author: Gipson co-authors: Portantino, Wiener   Over 33,000 Americans are killed each year by firearms, and the public display of weapons is increasingly used as an intimidation tactic, as it was during white supremacist, Neo-Nazi rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia. AB 7 expands the range of public places in which it is a crime to openly carry an unloaded long gun. (This bill is now law.)

Author: Talamantes Eggman Co-authors: Wiener, Friedman, Lara   4,654 people died of drug overdoses in 2016 in California alone, according to the Center for Disease Control. AB 186 would authorize local governments to operate safe, hygienic, and secure injection sites for IV drug users and protect users and staff from prosecution. Permitting local governments to start these pilot programs would also prevent needless overdoses by managing dosages and prevent the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B and C by assuring access to clean needles. Additionally, the sites would refer people to treatment and housing services.

author: Eggman In 2016, 13% of elder care facilities in California were reported for exploitation, abuse, and neglect — twice as high as the national average of 5%. Hundreds of thousands of California’s elderly residents live in these care facilities. Previously, the burden of clear and convincing proof lied on the abused in these cases. AB 859 would have reduced that burden if it was found that the facility had destroyed evidence of abuse. (This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown.)

author: Medina co-author: Gonzalez Fletcher   Housing developments that are approved by voters via ballot initiatives are allowed to skip the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process. CEQA is a key step in evaluating the environmental impact of large construction projects. AB 890 would require developers to undergo full CEQA review and bans local governments from approving such projects outright. (This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown.)

author: Stone Current law in California requires the consideration of release for certain offenders whose crimes were committed when they were 23 or younger. AB 1308 will extend that mandate to offenders whose crimes were committed at age 25 or younger, giving more people who made mistakes in early adulthood the chance to rehabilitate themselves and return to society and their families. (This bill is now law.)

author: Low co-authors: Bloom, Chiu, Wiener   Current law requires every city and county to maintain an inventory of land suitable for low-income residential development, but does not require that the land actually be available for development. This discrepancy limits residential housing construction and further exacerbates the California housing crisis. To address this inefficiency, AB 1397 requires that land listed in the inventory be fully available for development, and have water, sewer, and other utilities sufficient to support a housing development. (This bill is now law.)

author: Thurmond The recent rise of food delivery and subscription services has created public health concerns that employees working in these businesses aren't being forced to meet the same health standards as those in more traditional restaurants. AB 1461 would require all employees at businesses that offer 'meal subscription plans' to obtain Food Handler Cards and take food preparation safety training. (This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown.)

authors: Bloom, Chiu, Gloria co-authors: Bradford, Wiener, Allen, Gonzalez Fletcher, Mullin, Ting   Housing costs throughout California have surged in recent years, with the median home now costing over $500,000. This unfettered market has increased homelessness and has created serious barriers in sustaining a healthy middle class. AB 1505 restores the authority of local government to require that new rental housing developments include 15% of units that are affordable to households earning 80% or less of the area’s median income. (This bill is now law.)

author: Lara The Trump administration has persistently pursued the erection of a border wall. Building this structure would be incredibly wasteful, in resources and federal dollars, and would do grave damage to families across the nation as well as the ecosystems in California and Texas. To deter participation in this misguided effort, SB 30 would prohibit the state from awarding or renewing any contract with any person who has provided goods or services to the federal government for the construction of the wall. (This bill is now law.)

Authors: De León, Stern Co-authors: Beall, Chiu, Dababneh, Friedman, Levine, McCarty, Skinner   The Trump administration has targeted environmental protections across the country. For example, the administration lifted some restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants and eased drilling regulations in protected habitats across eleven western states. SB 49 would protect many federal environmental protection regulations and other rules by including similar protections within California state law.

author: de León   co-authors: Atkins, Beall, Bonta, Chiu, Cooper, Gomez, Levine, Pan, Reyes, Santiago, Skinner, Wiener   In recent months, deportations have surged throughout the country, creating a culture of fear that has resulted in the separation of families, the terrorization of undocumented workers, and division in communities. SB 54 makes California a sanctuary state -- ensuring that state funds will not be used to tear apart families and that law enforcement does not participate in mass deportations. (This bill is now law.)

author: de León   co-authors: Atkins, Beall, Bonta, Chiu, Cooper, Gomez, Levine, Pan, Reyes, Santiago, Skinner, Wiener   In recent months, deportations have surged throughout the country, creating a culture of fear that has resulted in the separation of families, the terrorization of undocumented workers, and division in communities. SB 54 makes California a sanctuary state -- ensuring that state funds will not be used to tear apart families and that law enforcement does not participate in mass deportations. (This bill is now law.)

author: Skinner co-author: Gloria   Housing shortages have led to dramatically rising rents and aggressive gentrification all over California. SB 166 addresses the problem by ensuring that cities maintain an ongoing supply of identified sites for housing construction at each income level, which will help reduce housing costs and lower the rates of eviction and homelessness. (This bill is now law.)

authors: Mitchell, Lara co-authors: Bradford, Skinner, Wieckowski, Wiener   One of the many legacies of the War on Drugs was that a person convicted of drug possession (or a similar offense) is sentenced to an additional three years for each prior conviction, leading to exorbitantly long jail sentences. The prosecution of these cases disproportionately impacts low-income communities of color, the homeless, and the mentally ill. SB 180 reforms the sentence enhancement to be based only on prior convictions involving the use of a minor as a seller or buyer. (This bill is now law.)

author: Wiener co-authors: Gloria, Atkins, Chiu, Eggman, Gipson, Mitchell, Skinner   Several California laws target individuals living with HIV by criminalizing their sexual relationships. These laws further stigmatize individuals living with the disease and are not up-to-date with what we currently know about HIV. Enacting SB 239 eliminates one form of HIV discrimination by eliminating criminal punishment for people living with HIV who engage in consensual sexual activity. (This bill is now law.)

author: Lara Unlike cosmetics or packaged food, no federal requirements exist for disclosing ingredients in cleaning products, even though some chemicals in these products have been found to cause cancer, birth defects, asthma, and other serious health risks. SB 258 requires known hazardous chemicals in these products to be listed on the label, as well as online, keeping consumers all over California safer. (This bill is now law.)

Author: Wieckowski   Currently, individuals such as farm laborers, substitute teachers, janitors, and others who work seasonally are at risk of losing their savings to creditors during the off-season. SB 298 would protect two months’ worth of savings at the amount of the hourly minimum wage from being taken by debt collectors so that seasonal workers are not left bankrupt.

author: Bradford During recent years, when many unarmed citizens have been seriously injured or killed by police, public interest in police procedure and training has increased. With so many jurisdictions and departments all over California, transparency and accountability would increase dramatically if their policies and procedures were visible to the public. SB 345 would mandate that every law enforcement agency in the state publish on its website all “current standards, policies, practices, operating procedures, and education and training materials” by January 1, 2019. (This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown.)

Authors: Mitchell, Lara Co-author: Kamlager-Dove   Currently, California lacks any law to prevent young children from being prosecuted as adults, leaving young children within the criminal justice system particularly vulnerable to prosecution and unfair convictions. SB 439 establishes 12 years as the minimum age for prosecution in juvenile court unless a minor younger than 12 has committed murder or rape.

author: Hill co-authors: McCarty, Wiener   Over 33,000 Americans are killed each year by firearms, many of them stolen. SB 464 would increase the storage and security requirements of all firearms in the inventory of a licensed firearms dealer to help prevent theft. (This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown.)

author: Monning Service consolidations among multi-billion dollar hospital chains have contributed to skyrocketing health care costs in California and across the country. SB 538 would stop certain anti-competitive practices, many of which prevent employer groups from sharing pricing data that could encourage more cost-effective care for employees. (This bill died.)

authors: Lara, Atkins co-authors: Bonta, Galgiani, Gomez, Wiener, Allen, Chiu, Friedman, Kalra, McCarty, McGuire, Nazarian, Skinner, Stone, Thurmond   Despite moderate progress under the Affordable Care Act, our healthcare system remains deeply immoral and inefficient. Health care for ALL should be a human right. SB 562 would create a comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage system for all California residents provided by the state. It would incorporate current federally mandated programs. (This bill died.)

author: Bradford In California, criminal sentences are often lengthened if the crime was committed with the use of a firearm. Judges often have little discretion due to mandatory sentence enhancements, and can sometimes be forced to levy unfairly long sentences on people who were not the ones carrying or using a firearm. SB 620 will grant judges more leeway to make determinations on sentence enhancements on a case-by-case basis, ensuring a more thoughtful, empowered approach to justice. (This bill is now law.)

author: Bradford In California, criminal sentences are often lengthened if the crime was committed with the use of a firearm. Judges often have little discretion due to mandatory sentence enhancements, and can sometimes be forced to levy unfairly long sentences on people who were not the ones carrying or using a firearm. SB 620 will grant judges more leeway to make determinations on sentence enhancements on a case-by-case basis, ensuring a more thoughtful, empowered approach to justice. (This bill is now law.)

author: Allen co-authors: Hill, Stern   Every year, state and local governments spend millions of dollars cleaning 'styrofoam' (polystyrene) from parks, beaches, and drains. Polystyrene collects by the ton in California waterways, and in the stomachs of animals who eat it. SB 705 would prohibit food vendors from using polystyrene take-out containers, helping to protect our environment for future generations. (This bill died.)

author: McGuire co-author: Monning   Studies reveal that doctors who receive gifts from Big Pharma are up to three times as likely to prescribe costly name-brand drugs than the equivalent lower-priced generic drugs. SB 790 would ensure there are fewer financial incentives in place for doctors to serve Big Pharma instead of their patients, keeping the cost of health care lower for everyone. (This bill is now law.)