On the Governor’s Desk
Dear Constituent,
Each year, I champion legislation to advance social justice and economic equity, combat climate change, and address our housing and homelessness crisis.
Below is a brief summary of the bills I carried this year that are now on Gov. Newsom's desk. For these bills to become law, the governor has to sign them between now and Oct. 14.
If you’d like to express your support or opposition to any of these bills, go to the governor's website and click the "Contact" tab on the top right corner. A drop-down menu will appear, click "Contact," and then an online email form will appear. Then you click, "choose your subject," select the bill you'd like to weigh in on, and you can communicate your views to the governor.
Research shows that the venture capital (VC) funding startups and entrepreneurs need to get their businesses off the ground rarely goes to women- or Black-owned businesses. SB 54 is designed to help more women- and minority-owned startups access essential VC funding.
CA’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst (LAO) produced a report on our state’s parole hearing process, recommending additional legal safeguards to ensure that parole decisions are guided by public safety concerns, and not by subjective factors or implicit biases. SB 81 would enact the LAO’s recommendation.
For decades, California ranked dead last in providing students transportation to and from school. Last year, I secured state budget funding to greatly expand home-to-school transportation. SB 88 would ensure that drivers paid to transport students, and the vehicles they use, meet basic safety standards.
In 2019, I authored a law to end “willful defiance,” a highly subjective type of suspension for students in grades K-8. SB 274 extends this ban on willful defiance suspensions to high schools through 2029 and prohibits schools from suspending or expelling students for being tardy or truant.
SB 343 Child Support Federal Rule Compliance
SB 343 mandates state agencies to conform to federal rules on child support payments, which will get more money into the hands of low-income families and reduce the debt owed by low-income noncustodial parents.
SB 345 Shield Law Protecting Medication Abortion & Gender Affirming Care
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, many states are criminalizing abortion and gender-affirming care. SB 345 offers a lifeline to people in those states by allowing CA health care providers to send medication abortion and gender-transition medications to patients, regardless of the patient’s location, while shielding CA doctors, nurses, midwives and others from prosecution.
In 2021, I led the effort to make CA the first state to offer two free meals a day to all public school students. SB 348 will ensure that CA school meals are healthy and nutritious by making CA the first state to enact President Biden’s national guidelines for added sugar and salt in school meals.
SB 439 Creating More Affordable Housing
California has an affordable housing crisis. Unfortunately, too many affordable housing projects get unnecessarily delayed or derailed because of frivolous lawsuits. SB 439 will limit the ability of housing opponents to file frivolous suits under the CA Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
In addition, this year, I am also a joint or principal co-author of three bills that are now on the governor’s desk:
Consumers are sick and tired of being surprised by hidden junk fees when buying tickets to a concert or sporting event or booking a vacation or hotel. SB 478 will eliminate bait-and-switch pricing so that Californians know up front exactly how much they’re being asked to pay.
AB 126 Clean Transportation Program Modernization
Transportation is the single largest producer of climate-harming greenhouse gases. AB 126 will speed up our transition to zero emission vehicles by modernizing CA’s Clean Transportation Program and allocating $2.125 billion for ZEVs and infrastructure.
AB 452 Justice for Survivors Act
It can take years, often decades, for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to come to terms with what happened to them. AB 452 would end CA's civil statute of limitations for minors who have experienced sexual abuse so that there is no time limit for when they can seek justice in court.
And finally, two of my bills this year have already been signed into law by Gov. Newsom:
SBX 1-2 Banning Oil Price Gouging
Creates the strongest transparency measures in the nation to ensure that oil companies do not unfairly raise the price of gasoline and price gouge Californians.
SB 25 Declaration of Candidacy Reform
Allows candidates for public office in CA to register their candidacy in another state if they're unavailable to return home by the filing deadline.
For updates on my legislation, please follow me on Twitter and Facebook and visit my Senate website. It is a honor serving you in the state Senate.
Sincerely,
Nancy Skinner
State Senator, District 9