Press Releases

May 17, 2018

Today, the California State Senate on a bipartisan vote passed Senator Nancy Skinner’s (D-Berkeley) Senate Bill 1227, aimed at making it easier to build much needed student housing. Dubbed “Housing Our Students,” SB 1227 would change state housing law to encourage the construction of housing for students enrolled in California colleges and universities and ensure that affordable student units are included in that housing.

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May 16, 2018

Sacramento, California — Today, Senators Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), Jim Beall (D-San Jose), Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Richard Roth (D-Riverside) and Hannah Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) held a joint press conference to unveil the Senate’s $5 billion plan to address California’s housing and homelessness crisis. Building on Senator Skinner and Beall’s SB 912, the $5 billion would be spent over a four-year period to fund permanent affordable housing, rent assistance, as well as supportive services and temporary shelter for California’s homeless.

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April 25, 2018

SB 1469, “Let Thousands of Homes Bloom”, by State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) was passed by the California State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on Tuesday and by the State Senate Government and Finance committee this afternoon. The bill now goes to Senate Appropriations. SB 1469 promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units, such as backyard cottages and “granny flats” by further easing local regulations and fees that remain obstacles to such housing options.

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April 25, 2018

Today, Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) held a press conference to highlight her bill SB 1138, which would ensure that institutions including hospitals, nursing facilities and prisons offer “plant-based” meal options.

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April 24, 2018

Senator Nancy Skinner’s (D-Berkeley) bill to require each of California’s appointed state boards and commissions have, at minimum, about half of their members be women advanced out of the California State Senate Judiciary Committee this evening. Skinner’s bill, SB 984, will now go to Senate Appropriations.

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April 24, 2018

Senator Nancy Skinner’s (D-Berkeley) E-CAr bill, SB 1014, was passed by the California State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee today and now goes on to Senate Appropriations. E-CAr, which stands for Electrify California Ride-hailing, would accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles and other zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) deployed by ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Skinner’s legislation would set zero-emission targets for rides arranged through Transportation Network Companies (TNCs).

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April 24, 2018

This afternoon, the California State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee passed Senator Nancy Skinner’s (D-Berkeley) bill aimed at increasing the production of needed housing for California’s college and university students. The bill, SB 1227, would change state housing law to encourage the construction of student housing and ensure affordable student units are included in that housing. SB 1227 will now move to Senate Appropriations.

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April 24, 2018

SB 912 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Senator Jim Beall (D-Campbell) was passed by the California State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on Tuesday. The bill now goes to Senate Appropriations. SB 912 would direct $2 billion of this year’s unanticipated revenue to provide homeless and affordable housing, and homeless services.

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April 24, 2018

Today, SB 1437, the Better and Equitable Sentencing Through Thoughtful (BESTT) Practices Act by State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) passed out of the Public Safety Committee and will now go on to Senate Appropriations. SB 1437 was introduced to clarify the use of California’s “felony murder” rule to ensure that individuals are charged appropriately for the crime they actually committed.

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April 24, 2018

In a move that’s sure to lift the spirits of California’s small distilleries, State Senator Nancy Skinner’s (D-Berkeley) SB 1164, the “Craft Distiller Op-pour-tunity” Act passed out of the California State Senate Governmental Organization Committee with bipartisan support and now goes on to Senate Appropriations. The Craft Distiller Op-pour-tunity Act would modify existing regulations to give craft distillers more leeway to sell and offer samples of their products.

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