Senator Josh Becker's September '23 Newsletter

Legislator of the Year Award Ceremony
 

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On September 9, I was honored to receive the Outstanding Legislator of the Year Award from the CA County Boards of Education! We have outstanding board members in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and incredible Superintendents Nancy Magee of San Mateo and Mary Ann Deway of Santa Clara County. I thanked the group and acknowledged the guidance I have received from the county superintendents and trustees in the 13th Senate District. County boards of education provide instructional, business and technology services to the individual school districts in each county. County Boards of Education do incredible work, including overseeing special education programs, alternative schools, Head Start and State Preschool programs, and community and court schools. 

Reopening schools and ensuring their safety after the COVID-19 Pandemic has been a critical goal, and we have worked with state and local partners to ensure that our students have safe and healthy access to our educational systems. 

We have outstanding board members in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and incredible Superintendents Nancy Magee of San Mateo and Mary Ann Deway of Santa Clara County. County boards of education provide instructional, business and technology services to the individual school districts in each county. COEs oversee special education programs, alternative schools, Head Start and State Preschool programs, and community and court schools.

At the Capitol
 

On September 14, the California State Legislature wrapped up a marathon session, passing hundreds of bills before adjourning the 2023 legislative session. I have 10 bills that made it through the Senate and Assembly and are now headed to the Governor for his signature. The Governor has until October 14 to sign them into law. Once signed, the legislation will go into effect on January 1, 2024, unless otherwise specified in the bill.

 

Here are a few highlights of some of my most impactful bills that are before the Governor for consideration:

The DELETE Act

Data brokers have access to thousands of data points on all of us, such as geolocation, social security numbers, cell phone numbers, race, and religion; and they sell our most personal information to for-profit corporations. SB 362, the DELETE Act, restores the right of consumers to have control by creating a one-stop-shop website to click “DELETE” and keep our personal information from being sold to unknown, third-party data brokers. It further imposes civil penalties and fines on those who fail to comply with the deletion requirements. This bill passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly with a vote of 52-14. 

The BASIC Act

Prison canteens sell necessary every-day products such as feminine hygiene products, toothpaste, and deodorant. California prisons currently mark up these daily necessities anywhere from 62% to 300%. SB 474, the BASIC Act, is a social justice bill that will allow us to join other states in reducing the burden of paying for everyday products by incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, by reducing the unfair markups. This bill received an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 77-1 in the Assembly.

Under the sweltering sun reflecting off the Capitol Dome, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Environment California asked me to join them in launching Upgrade California, a package of bills to slash carbon emissions across the state in large buildings and in schools, making them safer, cleaner, and more comfortable. The package includes two of my bills. SB 48, reduces carbon emissions in our large buildings–the second largest source of emissions in our state. SB 410 (The Powering up Californians Act), holds PG&E and other utilities accountable for ensuring interconnection upgrades to improve electrification of our grid. As an ice sculpture of the famous California Bear melted in the hot Sacramento sun, our coalition discussed how these bills move California towards Zero. The press conference can be viewed here.

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To bring attention to the unfair markup of prison canteen markups, I hosted a makeshift canteen pop up in front of the California State Capitol and invited Legislators, staff, media and justice advocates to join me to raise awareness on how these markups negatively impact incarcerated individuals and their loved ones and do nothing to help successful re-entry.

Senate Bill 48

Large buildings are a massive contributor of emissions, causing more than 20 million tons of CO2 emissions per year. We already have strong regulations on new buildings, but now we need the courage to tackle older, large buildings. This bill strikes the right balance to get buildings where they need to be in order to reduce emissions and create clean, safe and comfortable places to work and live. This bill will have a massive impact on reducing our carbon footprint and is projected to generate over $35 billion of economic activity in cumulative investment by 2040.

Senate Bill 49

This bill tackles one of the greatest needs and the greatest limiting factors when it comes to our clean energy goals: more space for solar panels and transmission lines. SB 49 utilizes an untapped resource, the unused land along our highways that the state of California already owns, so we can build more solar and transmit clean energy to our cities. Three Southern California counties alone have the potential to host 960 MW of new solar generation, enough to power 270,000 homes annually.

Senate Bill 420

California needs to accelerate upgrading its electric grid to meet the diverse transmission infrastructure needs across our state. This bill accelerates approvals for upgrading small, critical distribution lines needed to get energy where it needs to go.

These bills advance California’s commitment to addressing climate change and protecting residents from its disastrous effects such as wildfires, extreme heat, and drought, all while keeping our state on a path towards creating green jobs. This legislation now heads to the Governor for signature. 

Fentanyl Legislation

I recently held a virtual town hall on addressing the fentanyl crisis in the Peninsula and shared resources that are available to our community. As local elected and community leaders join with public health officials to better understand how to confront this crisis, the State Legislature has also approved a comprehensive legislative package on fentanyl, which I supported. Some of the bills include:

  • AB 1060 by Assemblymember Liz Ortega expands coverage for prescription and nonprescription naloxone hydrochloride and all other similar products for the complete or partial reversal of an opioid overdose. 
  • AB 701 by Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua imposes an additional term of three to 25 years upon someone who is convicted of selling fentanyl in large quantities.
  • AB 33 by Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, MD, creates the Fentanyl Misuse and Overdose Prevention Task Force to coordinate among local agencies.
  • AB 461 by Assemblymember James Ramos requires state colleges and universities to stock fentanyl test strips in their health centers for distribution. 

Confronting Gun Violence

Last week the Senate approved AB 28 by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, which I co-authored. It will protect our communities from gun violence by funding school safety measures and gun violence prevention programs. I'm committed to protecting our children and our communities from this violent epidemic.

9/11 Tribute

Last week marked the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States. I want to take a moment to remember the lives lost in that attack, all the loved ones whose pain from their loss will never fully heal, and the heroes and first responders who answered the call that day. 

Around the District
 

Labor Day BBQ

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The #hotlaborsummer was in full swing on September 2 during the South Bay Labor Council’s Labor Day Picnic in San Jose. 

Senator Becker joined labor leaders, including California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez and elected officials California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Assemblymember Ash Kalra (pictured here) in recognizing the working people across California who are fighting for the right to unionize and workers striking for fair wages, improved working conditions and a better future for their families. 

San Mateo County Parks Foundation

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Congratulations to San Mateo County Parks Foundation on your 25th Anniversary!  We appreciate everything you do for our green spaces by making them more accessible to all, teaching us about our parks while keeping our wildlife protected. I wish you the very best for continued success!

Josh Becker in the News
 

And as always, my staff and I are here for you! 

If you need assistance with a state agency, need information about state programs or want to express your position on legislation or public policy issues, please do not hesitate to contact me at (650) 233-2724 or senator.becker@senate.ca.gov. You can always follow me on Twitter at @SenJoshBecker and on Facebook at fb.me/Sen.Josh.Becker. 

 

Sincerely,

Josh Becker
Senator, 13th District