Caucus News

SACRAMENTO, CA – Gov. Gavin Newsom Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill authored by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, along with the members of the committee, with legal changes that will benefit consumers, including addressing 30 years of discrimination against HIV positive individuals.

Senate Bill 1255 provides flexibility to the California Department of Insurance process for punishing misconduct against seniors and will also extend certain Long Term Care Insurance Task Force deadlines by one year.

SACRAMENTO – Facing serious public health concerns about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on nursing homes, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed a bill from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will allow seniors and people with disabilities to receive care in their homes, improving their lives and reducing their risk of exposure.

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed a law from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to improve horse racing safety across California and build on reforms adopted last year.  

The governor also signed a second horse racing bill, co-authored by Sen. Dodd and Assemblymember Adam Gray, D-Merced,  incorporating recommendations from the California Horse Racing Board.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) secured Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature yesterday on legislation that will speed the permit process for low-income Central Valley communities to deliver clean drinking water for residents. The bill, Senate Bill 974, exempts new water projects that serve small, rural communities from some provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The exemption allows low-income communities to find relief for the expensive and exhaustive permit process to produce water wells and related projects.

SACRAMENTO – Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) thanked Governor Newsom during a virtual news conference today for signing AB 1788 (Bloom, Stern, Friedman), which severely tightens the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) until  the state’s Department  of Pesticide  Regulation (DPR) does a complete re-evaluation of the use of the deadly poisons here in California.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Gov. Gavin Newsom today passed a bill by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) that would expand protections for domestic violence survivors by allowing them to use descriptions of psychologically damaging and abusive behavior, referred to as coercive control, as supporting evidence in California family court hearings and criminal trials.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Sen. Susan Rubio’s bill (D-Baldwin Park) that will ensure domestic violence service providers are able to keep services accessible during and after COVID-19.

Senate Bill 1276 removes the 10 percent cash or in-kind matching requirement for state grants awarded to domestic violence programs that provide essential resources. In addition to state requirements, domestic violence service providers must also meet match fund requirements for federal funding sources.

Senator Beall’s work with local officials resulted in an urgent request for Santa Clara County to receive more federal aid through the Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) and the Presidential Major Disaster Declaration. 

“It was important to get these grants and Declaration for our community,” said Senator Beall. “Our residents have faced much uncertainty and loss this year, and we needed to bolster our local government to help our community that has been affected by the SCU Fire.” 

Sacramento, CA - Senator Beall’s legislation authorizing the City of San Jose to make zoning changes that will increase housing and protect open space, Senate Bill 940 (SB 940), was signed by the Governor today. SB 940 allows the city to proactively increase housing capacity in the urban core and simultaneously protect open space outside of the infill area. This legislation will boost high capacity housing production and mitigate future wildfire risk by reducing urban sprawl and protecting open space — both key steps in addressing our climate and housing crises.

Having spent significant time in Artsakh over the past 5 years I have seen a peaceful people who have bravely lived under the threat of violence for three decades. The children and families I broke bread with deserve to fulfill the promise of their lives without bombs and border aggression threatening their futures.