On Tuesday, the Assembly Select Committee on Infectious Diseases, chaired by Assembly Member Mike Gipson, convened an informational hearing focused on the HIV, HCV, and STD epidemics in California. The hearing featured three key panels, the first providing an overview of the diseases in California, the second highlighting challenges in addressing them, and the third…
Read More »On Wednesday, the Senate Health Committee convened an overview hearing to examine the rapid rise in vaping electronic cigarettes, health impacts, and strategies available to reduce vaping utilization. The hearing featured three panels detailing current vaping rates and recent trends, statewide efforts to address vaping products and emerging health effects, and local government policies to…
Read More »The Legislature spent much of this week focused on passing two-year bills out of their houses as today is the final deadline. Very few managed to pass off their respective floors. Most prominently, Senator Wiener’s SB 50, which makes significant changes to local zoning laws allowing for more high-density housing near mass transit hubs, failed…
Read More »This week, fiscal committees in both houses acted on a few remaining two-year bills still moving through the legislative process. Today is the deadline for bills introduced in 2019 to be heard and reported to the floor. Two-year bills that were advanced to the floor of their house of origin must be acted upon by…
Read More »This week the Legislature convened a myriad of policy committees in each house to consider bills introduced last year (two-year bills). The deadline to pass all two-year bills is January 31st. While most policy committees met this week, their agendas were relatively short. The Senate Education Committee heard SB 673, authored by Senator Mike Morrell,…
Read More »California’s Legislature reconvened the second year of their two-year session on Monday with relatively brief floor sessions. Both Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon warmly welcomed their members back to their respective chambers. Pro Tem Atkins acknowledged 2020 would be a very busy year with the Senate first tackling the…
Read More »The Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee on Monday convened a sweeping oversight hearing on the recent public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events that have occurred throughout the state, featuring a wide range of representatives including those from utility companies, the Newsom Administration, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and various disability and health, business…
Read More »On Monday, the Senate and Assembly Health Committees held a joint informational hearing related to 1) access to care in the Regional Model counties, and 2) children’s preventive services in Medi-Cal. State Auditor Elaine Howle presented findings and recommendations of the recently released audit report, which determined that Regional Model health plans have not provided…
Read More »On Monday, November 4, the Senate and Assembly Health Committees will convene a joint informational hearing on 1) access to care in the Regional Model counties; and 2) children’s preventative services. For access to care in the regional model, State Auditor Elaine Howle will highlight the findings and recommendations of their audit report, which was…
Read More »Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday met the deadline for the governor to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature on or before September 13, officially concluding the 2019 legislative year. In total, over 2,600 measures were introduced by the Senate and Assembly. Of those introduced, 870 bills were signed into law and 172 bills…
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