Caucus News

SACRAMENTO, CA – State Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) today announced collaborative efforts with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein to protect tens of thousands of disadvantaged communities and family farmers in the state of California. The partnership will include coordinating efforts at the state and federal level to address the Central Valley’s most immediate needs of restoring clean water supply by repairing the conveyance capacity on the Friant-Kern Canal.

State Senator Jerry Hill today withdrew his bill to combat the epidemic use of flavored tobacco products by youth, following hostile amendments that carved out exceptions for tobacco used in hookahs and for tobacco products patented before 2000.

SACRAMENTO – With bipartisan support, the state Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill by Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), supported by First Amendment advocates and newspaper organizations, that protects the California Public Records Act (CPRA) by preventing government agencies from attempting to shift attorney costs onto the public records requesters.

San Francisco –  Today, Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bill 127, which will prioritize the creation of ‘complete streets,’ including safer and better designed sidewalks, bikeways, and crosswalks, on state highways that run through cities, towns, and neighborhoods passed out the Senate with a 28-9 bipartisan vote. It will now head to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming months.

SACRAMENTO - California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee Chair Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) today announced the Senate’s key priorities for the 2019-2020 budget as the June 15, 2019 deadline for passing a budget approaches.

SACRAMENTO - California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee Chair Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) today announced the Senate’s key priorities for the 2019-2020 budget as the June 15, 2019 deadline for passing a budget approaches.

SACRAMENTO – Today, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee approved funding for the expansion of full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to undocumented young adults age 19-25 and seniors age 65 and over, effective January 1, 2020.

Sacramento–  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) made the following statement on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeking to allow taxpayer-funded shelters to discriminate against and turn away transgender homeless individuals:

“Transgender people are at significant risk of homelessness. They deserve to be able to access shelter. It’s despicable to claim tax-funded shelters can turn them away. People are entitled to their religious beliefs. They are not entitled to discriminate, especially with taxpayer funds.”

Sacramento, California – Today, SB 7, authored by Senator Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge) passed the California State Senate. SB 7 will allow the purchase of surplus properties at their current value by non-profit tenants and prohibit Caltrans from implementing a tunnel surface freeway for Route 710 between Route 10 and Route 210. The bill lays the foundation for the state to return surplus freeway stubs back to local cities in the freeway corridor. 

SACRAMENTO – For the first time in more than a decade, California voters could get the chance to approve higher education bonds to improve classrooms, labs and libraries on California State University and University of California campuses under legislation approved by the Senate Wednesday.