Category: California legislature

California Bill Would Prevent Deportation of Illegal Immigrant Crime Victims, Witnesses With Criminal History

A new California bill that would expand protections against deportations for illegal immigrants who are victims or witnesses of crime—including those with a criminal history and gang membership—is being supported by Los Angeles officials, including District Attorney George Gascón. Assembly Bill 1261, named the “Immigrant Rights Act,” was authored by Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) in February,…


California Bill That Would Provide Free College for Foster Youth Advances

A California Senate bill that would provide free college tuition for the state’s 60,000 foster youth advanced in the Senate Education Committee last week. The Senate Education Committee unanimously approved the bill during a March 29 hearing and referred it for a hearing in the state Senate Committee on Human Services in the coming weeks….


California Democrat Removed From Committee After Voting Against Newsom’s Oil Penalty Bill

A California Democratic lawmaker has been removed from an Assembly committee after voting against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new law aimed at punishing oil companies for windfall profits. Newly elected Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) represents a small community north of Bakersfield in central California. The region produces about 70 percent of the state’s oil. Bains published…


California Bill Requiring Dyslexia Screening for Young Children Advances in Senate Committee

A California Senate bill that would require schools to screen young children for dyslexia passed the state Senate Education Committee last week. The committee unanimously voted to pass state Senate Bill 691 during a March 29 hearing and sent it to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a vote on April 10. The bill would require…


California Kills Series of Bills Increasing Sentencing for Fentanyl Dealers

Despite bi-partisan support targeting fentanyl distribution, California legislators ended discussion this week on bills in Assembly and Senate committees to strengthen enforcement for dealers and manufacturers. “We are in the middle of an epidemic, and these lawmakers have to take it seriously,” Pamela Smith told The Epoch Times March 30 in reaction to the stalled…


California Bill That Would Impose Harsher Penalties on Fentanyl Dealers Stalls in Senate Committee

A bipartisan bill in the California Legislature that would have allowed prosecutors to charge fentanyl dealers with murder if someone dies as a result of them ingesting a drug they sold, failed to pass in the Senate Public Safety Committee March 28. Senate Bill 44, introduced last month by Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), would…


California Bill to Ban Police K-9s for Crowd Control, Arrests Advances in Legislature

A California bill to ban the use of police dogs for arrests and crowd control has advanced in a state Assembly committee March 21. Public Safety Committee members voted along party lines to pass Assembly Bill 742, introduced by Assemblymen Corey Jackson’s (D-Perris) and Ash Kalra (D-San Jose). Six Democrats voted in favor while the…


California’s Windfall Profits Penalty Bill on Oil Companies Sails Through State Senate

California’s first-of-its-kind bill to cap oil company profits and regulate the industry easily won approval March 23 from the state Senate as it moves to the Assembly and near-certain passage. Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign to punish oil companies for charging record-high prices at the pump last year in the state—reaching $9 a gallon in…


Newsom Seeks to Move California’s Oil Profit Cap Decision Away From Skeptical Legislature

Instead of letting the California Legislature decide whether to impose a profit cap on oil companies, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced March 16 a proposal to give the state’s Energy Commission—made up of the governor’s appointees—the ability to do so. The proposed change came after lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voiced skepticism in a…


California to Consider Making Housing a ‘Fundamental Human Right’

After a failed attempt three years ago, the California Legislature will again consider an amendment to the state constitution to make housing a “fundamental human right.” Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 10 March 8. The measure would declare that everyone in the state has the right to adequate housing. “We…