Legislative Accomplishments

2023 Legislation

SB 46 – This bill broadens the definition of controlled substance education for divertees, probationers, and prisoners. It would require programs to include education on the dangers of controlled substances, extreme danger of ingestion or exposure to controlled substances, and dangers to human life.

SB 75 – This bill authorizes 26 new superior court judgeships, upon receiving funding.  If funded in the budget, any new judgeships would be allocated to counties in the State in accordance with the Judicial Council's Judicial Needs Assessment.

SB 95 – This bill updates the California Commercial Code to address a limited, but important, set of circumstances, mainly transactions involving emerging technologies such as electronic payment rights, virtual currencies, distributed ledger technologies, and, to some extent, artificial intelligence. 

SB 228 – This bill lays the groundwork for the creation of a Youth Challenge Program in Western Riverside County. The Challenge Program provides an alternative educational opportunity set in a quasi-military environment for student’s ages 16-18 who have dropped out of school or who are otherwise not progressing towards graduation.

SB 419 – Existing state law enacted in 2014, supported by an opinion by the Board of Equalization, states that tangible personal property designed to be launched into space is considered “inventory,” not subject to property tax. This bill  extends that successful policy for another 10 years.

SB 595 – This bill enables Covered California to conduct targeted outreach to people who apply for unemployment insurance by utilizing information collected and shared by the Employee Development Department (EDD).

SB 748 – This bill requires a city or a county to provide an applicant, at the time of issuance or renewal of a business license, a disclosure notice stating that receipt of the business license does not mean that their business has been determined to be in compliance with state and federal disability access laws.

SB 815 – This bill makes significant changes to promote patient rights and improve transparency and efficiencies at the Medical Board.  The measure includes key reforms that will guarantee swifter patient-centric action for physicians facing discipline and supply the Medical Board with added revenue to bring it to fiscal solvency.

SCR 16 – This Resolution designates a specified portion of State Highway Route 60 in the County of Riverside as the Deputy Isaiah A. Cordero Memorial Highway. This bill is in honor of Riverside Deputy Sheriff Cordero, who was killed in the line of Duty last December. 

SJR 3 – This Resolution urges the U.S. Congress to collaborate with President Biden to authorize assigning the City of Eastvale an independent Zoning Improvement Plan (ZIP) Code.

2022 Legislation

SB 883 –This bill extends the sunset date on the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program (UCBCP) to 2027. Umbilical cord blood is used to treat over 80 life-threatening diseases, including various types of leukemias, immune deficiencies, and lymphomas. UCBCP facilitates the collection of 5-6,000 units of cord blood each year,  where they can be stored for use indefinitely.  The units not suitable for banking are made available for research.

SB 755-- This bill requires the California Workforce Development Board  to develop plans to measure and collect various data relating to job training services, wages, and employment to help evaluate effectiveness. It is imperative that individuals that enroll in training programs through the workforce system have access to a reasonable and objective analysis of the relative success of training programs before they enroll.  This bill provides a path for  the measurement of training program performance,  evaluating outcomes,) including likelihood of employment in both the occupations for which program participants train,  and in living wage jobs in the relevant regional labor market, and the prospects for wage gain over time associated with these programs.

2021 Legislation

SB 97  – This bill establishes a parental notification requirement for schools concerning the early signs and symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Schools will be required to make informational materials on early signs and symptoms of T1D available to parents and guardians when their student first enters elementary school. Providing this notice will help parents recognize the potential signs of T1D, thereby helping students receive earlier diagnoses and appropriate care. This was a constituent bill proposal in partnership with local families impacted by T1D.

SB 315 – This bill authorizes the continued utilization and study of the Revocable Transfer on Death Deed—California’s accessible estate planning tool that allows homeowners to pass real property onto their heirs. The bill also implements several new transferor and beneficiary protections.

SB 353 – This bill extends the sunset on the Palliative Care Pilot Program to January 1, 2027, which authorizes hospice programs to provide palliative care to individuals who have a serious but not terminal condition.

SB 629 – This bill modernizes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) CAL-ID program by eliminating obsolete provisions in existing statute and authorizing CDCR to facilitate document retrieval procedures between incarcerated individuals and relevant state and federal agencies. The bill also establishes a pathway for eligible individuals to obtain renewed driver’s licenses upon release through California Department of Motor Vehicles’ ‘renew-by-mail’ program. This will help provide incarcerated individuals access to fundamental services like housing assistance, health care, and banking that are crucial to successful community reintegration upon release.

SB 667 – This bill ensures that disabled veterans and their qualified claimants have access to their duly deserved disabled veteran’s property tax exemption by clarifying who is authorized to file a claim on their behalf. This was a constituent bill proposal brought to us by a local family in honor of their father, an Air Force veteran, when they experienced difficulties filing a claim.

SB 753 – This bill clarifies that the Economic Development Department can share base wage information with the California Workforce Development Board for the purposes of evaluation and analysis of state- and federally-funded workforce programs. This will help local workforce development boards better understand what kinds of jobs are needed in their region and how to design training programs to help meet that need.

 

 

2019-20 Legislation

 

SB 16/Budget Bill AB 74 - This bill sought to fund 25 of the 48 authorized, but unfunded, superior court judgeships and expenses associated with those positions and requires the Judicial Council to allocate the funded judgeships based on its updated determination of judicial needs. The 2018 Judicial Needs Assessment concluded that 17 superior courts need new judgeships for a total of 127 new judges, with 58 percent of the need being located in San Bernardino and Riverside alone. SB 16 received funding as part of the 2019-20 State Budget.

SB 56/Budget Bill AB 74 - This bill authorizes the construction of a new University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine facility, subject to appropriation. The new facility would allow UCR School of Medicine to double in capacity and train desperately needed health care practitioners to serve Inland Southern California. The bill received authorization as part of the 2019-20 State Budget.

SB 242 - This bill updates and streamlines local agency requirements for notifying the military of proposed developments near military installations.  The bill also requires OPR to post on its website specified information on development proposals, military points of contact and maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace and military installations. Signed by the Governor in July, 2019. Chapter 142, Statutes of 2019.

SB 307 – This bill requires the State Lands Commission, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Water Resources, to find that the transfer of the water from a groundwater basin underlying specified desert lands will not adversely affect the natural or cultural resources, including groundwater resources or habitat, of those federal and state lands in order for that transfer to be allowed. Signed by the Governor in July, 2019. Chapter 169, Statutes of 2019.

SB 461/Budget Bill AB 74 - This bill expands the total period of eligibility for Cal Grant awards by allowing a Cal grant A or Cal Grant B award recipient to receive up to two summer term Cal Grant awards. The bill became the impetus for the summer term funding contained in the 2019-20 State Budget, which allocated $4 million to UC and $6 million to CSU to help alleviate summer term costs for students. Doing so will help students graduate in a more timely manner and help alleviate future debts.

SB 554 – This bill authorizes the governing board of a school district overseeing an adult education program or the governing board of a community college district overseeing a noncredit program to admit a pupil pursuing a high school diploma or the equivalent as a special-admit part-time or full-time dual enrollment student. Signed by the Governor in October, 2019. Chapter 528, Statutes of 2019.

SB 586 - This bill requires the governing board of a school and community college district, as part of a career technical education College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership, to consult with the appropriate local workforce development board to determine the extent to which the pathway is aligned with regional and statewide employment needs. Signed by the Governor in October, 2019. Chapter 529, Statutes of 2019.

SB 655 – This bill makes various changes to the regulation of pharmacy, including increasing the number of hours required for a pharmacy technician training program, modifying procurement rules for a reverse distributor (an entity that collects and processes unwanted or unused drugs), updating renewal requirements for an advanced practice pharmacist, requiring licensing fees for government entities, and additional technical changes. Signed by the Governor in August, 2019. Chapter 213, Statutes of 2019.

SB 1305 – This enacts a one-year extension to the existing statute that authorizes the use of revocable transfer on death deeds (RTODD), allowing the imperative tool to stay in effect while giving the legislature the time necessary to fully and fairly evaluate the California Law Revision Commission’s recommendations. Signed by the Governor in September, 2020. Chapter 238, Statutes of 2020.

 

2017-18 Legislation

 

SB 37/ Budget Bill SB 130 – This bill restores previously available Vehicle License Fee (VLF) funding to California’s four newest cities – Jurupa Valley, Eastvale, Menifee, and Wildomar. The funding was taken away in 2011 to help close the state’s budget gap amid the Great Recession.

SB 39/ Budget Bill AB 103 – This bill reallocates four vacant judgeships from counties that are identified as having an excess number of judges to Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. It accomplishes this goal without affecting existing funding sources for support staff in the counties where the judges are reallocated.

SB 40 – This bill requires that strangulation and suffocation be included in existing domestic violence police reports filed when a call for assistance is made. It also expands California’s tracking of this type of violence and provides crucial information to victims. It will help to save lives by giving law enforcement a tool to track abusers in our communities. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2017.

SB 324 – This bill allows for a city or county custodial officer, who is not a fully sworn peace officer, to carry a firearm in county jail for the purpose of using less lethal rounds in specified situations. This legislation requires officers to receive specialized training for the use of firearms that are loaded with less lethal ammunition. Signed by Governor Brown July, 2017.

SB 339 – This bill commissioned a one-year statewide assessment of Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC) to identify and recommend best practices. In doing so, this bill will allow counties with VTCs to better utilize their resources while allowing counties without VTCs to identify and address barriers to providing services to veterans. Signed by Governor Brown October, 2017.

SB 351 – This bill allows hospitals to secure additional specialty licenses so that they can provide sterile compounding pharmaceutical services to patients, while operating at a location separate from the hospital’s physical plant. This measure also allows an acute care hospital to obtain a hospital pharmacy license to provide pharmaceutical services to patients separate from the hospital’s physical plant. Signed by Governor Brown October, 2017.

SB 438 – This bill allows a state or county welfare department to appoint a successor guardian for children, who are placed with a non-familial guardian, while in the child welfare system. By allowing a court to assess and appoint a prospective guardian, this bill will help children avoid the potential turmoil of the foster care system if their original guardian is incapacitated or dies. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2017.

SB 540 – This bill creates greater certainty in the housing development approval process by allowing cities to create Workforce Housing Opportunity Zones where a single CEQA environmental impact report will be completed in the zone. This will allow developers a five year window of certainty that all environmental considerations have been taken into account and fully litigated. Each zone will include a significant affordable housing component to help address the need for additional low to moderate income housing units throughout the state. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2017.

SB 1003: With advances in respiratory care, it has become essential that there be greater clarification of the different levels of respiratory services provided to individual patients. This bill clarifies that the Respiratory Care Board (RCB) is the entity authorized to interpret the Respiratory Care Practice Act and allows the RCB to develop regulations to differentiate between basic, intermediate, and advance respiratory tasks, services, and procedures. Signed by Governor Brown August, 2018.

SB 1046: Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) is often purchased decades in advance but sold with fixed limits set at the time of purchase, such as a $100,000 lifetime maximum. By the time the consumer uses the policy, inflation may have eaten away at the value. This bill gives consumers the right to maintain the current value of their LTCI policy by ensuring they have the option to apply changes to the inflation protection so that the benefit reduction applies going forward only. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2018.

SB 1071: Many members of the military seek to further their education when returning to civilian life. When enrolling in the California Community College system, they often find it difficult to predict what coursework credits they may already be entitled to based off of their previous military training and experience. This bill streamlines that transitional process by requiring the California Community Colleges to develop, adopt, and implement a uniform policy to award credit to military personnel and veterans who have a Joint Services Transcript. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2018.

SB 1080: In California, there are approximately 190,000 active duty military members and thousands more of their immediate family members – on top of the 30,000 transitioning veterans and their own families returning or relocating to California each year. To help supplement their household income following relocation, driving for a Transportation Network Company (TNC) such as Lyft or Uber would ensure that our active duty military personnel and their families, who temporarily reside in California, have the same access to employment opportunities as every other Californian. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2018.

SB 1087: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs can be a useful financing tool, allowing California homeowners to make energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes. However, stronger consumer protections must be enacted to give control back to homeowners. This bill demands greater accountability and transparency of PACE financing by making important changes to the PACE program, cementing into law that a person must be clearly told what they can afford before signing a PACE contract. It also allows consumers to verify the person selling the product is in good standing with the state. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2018.

SB 1104: This bill requires schools to share human trafficking prevention resources with parents and guardians. California leads the nation with the most reported cases of human trafficking. While state lawmakers have passed important bills over the years that require teachers and students be provided information related to this insidious crime, California has not included parents and guardians. SB 1104 fixes that missing link. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2018.

SB 1280: The opportunity for small-house skilled-nursing facilities (SHSNF) is an innovative policy approach to address the escalating cost of providing long-term care to the disabled and elderly in a less costly homelike setting. This bill extends a pilot program allowing the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to authorize the development and operation of up to ten SHSNFs that are licensed to provide skilled nursing care and supportive care to patients in small, homelike, residential settings that incorporate emerging patient-centered health care concepts. Signed by Governor Brown July, 2018.

SB 1304: California is home to more than 1.8 million military veterans, approximately 11 percent of the national total. During the recent downsizing of the active military force, approximately 30,000 military members have been returning to California annually. Historically, veterans have faced transitional challenges after returning from active military service and continue to be disproportionately represented among the homeless – California has 30 percent of the nation’s homeless veterans’ population – and unemployed. This new law grants the California Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to provide supportive services to veterans through the establishment of a California Transition Assistance Program (CalTAP) Endowment Fund. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2018.

 

2015-16 Legislation
 

SB 269 - California and federal law attempt to strike a critical balance between protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and rewarding good-faith efforts to make businesses open and accessible to all customers. To further these goals, the Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act (CRASCA) was enacted to lower the civil liability of businesses that have their locations inspected for compliance with disability access standards by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) and make any changes necessary to ensure compliance with construction related accessibility standards.Signed by Governor Brown May, 2016.

SB 335 - This bill would establish that a homeowner who has purchased an earthquake insurance policy, has been charged an extra premium or deductible because the home does not meet specified building standards, and subsequently retrofits their home during the period of the policy to meet those standards, is entitled to a pro-rata refund of excess premium or deductible paid for the remaining term of the policy once they submit information to the insurer verifying that the retrofits have been performed. Signed by Governor Brown July, 2015.

SB 536 - The eight armories identified in this proposal have reached the end of their service life and are no longer practical or safe for the California National Guard (CNG) Soldiers to assemble and train in. The ongoing maintenance costs required by these armories deplete the Guard’s limited maintenance budget. Pursuant to Military and Veterans Code Section 435, the CMD would like to sell these armories and deposit any net proceeds into the Armory Fund to be used for the future renovation and repair of operational National Guard Armories. The sale of CMD properties that are no longer usable represents a critical source of income for the Armory Fund, and goes toward fulfilling the State’s responsibility of maintaining the aging inventory of operational armories. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2015.

SB 696 - Insurers must set aside funds, called “reserves,” to pay anticipated claims. Reserves are calculated according a 150-year-old formula designed for whole life insurance policies. SB 696 will update the method used to calculate needed reserves to reflect the complexity and risk of modern life insurance products. Signed by Governor Brown October, 2015.

SCR 38 - This resolution designates a portion of State Highway Route 91 in Riverside County as a memorial honoring 3 Medal of Honor recipients: Staff Sergeant Salvador J. Lara, Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas and Sergeant Jesus S. Duran.


2013-14 Legislation
 

SB 21 The Inland Southern California region is already greatly underserved by physicians, with the lowest supply of physicians per capita in the state. Where 60 to 80 primary care physicians per 100,000 people are recommended, the region only has 40 per 100,000 people.  In addition, while 48% of the population in the region is Latino, just 5% of physicians are Latino.  This bill proposes an on-going appropriation of $15 million from the General Fund to the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the University of California Riverside Medical School. Signed by Governor Brown September, 2013.

SB 120 – This measure seeks to amend a unique provision in California statute governing the sale of alcohol beverages near the state’s public and private universities. This bill would reduce the distance to one-half mile in which alcohol can be sold in proximity to La Sierra University to allow for the sale of alcohol at a planned commercial/retail development in the City of Riverside. Signed by Governor Brown June, 2013.

SB 152 Currently there is no statutory requirement that professional geologists and geophysicists execute written contracts with their clients prior to performing services.  The Board for Geologists and Geophysicists believes written contracts are beneficial to both the consumer and the licensee. Geologists and Geophysicists are the only licensed profession that does not require written contracts for the performance of services. These contracts will protect all parties in complex transactions and ensure fair contracting and billing practices. Signed by Governor Brown August, 2013.

SB 667 - Under existing law, a shelled egg could not be sold to consumers if the hen that laid the egg was confined on a farm or place not in compliance with animal care standards.  Given the ambiguity of this law with respect to manufacturers’ liability, SB 667 clarified that the sale of a shelled egg was prohibited if the seller knows or should have known the egg was the product of an egg-laying hen that was confined on a farm or place that is not in compliance with animal care standards. Signed by Governor Brown October, 2013.

SB 718 - This bill adds “prime contractor” to the list of those who are eligible to utilize the aerospace tax credits that were created in the recent economic incentive package (AB 2389, Fox) that will support the aerospace industry, specifically an “advanced strategic aircraft program.” This bill authorizes a “prime contractor” to participate in a tax credit program for the aerospace industry which would total on average $25 million to $31 million per year for 15 years. Signed by Governor Brown August, 2014.

SB 752 The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, enacted in 1985, governs all common interest developments (CIDs), including residential as well as business CIDs. Since its enactment, the act has more than tripled in size. However, most of its new provisions were added to address problems faced by homeowners, without separate analysis of whether the new provisions should also apply to businesses. This has resulted in the unnecessary regulation of business CIDs. This bill would enact the recommendation made by The California Law Revision Commission, to govern only business CIDs. Signed by Governor Brown October, 2013.

SB 801 Last year it was discovered that the California Department of Parks and Recreation amassed a secret surplus of more than $20 million over 12 years.  Recently, it was also revealed that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection misreported $3.6 million. This money was hidden and misreported at a time when the economic recession forced billions in budget cuts to state programs affecting families and Californians in need. This proposal holds state officials and employees civilly and criminally liable if they knowingly misrepresent the balance of an account containing state funds to the California Department of Finance (DOF). Signed by Governor Brown September, 2013.

SB 953 - SB 953 would provide the Riverside County Transportation Commission with the authority to enforce parking rules at commuter rail stations that the agency owns, operates, and maintains. This bill will place Riverside County rail stations on par with all other stations in the Metrolink system. Signed by Governor Brown August, 2014.

SB 1130 – For decades, the County Water Company of Riverside (CWC) failed to deliver safe and reliable water to its residents. County health officials asked two adjacent local water agencies for assistance in providing clean water to the area to address the health and safety risks residents faced as a result of this failing water system.  This bill allows the Eastern Municipal Water District and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District to provide that assistance without being held liable for past administrative or operational deficiencies of the existing water system, including litigation costs. This bill provides clean water to former CWC residents, allows the water districts to proceed, and in turn protects ratepayers. Signed by Governor Brown July, 2014.

SB 1326 - The 1979 Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act allows for a 30 day warranty period in which the consumer is entitled to a complete refund if unsatisfied. For hearing aids, this warranty period begins upon the “completion of fitting,” a term within Song-Beverly which has been interpreted several different ways. Due to this lack of clarity and the complex needs of a proper fitting, Song-Beverly does not adequately address the needs of hearing aid consumers, and places the burden on providers to determine when the 30 days begins.  This bill requires all new and used hearing aids sold in California to be accompanied by the retail seller’s written warranty specifying that the device may be returned within 45 days of the initial date of delivery to the buyer. If the hearing aid must be taken from the buyer for service or repairs, the 45 day period pauses for the period the hearing aid is not in the buyer’s possession. Signed by Governor Brown August, 2014.

SCR 64 - This resolution named a portion of State Highway Route 15 in Riverside County as the Sergeant Gilbert Cortez and K-9 Mattie Memorial Highway.  Sergeant Cortez and K-9 Mattie were both killed on March 25, 2013, on the way to conduct a contraband inspection in San Diego County.