Senator Josh Becker’s May ’22 Newsletter

Enacting Gunsmart Policies, Protecting Reproductive Freedoms, Housing the Unhoused & More as Key Bills Move Ahead

Gun Violence in our Communities

I was absolutely devastated to hear about the tragic shooting in Texas on Tuesday. It marked the 213th mass shooting in 2022. The relentless gun violence facing our nation is completely unfathomable.

This latest massacre happened while we were debating three gun bills in the CA State Senate. These bills will empower individuals to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports, imports into CA, or sells illegal assault weapons or ghost guns in CA; require firearms dealers to complete a training course developed by the DOJ, have surveillance and security systems in place, and carry general liability insurance; and ban sales of guns and ammunition on state property (gun shows).

Gunsmart laws like these have helped cut California’s gun death rate in half since the 1980’s. But still more must be done, particularly at the federal level. I will keep working every day to pass common sense gun laws at all levels until every child feels safe in the classroom.

Protecting Reproductive Freedoms

I will be working with our Governor, Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, on a constitutional amendment to ensure and protect access to abortion in California.

We cannot allow hard-won reproductive freedoms established nearly 50 years ago to be cancelled by those who do not recognize the rights of reproductive choice and health care, including access to safe abortions.

I was proud to join the scores of people who gathered in protest outside the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento earlier this month after Politico revealed a US Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v Wade. A future that was unthinkable looks like it could quickly become reality. I will fight until reproductive rights are secure and any ground lost is restored. I am acutely motivated to fight for all women, and also personally dedicated as the father of a teenage daughter.

Taking Stronger Measures to Vanquish Homelessness, Spur Affordable Housing Construction & Provide Desperately Needed Mental Health Care

We have an opportunity to finally make a significant impact on homelessness. So many people tell me they feel the situation is getting worse, not better. And recent data from the first point-in-time homeless census since 2019 shows that is largely true across much of the state. With this budget surplus, I believe we need to do everything we can to help.

We are working on all levels (state, county & local) to address root causes of homelessness, add more affordable housing and also fund mental health beds, our mental health workforce, and addiction services. We have allocated a record $12B last year and the governor has proposed another $2B this year. Now our job as elected officials is to make sure that is going to good use:

• Across California, Project Homekey and Project Roomkey have sheltered 58,000 unhoused people since the inception of the state programs in 2020. Both are two innovative programs seeking to create and provide housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness. Over the past two years we are looking to invest an unprecedented $14B to get vulnerable people off the streets, and for behavioral health housing and encampment rehousing strategies.
• Recently, San Mateo County unveiled its ambitious goal to reach functional zero for the homeless by the end of this year. Harnessing state and local funds, the community-wide effort focuses on providing intensive services to address root causes of homelessness and providing a sensible range of temporary and permanent housing. To launch the initiative, the county and local leaders broke ground in Redwood City last month on a 240-unit navigation center, whose funding will include a $55-million state Project Homekey grant. The nonprofit LifeMoves will operate the center under a contract with the county.
• On the mental health front, the Governor's updated spending plan includes $65 million to fund his proposed CARE Court, which would provide people with severe mental health and substance use disorders the care and services they need. The CARE Court enabling legislation, SB 1338 (Umberg and Eggman), recently passed the Senate.

• In Santa Clara County, a project to convert a boutique hotel in Mountain View into 48 units of housing for homeless adults and youth, and young people at risk of homelessness, will receive $16.7-million in Project Homekey funds. The grant to the Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing will help pay for the hotel’s acquisition and conversion. The City of Palo Alto, with help from the county and LifeMoves, will receive $26.6-million in Project Homekey funds pending the approval of the state budget by the Legislature and Governor Newsom. These funds will create transitional housing for 136 people and families that would include supportive services to help the families return to housing stability.
• To spur further creation of affordable housing, I am authoring both SB 948, which will cut costs for affordable housing, and SB 1094, which allows more types of housing to be included in our Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). We’ve also celebrated the opening of numerous new affordable housing complexes, including Kiku Crossing in San Mateo, Luna Vista Apartments in Mountain View, and Arroyo Green Apartments in Redwood City.
• Governor Newsom introduced the Clean California grant program via Caltrans last year to help local municipalities clear up encampments. While part of the $1 billion program involves volunteer engagement, community education, and job creation, some of these funds are being used to help cities and counties pay for costs associated with clean up after encampment residents have been moved to safety or shelter.

Baby Formula Shortage

As many of you have heard by now, we have a nationwide baby formula shortage. I understand that many of you are worried and taking anticipatory actions at home to make sure you are prepared. After discussing with experts at Stanford, I want to emphasize to my constituents to not panic as we are aptly prepared to withstand the pressures of the shortage in the district.

Here are the facts in SD-13:

• Thankfully, we are much more fortunate than most, largely in part to our hospitals. They have been monitoring the shortage closely, ensuring our supply chains regionally are running smoothly and that we have the supplies we need to combat the crisis.
• However, what does seem to be creating problems locally is folks stocking up too much baby formula at one time. This problem has been exacerbated by social media and running news stories. I encourage my constituents to buy baby formula every two weeks at a time, according to our experts.
• I also want to encourage you to buy store brands only, as they are more readily available than trade brands and safer for consumption.
• If you are running into trouble or worried about finding baby formula…please contact your pediatrician. If you are a patient at any hospital that resides in the district, it is important to understand that they are well equipped to handle this crisis and have mostly avoided supply chain issues.
• Further, if you are in need of a special formula for your child, again please contact your pediatrician. The United States is already receiving shipments from overseas of both types of formula as well as the ingredients needed to manufacture formula, including for those that need special formula.
• I will be maintaining communication with local experts on the shortage and will keep you up to date if anything changes suddenly.

With the help of President Biden invoking the Defense Production Act as well as some assistance from our allies overseas, it looks like we will recover from this. The acuteness we’re seeing should largely subside in a few weeks. For now, our focus as good samaritans is to ensure we do not accelerate the shortage from overbuying baby formula locally.

Legislative Update

The San Mateo Community College District’s goal of providing more robust financial aid to local students is one step closer to becoming reality. The Senate cast a 33-0 bipartisan vote on SB 893, which would give the district the authority to make community college tuition free for local students experiencing financial hardship and use local revenue to pay for other costs to attend college.

The vote sent the bill to the Assembly, where coauthors Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin and Assemblymember Marc Berman will help shepherd the legislation through the committee review process. Here’s a recent article on SB 893.

Another locally inspired bill recently passed the Senate. My bill SB 1346 would help repurpose the multi million dollars' worth of unused and unopened surplus medication that are discarded in California each year to persons in need of financial assistance. The bill makes it easier for county health systems to operate pharmacies that can fill prescriptions for indigent patients at no cost by using surplus medications that would otherwise go to waste. This idea was inspired by Santa Clara County's program, which receives unused, unopened, and unexpired medications from licensed healthcare facilities and dispenses them at no-cost to patients with a valid prescription. I've worked for over a decade to support efforts to put these surplus medications to work and am so excited about this bill! It's been fun to work with Santa Clara County to make this happen.

All 19 of my bills are now headed to the Assembly for further consideration. Watch for my next edition of Creating Change for more updates!

In the meantime, you can read about all of my legislation here.

Special Offer from California’s College Savings Plan

Between May 24 and May 31, 2022, you can get a $50 bonus when you open a new ScholarShare 529 account with $50 and sign up for recurring contributions of $25 or more for six months.

ScholarShare 529, California’s official college savings plan, knows that saving for college can be overwhelming. Sometimes just getting started is the hardest part. That’s why they’re inviting Californians to celebrate “529 Day” by participating in their weeklong program.

Visit ScholarShare529.com/529Day for more information on:

• The $50-bonus offer that begins May 24.
• How to open an account.
• Plan benefits.
• Registering for a free webinar on the ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan.

COVID-19 Update & Resources

Both San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties have reached medium on the CDC Community Levels tracker. The best way to protect yourself and your family is to get your vaccine and booster. If you still haven’t received yours, you can find out where to get your free vaccination here.

If you do test positive, talk to a doctor as soon as possible about treatment options, including Paxlovid and other treatments. The Test-to-Treat program is one easy way to get treatment. Test-to-Treat locations will give you a test and treatment. Find a Test-to-Treat location near you.

Lastly, President Biden just announced that American households can now order a third set of COVID tests via USPS. Go to CovidTests.gov to order yours!

District Events

I was so pleased to host San Mateo Mayor Rick Bonilla and City Manager Drew Corbett in a “Java with Josh” virtual town hall to discuss local and state issues. If you’d like to watch this, please watch it on Facebook here.

I am also looking forward to holding events in person as soon as COVID allows. Stay tuned to my social media and this newsletter to find out about upcoming events.

As always, we are here to assist you. Please contact me at Senator.Becker@senate.ca.gov or by calling my District Office at 650-212-3313, if you have any questions or concerns.