Caucus News

SACRAMENTO – As firefighters continue to bravely fight wildfires across California, the Legislature today approved bipartisan legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) that will improve efforts to protect and support firefighters, their health, and their ability to combat wildfires.   SB 774 will improve knowledge of strategies to minimize and mitigate health and safety risks experienced by firefighters in the wildland urban interface (WUI), areas where human development and housing meet undeveloped wildland vegetation.

SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate will today take up SB 901, the comprehensive legislative report detailing plans for preventing future catastrophic wildfires across the state while protecting utility ratepayers from unfairly bearing the costs of wildfire impacts.

Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, calls SB 901 a “commonsense solution that puts ratepayers and victims first, embraces wildfire-prevention best practices and reduces fire fuel in our forests.”

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) today announced that the Senate has passed legislation that appropriates $10 million in fiscal year 2018-2019 to provide services for survivors of human trafficking.

The budget funding is enabled by Senate Bill 862, passed on the Senate and Assembly floors this week.

Sacramento, CA – August 30, 2018 – Senator Ben Hueso’s (D-San Diego) childhood lead poisoning prevention legislation, Senate Bill No. 1097, today received final approval from the State Legislature and is headed to the Governor’s desk for action. The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses, would impose greater reporting requirements on the State of California with regards to childhood lead exposure, a critical step in ensuring appropriate case management data related to children who have been exposed to lead.

SACRAMENTO – A bill to provide state funding to a crucial flood control project in the South San Francisco Bay was unanimously approved by the California Senate today and will go to Governor Brown for his signature.

SACRAMENTO – Senator Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) issued the following statement on the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California dismissing the lawsuit brought by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) to stop California's landmark drug price transparency law:

Sacramento, CA — Today, State Senator Nancy Skinner’s (D-Berkeley) SB 1164, the “Craft Distiller Op-pour-tunity” Act, passed the State Legislature with bipartisan support. SB 1164 would modify existing regulations to give California’s small batch craft distillers more leeway to produce and sell their products.

ZEV Equity bills SB 957 and SB 1000 make carpool stickers more available for used vehicles and promote fair distribution of charging stations

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Legislature passed two ZEV Equity bills by Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) to make zero-emission cars and charging stations more accessible to low-income drivers.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today the California Legislature passed the California Cooling Act, Senate Bill 1013, to preserve targets for reducing harmful super pollutants from refrigerants that were set by the U.S. Environmental Protection under the Obama Administration, but voided by a federal court last year.

Sacramento –  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s Senate Bill 966, to expand water recycling in California by developing statewide on-site water reuse regulations so local governments can increase water reuse across California, passed out of the Legislature. It passed with a 39-0 vote, and now goes to the Governor for his signature.