am to announce monumental mental health legislation, SB 854 (Beall) and 855 (Wiener).

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), SB 201’s author, released the following statement today, after the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee voted down the bill.

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) today introduced SB 851, calling for greater transparency when an individual’s blood donation is deferred.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, issued the following statement today on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020-21 budget proposal:

“Gov. Newsom has issued a thoughtful and powerful 2020-21 budget, one that delivers on our homeless and housing crisis, increases funding for wildfire and disaster response and preparedness, and tackles costly prescription drugs and our teen vaping epidemic, while still saving significantly for a future downturn.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, issued the following statement today on the public safety proposals in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020-21 budget:

“As chair of the Senate’s Public Safety committees, I welcome the governor’s innovative proposals to modernize California’s criminal justice system, including his plan to close a state prison and shutter privately run prisons. I look forward to working with his team to help bring the era of mass incarceration to an end and to enact additional reforms to our prison system.

SACRAMENTO – In an effort to help improve the lives of working families in California, Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) today introduced legislation to ensure reliable schedules for workers whose lives and paychecks are disrupted by constantly changing work schedules.

Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, announced today Senate Bill 776, also known as “Ban the Box for Higher Education.” SB 776 would bar California colleges and universities from asking applicants about their criminal history. The new legislation would apply to all public and private colleges and to all undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

SACRAMENTO - Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) today released the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s proposed budget: 

“I applaud Governor Newsom for proposing a budget that invests in some of my top priorities, including $84 billion in education funding, $1.4 billion to address the housing and homelessness crisis, and also providing some relief for small businesses. These are all critical investments that are needed throughout California, and especially in the San Gabriel Valley.