Press Releases

July 31, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Senator Richard D. Roth’s (D-Riverside) Senate Bill 307 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. SB 307 protects the California Mojave National Preserve by hitting the pause button on a controversial pumping project backed by Cadiz, Inc. which proposes to pump an average of 50,000 acre-feet of water per year for 50 years from the Mojave to sell to water districts up to 200 miles away in Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties for profit.

April 09, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – After raucous debate, Senator Richard D. Roth’s Senate Bill 307 was approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. SB 307 enhances protections to California’s deserts by hitting the pause button on Cadiz Inc.’s water extraction project in the Mojave Desert to ensure the project’s conflicting underlying science is reviewed and reconciled.

April 03, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, the Senate Education Committee unanimously approved a legislative package proposed by Senator Richard D. Roth that addresses California’s Career Technical Education (CTE) needs. The three-bill package – Senate Bills 554, 563, and 586 – will address the missing link between a person’s education and his or her career.

April 03, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Senator Richard D. Roth’s Senate Bill 461 received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Senate Education Committee. Offering college students financial flexibility, SB 461 expands the Cal Grant program, allowing students to receive an additional Summer Cal Grant award.

March 27, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) community celebrated the unanimous, bipartisan approval of Senator Richard D. Roth’s Senate Bill 138 by the Senate Education Committee. Senate Bill 138 will shed more light on this disease by requiring school districts to work with schools serving K-12 students to identify methods of informing parents and students about T1D, and will require schools to implement those methods.

March 20, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, the Senate Education Committee unanimously approved Senator Richard D. Roth’s proposed legislation to allow for a greater investment in the health and wellness of all Californians. Senate Bill 56 provides a one-time appropriation for the construction of a new University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine facility with an additional investment for ongoing support. The bill is one part of a crucial fix to address the state’s growing health care crisis.

March 04, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) proudly honored Estella Acuña, University of California, Riverside’s Chicano Student Programs Director, as the 31st Senate District’s Woman of the Year.

February 22, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Richard D. Roth, Chair of Budget Sub. No. 1, Education, has introduced Senate Bill 461 to offer college students financial flexibility by making a greater investment in direct-to-student need-based financial aid. SB 461 expands the Cal Grant program, allowing students to receive an additional Summer Cal Grant award for two summer terms of up to 9 units.

While the state’s Cal Grant system is robust, it doesn’t provide dedicated funding for students who want to take advantage of summer courses.

February 15, 2019

(SACRAMENTO) – As stewards of this state, the Legislature is duty-bound to ensure California’s natural resources are appropriately safeguarded. Today, Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) introduced Senate Bill 307. Co-authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), SB 307 enhances protections to California’s deserts by ensuring any future water transfers – from groundwater basins underlying desert lands – do not adversely affect the desert’s natural or cultural resources, including groundwater resources or sensitive habitats.

February 12, 2019

Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) issued the following statement today in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s first State of the State address: