Caucus News

Sacramento, CA – A bill to allow parents to continue to choose which school district to send their children to has passed the State Senate on a 36-1 vote. Senate Bill (SB) 52 extends the sunset date for the School District of Choice program to July of 2022. The program is set to end in July of this year.

Sacramento – Today the Senate passed a bill authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) that will modernize laws that criminalize and stigmatize people living with HIV.  Senate Bill 239 would amend California’s HIV criminalization laws, enacted in the 1980s and ‘90s at a time of fear and ignorance about HIV and its transmission, to make them consistent with laws involving other serious communicable diseases.

The bill now moves to the Assembly for consideration.

SACRAMENTO – The Senate today passed legislation by Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, to prevent the automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for people who are unable to pay fines or fees for minor traffic tickets and require courts to determine violators’ ability to pay before setting fine amounts.

SACRAMENTO – Earlier today, the California State Senate unanimously approved legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) that would criminalize sexual extortion (“sextortion”) and provide prosecutors with an important tool to combat this serious crime.

Passed today with strong bipartisan support, Senate Bill 500 will ensure that California’s extortion laws include not only the coercion of a victim to hand over money or property, but also coercion involving sexual acts and sexually explicit images.

Sacramento, CA – Last evening, Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) presented SB 328 on the floor of the California State Senate. The bill requires middle schools and high schools in California to start the school day no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

Today, Senate Bill 356, The Energy Data Act, authored by State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), passed the Senate floor.

SB 356 is a commanding step forward to bringing California’s energy sector into today’s information economy. SB 356 directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to release energy data on a single website, in an easily accessible format.

SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today passed important legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) on a 39-0 vote to ensure that K-12 students across California have access to clean drinking water at school.

SB 210 would give schools that test their water and have contamination problems priority when applying for clean water relief grants. The bill will help to prevents students, teachers and other people from drinking contaminated water at schools that find significant sources of lead or other harmful contaminants

Sacramento –  Today the Senate approved Senate Bill 384, a bill authored by Senator Scott Wiener to allow – but not require – local communities to extend alcohol service to as late as 4 AM. The LOCAL Act, which stands for Let Our Communities Adjust Late Night, applies to bars and restaurants, but not to retail establishments.

Sacramento – Today the California Senate passed two bills by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to strengthen food access and employment and training programs for low-income residents, while also protecting recipients from any gross negligence by government administration. SB 278 and SB 282 were passed by a unanimous vote, and will now move to the Assembly for consideration.

SACRAMENTO – With bipartisan support, the California State Senate today approved legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) that finally increases funding for California’s statewide after school program, which has not received an augmentation for over a decade.