Caucus News

San Diego, CA – September 29, 2017 – Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) is proud to announce that Senate Bill 598: Universal Access to Utility Service: Reducing Utility Shutoffs, was signed into law by Governor Brown. This legislation will ensure greater accountability and monitoring of utility customer service disconnections in California.
 

SACRAMENTO – Governor Brown signed today Senator Jim Beall’s legislation enabling the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to acquire nearly 6,500 acres owned by the San Jose Water Company in the Upper Guadalupe, Los Gatos Creek, and Saratoga watersheds.
 
Senate Bill 492’s ratification culminates a series of complex negotiations spanning 10 years with the water company and local stakeholders.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, announced today that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed his legislation that protects consumers who sign up for automatic renewal purchases by requiring disclosure of the cost and greater ease in canceling the arrangements.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, has asked Gov. Jerry Brown to lift the suspension of driver’s licenses for 200,000 Californians who are struggling to pay traffic ticket fines and fees.

In a letter sent to Brown this week, Hertzberg said it is common sense to extend a change in law that took place on June 27 to drivers who already have had their licenses suspended, instead of applying only to Californians after that date. 

Sacramento – Today Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 448, a bill by state Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) that will increase transparency on special districts and make it easier to eliminate districts that are no longer performing the services for which they were established.

Special districts often serve narrow and technical purposes, which helps to render them largely opaque and often unaccountable.  SB 448 will improve oversight of California’s special districts.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Brown has approved a plan to move California’s primary election from one of the last, to one of the first in the nation. Senate Bill 568, The Prime Time Primary Act received bipartisan support in the State Legislature.

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) released the following statement after President Trump and Congressional Republicans announced their tax reform plan:

“President Trump and Republicans in Congress again show where their true priorities lie: making the lives of the rich easier and the lives of working Americans dramatically tougher.

San Francisco  –  Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement about the tax cut plan proposed by President Trump and Congressional Republicans today, which includes a repeal of the federal estate tax. Senator Wiener has introduced legislation to replace the federal estate tax, if repealed, with a California Estate Tax:

Prompted by yet another rash of thefts of officers’ guns left in vehicles, State Senator Jerry Hill called today for law enforcement officers and their departments to ensure that guns be stowed safely, securely and out of sight, if it is necessary to leave them in an unattended car. He also urged that maximum penalties be leveled against officers who fail to follow state law and their department’s rules on gun storage.

SACRAMENTO ­– Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 549 into law. Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) introduced SB 549 to ensure that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is made aware in a timely fashion when Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) redirect funds intended for safety-related project