New Appropriations Committee Assignment
With the election of Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) comes new leadership assignments in the Senate. I am happy to announce that I have been appointed as a member of the Appropriations Committee. This is a powerful assignment that gives me a strong role on the state’s fiscal issues. It also gives our community a bigger voice to advocate for investment in Senate District 13.
Along with this new assignment, I will stay on as chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environment Protection and Energy, where I will continue to advocate for investment in clean energy. I will also continue working on my previous committee and caucus assignments. You can find a complete list here: https://sd13.senate.ca.gov/committee-assignments-caucuses.
New Privacy Website and Announcement on Good Morning America
Pictured here: GMA3 Anchors DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim.
On Friday, February 9, my team launched a new website to inform consumers of their privacy rights and offer the top things consumers need to do to protect themselves while shopping online. You can visit this new website here: BeckerForPrivacy.com.
After launching this website, I was invited to appear on Good Morning America 3 to discuss my new bill SB 942 (The California Artificial Intelligence Transparency Act), which gives consumers privacy protections by requiring large AI companies to identify any content that has been generated by AI. Despite the benefits of AI, there is also the potential for harm. My legislation protects all California consumers by requiring AI generated content from large companies to embed identifiers, marking them as generated content from AI.
See the full Good morning America interview here:
New California bill aims to implement AI transparency: California state Sen. Josh Becker introduces legislation that will require AI providers to watermark their images, videos and audio.
Domini Hoskins Black History Museum Check Presentation
Pictured here: From left: NAACP Vice PresidentAlexis Lewis, Supervisor Ray Mueller, Carolyn Hoskins, Senator Josh Becker , former East Palo Alto CouncilmemberLarry Moody, NAACP President and Councilmember Maurice Goodman, and Supervisor David Canepa. Photo courtesy of KQED
It was an exciting start to February for me as I kicked off Black History Month by presenting a $2 million check to make the dream of a permanent location for the Domini Hoskins Black History Museum closer to a reality on the Peninsula. This investment will ensure students throughout San Mateo County will be able to utilize this museum as a place of learning and healing.
Legislative Panel with the San Mateo School Boards Association on K-12 Education
On February 3, I joined other state legislators from our region to participate in a panel discussion moderated by Supervisor Joe Simitian and with a special keynote address by Congressman Kevin Mullin to discuss local engagement between the legislature and our school boards on K-12 education in our community. This panel discussion will help to ensure that our teachers have the resources to provide quality education for our children. About 100 school board members from San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties and our county Superintendents attended this important event.
Josh Becker in the News
- Senator Becker Joins Good Morning America To Discuss New Artificial Intelligence Bill To Protect Consumers
(GMA3, February 9, 2024) - California Lawmakers Push For Watermarks On Ai-Made Photo, Video
(Bloomberg Law, January 26, 2024) - New Year, New Goals For Bay Area Lawmakers (Video)
(KRON 4, January 25, 2024) - Who made that? California bill would require ‘watermarks’ to signal content created by AI
(SF Chronicle, January 19, 2024) - Interview: State Senator Discusses Artificial Intelligence Transparency Act (Video)
(NBC Bay Area, January 18, 2024)
Sincerely,
Josh Becker
Senator, 13th District