Senator Gonzalez earns her fifth consecutive perfect Courage Score, with votes in favor of all the progressive bills she had the opportunity to vote on, and author credit on four of the bills evaluated for this scorecard. A member of the Committee on Environmental Quality, she has co-authored three critical pieces of legislation to fortify sustainability and climate protections this session, including SB252 to divest state pensions from fossil fuels by 2031, and SB253 and SB261 to increase annual emissions reporting requirements for corporations earning over $500 million in revenue. A strong supporter of labor protections, she has also authored SB616, which guarantees most California workers to accrue a minimum of 5 sick days annually. Senator Gonzalez, who currently serves as Senate Majority Whip, brings leadership and legislative savvy to her work in the Senate, and has consistently shown a commitment to authoring and supporting productive, reformist legislation.
Lena Gonzalez
State senate
Chair of Transportation Committee
District
SD-33
Party
democrat
Score
Votes
Type | Year | Categories | Name | Description | Vote | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB94 |
Would allow a person sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole to petition for judicial review and resentencing if they have served at least 25 years of their sentence or were convicted of a crime that happened before 1990. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB252 |
Would require the state's public retirement systems, CalPERS and CalSTRS, to divest of all fossil fuel investments by 2031. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB399 |
Bans companies from requiring employees to attend closed-door meetings designed to communicate particular religious or political views; prohibits companies from retaliating against an employee for failing to attend such a gathering. Passed by the Senate; in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB50 |
Would limit traffic stops -- for minor violations like car registration issues or broken tail lights -- that are often the starting point for violent and fatal police interactions. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB28 |
Establishes an 11% tax on firearm and ammunition sales and routes the revenues to the new Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund to finance prevention, safety, response, and investigation programming. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB616 |
Would improve affordability and medical transparency by authorizing the public disclosure of financial reports and data from large medical groups, providers, and physician organizations. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB12 |
Caps the security deposit required by any landlord for a rental unit at no more than one month of rent. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB504 |
Would give unionized public employees the right to sympathy-strike with other public employee unions. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB524 |
Would ensure protection against discrimination for individuals who are caregivers for family members. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB1167 |
Improves environmental accountability by requiring oil well owners to establish a bond to cover the full expense of plugging, decommissioning, and restoring the oil well site. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB1484 |
Expands worker rights by allowing temporary employees of cities and counties to join existing bargaining units alongside permanent employees. Passed by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB1604 |
Would increase charter school accountability by placing more regulations and reporting requirements on financial distributions from the Charter School Facility Grant Program, which provides facilities and operations funding for many charter schools in the state. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB1699 |
Would require certain education employers to offer open positions to existing classified staff for 10 days before opening the position for applications from the general public; mandates that the employer must provide job training to an interested, but unqualified, internal candidate. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB280 |
The California Mandela Act would limit the use of solitary confinement in jails, prisons, and private detention centers and protect certain populations from ever being placed in solitary confinement, including youth, the elderly, pregnant people, and people with certain disabilities. Passed by the State Legislature and held by the author in the Assembly to allow for more conversations with the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB616 |
Guarantees five days of paid sick leave for most workers in California. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB309 |
Would create a Social Housing Program and develop up to three qualified social housing projects for people of all income levels on state property. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
AB647 |
Prevents the new owner of a grocery store or distribution center from executing mass layoffs of existing workers or retaliating against workers who are involved in collective bargaining efforts. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB567 |
Closes loopholes that allow for rampant abuse of the no-fault just causes for eviction and provides mechanisms for accountability and enforcement. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB686 |
Would extend workplace safety laws to the majority of domestic workers, including nannies, homecare workers, and housekeepers. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2023 |
|
SB779 |
Expands public healthcare reporting requirements to include data from Community Health Centers on labor, revenue, workforce development, and mergers and acquisitions. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB260 |
Increases climate accountability by requiring corporations to annually report and verify their greenhouse gas emissions |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB923 |
Improves access to gender affirming healthcare by requiring insurance companies to undergo cultural competency training and provide a list of affirming in-network providers, establishing state-wide enforcible quality standards for care, and providing data and oversight for complaints about care quality |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB1173 |
Requires the public pension systems, CalPERS and CalSTRS, to divest of fossil fuels by 2030 |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB1375 |
Expands abortion access by allowing Nurse Practitioners and Certified Nurse Midwifes to perform the procedure without a doctor's supervision after they've completed 4,600 transition-to-practice (TTP) hours |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB57 |
Allows Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland to provide overdose prevention programs, including safe injection sites with sterile consumption supplies, trained staff, and treatment resources |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB731 |
Expands educational and work opportunities by sealing the arrest and conviction records of any person who has completed their sentence and had four years without justice involvement, with the exception of sex offenders |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB2167 |
Requires that courts consider alternatives to incarceration in criminal sentencing, including collaborative justice, restorative justice, and diversion programs |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB960 |
Expands the type of conditions that would qualify an incarcerated person for compassionate release and mandates that any inmate who is medically incapacitated be reviewed for release without individual recommendation from the Department of Corrections |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB2183 |
Expands the existing in-person secret ballot process by which farmworkers can unionize to include new procedures for mail ballots, authorization cards, and petition signatures |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB256 |
Expands the Racial Justice Act to allow individuals convicted before January 1, 2021, to petition the court on instances of racial bias in their cases |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB257 |
Establishes a statewide, 10-member Fast Food Council through 2029 to determine minimum wages, working hours, and health and safety standards across the sector |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB759 |
Transitions District Attorney and County Sheriff elections to presidential primary years instead of gubernatorial primary years by providing the 2022 electeds with a one off 6-year term |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB1416 |
Creates greater political transparency by adding the names of organizations, businesses, and individuals supporting or opposing a ballot measure directly to the ballot label so that voters can see the information as they vote |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB2632 |
Mandates that all prisons or similar facilities create and follow written standards for segregated confinement, including protections for disabled individuals, people under the age of 26, and people over the age of 59 |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB503 |
Minimizes the duration of a court issued probationary period for a minor to no more than 6-month increments |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB759 |
Transitions District Attorney and County Sheriff elections to presidential primary years instead of gubernatorial primary years by providing the 2022 electeds with a one off 6-year term |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
AB937 |
Repeals the requirement that the Department of Corrections identify undocumented inmates subject to deportation, prohibits state or local agencies from conducting or facilitating immigration arrests, and disallows courts from considering immigration status in probation, rehabilitation or other diversion program placement decisions |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB1137 |
Prohibits establishing new oil and gas wells, or updating existing wells, within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, or hospitals |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2022 |
|
SB679 |
Addresses homelessness and the low income housing crisis by creating the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency to centralize efforts to increase funding, preservation, development, and updated zoning across the region |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB91 |
Temporarily extended California’s state-wide eviction protections to all covered tenants until July 1, 2021. |
Excused | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB93 |
Requires certain employers to rehire eligible employees who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Excused | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB95 |
Extends supplemental paid sick leave for certain essential workers. |
Excused | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB73 |
Stops mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders of drug crimes, and replaces with paths to rehabilitation, probation and treatment. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB93 |
Requires certain employers to rehire eligible employees who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB447 |
Allows courts to award damages for a deceased person’s non-economic damages of pain, suffering, or disfigurement to the deceased person’s estate. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB410 |
Increases health and safety protections by exempting certain OSHA requirements from cumbersome regulatory review. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB2 |
Prohibits someone convicted of certain felonies from regaining peace officer employment based on a court vacating, withdrawing or expunging the conviction, unless the court finds them innocent of the crime. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB47 |
Significantly raises the amount of money state oil regulators can spend to clean up old, leaky wells. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB483 |
Provides resentencing hearings for anyone currently serving a sentence made up of certain (now eliminated) sentencing enhancements. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB213 |
Broadens the range of injuries for which certain hospital workers are presumed entitled to claim Workers Compensation damages to include COVID-19, PTSD, and certain other diseases. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB616 |
Enfranchises farmworkers by giving them more ways to vote in union elections. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB26 |
Ensures all law enforcement agencies require officers present during an excessive use-of-force incident to intervene and report the offending officer. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB838 |
Requires a city or county that receives a complaint of a substandard building or a lead hazard violation to inspect the building and document the violations. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB1550 |
Protects bargaining rights by allowing faculty to remain eligible for union representation if their positions are hierarchically reorganized. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB701 |
Requires specified employers to provide distribution center employees with written performance quotas and adverse employment action that will result from failure to meet them. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB481 |
Requires law enforcement agencies to receive approval from their governing bodies before acquiring military equipment. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB81 |
Provides guidelines to judges on the use of sentence enhancements, which have been disproportionately applied to people of color and those suffering from mental illness. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
AB1395 |
Codifies California’s goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB357 |
Repeals “loitering for purpose of prostitution” law, which results in profiling and harassment of sex workers. |
Excused | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB483 |
Provides resentencing hearings for anyone currently serving a sentence made up of certain (now eliminated) sentencing enhancements. |
Excused | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB62 |
Requires an hourly minimum wage for garment workers by banning piece rate pay. |
Excused | |
floor_votes | 2021 |
|
SB73 |
Stops mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders of drug crimes, and replaces with paths to rehabilitation, probation and treatment. |
Excused | |
committee_votes | 2020 |
|
SB1190 |
Authorizes tenants to terminate leases without penalty because they or a family member were the victim of a crime. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
SB956 |
Establishes the California Tax Expenditure Review Board as an independent advisory body. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
SB977 |
Expands the Attorney General’s ability to prohibit certain transactions by healthcare systems that hurt consumers by limiting competition. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
SB1383 |
Forces employers to grant employee requests for up to 12 work weeks of unpaid parental leave. |
Support | |
committee_votes | 2020 |
|
AB326 |
Allows personally owned motorized carrying devices (for groceries, etc.) to be used on city sidewalks. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
AB2847 |
Strengthens gun laws by enhancing micro-stamping requirements for unsafe guns. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
AB2114 |
Provides a procedure for UC medical employees to challenge termination of employment. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
AB1080 |
Sets goals to reduce waste from single-use packaging and products. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
AB3070 |
Prohibits prosecutors from striking prospective jurors from jury pools on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender and other identities. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
AB3070 |
Prohibits prosecutors from striking prospective jurors from jury pools on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender and other identities. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
AB890 |
Allows nurse practitioners in California to work without physician supervision. |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2020 |
|
SB145 |
Removes remnants of discriminatory anti-sodomy laws from statutory rape punishments. |
Support | |
committee_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1753 |
Requires immigration advisers to be lawyers or federally licensed consultants |
Support | |
committee_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1360 |
Strengthens food safety training requirements and mandates employer-provided insurance for delivery drivers |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1353 |
Shortens length of probationary period for unclassified employees from 1 year to 6 months |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB749 |
Prohibits "no rehire" provisions that bar victims of mistreatment from employment with offending company |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
SB227 |
Penalizes hospitals that violate California law regarding nurse-to-patient ratios |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB731 |
Requires same rate review practice for large-group health insurance plans as smaller ones |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB51 |
Prohibits employers from forcing job candidates to waive legal rights in favor of forced arbitration |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB965 |
Allows people incarcerated as youth to earn time off their earliest parole date |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB290 |
Prevents dialysis companies from steering patients from medi-cal to boost corporate profits |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1600 |
Expedites the process to obtain police misconduct records in a criminal trial |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1482 |
Caps rent increase at 5% in 12-month period, and forces landlords to present 'just cause' before evicting |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1487 |
Creates Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, to raise and distribute affordable housing funds |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
SB329 |
Prohibits landlords from rejecting applicants based on Section 8 status |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1215 |
Bans (for 3 yrs) biometric surveillance and facial recognition from use in police body cameras |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB857 |
Allows local governments to sponsor public banks |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1507 |
Grants local districts more leeway in evaluating charter school applications |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
SB268 |
Offers voters more information on potentially progressive taxation measures |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
SB136 |
Repeals sentencing enhancements for those with prior offenses |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB1066 |
Grants unemployment benefits for workers during first 3 weeks of a strike |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
AB68 |
Permits construction of two ADUs on same property |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
ACA14 |
Forces UC system to reduce contracted services in order to increase percent of union workers on their payroll |
Support | |
floor_votes | 2019 |
|
SB1 |
Strengthens California environmental standards to pre-Trump federal levels |
Support |
Corporate Money
Type | Amount | |
---|---|---|
Real Estate | $24,000 | |
Oil & Gas | $33,600 | |
Cops | $35,000 | |
Health Insurance | $27,000 |
2023 Score Card Grades from Partners
Partner | Score |
---|---|
Health Access |
100
|
Planned Parenthood |
100
|
Reproductive Freedom for All |
A
|
California Environmental Voters |
100
|
Initiate Justice Action |
A
|
California Food + Farming Network |
100
|