In the News

September 14, 2020

In addition, the governor is expected to sign legislation in the coming days that would phase out state youth prisons, with counties required to stop sending young people to the facilities starting next July and instead house them locally — likely in juvenile halls.

Read more
September 5, 2020

“There was more dysfunction in this last week than I’ve seen in a long time,” said Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, who lost two bills in the chaos.

Read more
September 2, 2020

Law enforcement interests also set their sights on a measure, SB 776, by state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), to open more police personnel records to the public.

Read more
September 2, 2020

A separate measure to open up investigative records about police misconduct, SB776 by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, also died when the Senate adjourned without giving it final approval. 

Read more
September 2, 2020

Willingness to compromise is a fairly new dynamic among the law enforcement lobby, said Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat who carried the bill to expand public access to police misconduct records. 

Read more
September 2, 2020

Senate Bill 1079, which modifies the process for how foreclosed homes are sold at auction so that big corporations don’t have an advantage, has won approval from the California Legislature.

Read more
August 27, 2020

We keep hearing lawmakers talking in this post-George Floyd era about improving policing, ending abuses and addressing racism in law enforcement. None of that talk means squat if legislators fail to pass Senate Bills 776 and 731, which, respectively, would require transparency and accountability that’s common in most other states.

Read more
August 27, 2020

SB 776 by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) would enhance recent laws requiring public disclosure of police records.

 

Read more
August 26, 2020

Another gauge of legislative seriousness is a bill by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, to open more police records to public and press scrutiny. Building on a 2018 law by Skinner that has unearthed evidence of police misconduct, SB776 would extend its provisions to records related to use of force, wrongful arrests, sexual misconduct and racial and other discrimination.

 

Read more
August 25, 2020

Senate Bill 776 by State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley, adds to her 2018 reforms by ending the culture of secrecy around records of police misconduct and abuse.

 

For the full op-ed, click here.

Read more