SACRAMENTO – In response to the Senate Pro Temp Atkins release of committee assignments earlier this week, Senator Henry Stern (D- Calabasas) said “I’m grateful to Pro Tem Atkins for appointing me to lead the Legislature on climate as Chair of Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and as the Senate Member on the California Air Resources Board. We had big wins last year in policy and budget, but we have left many questions unanswered about how California will lead the nation and the world to systemic climate change by 2030.”
Press Releases
Sacramento, CA- SB 1472- Ryan’s law, set to take effect January 1, 2023, will give more tools to prosecutors who seek justice for deaths caused by egregiously hazardous driving. This legal change, named after Ryan Koeppel, an Encino teenager killed by a repeat extreme speeder, adds speeding 100+ mph, street racing, and participating in a side show to the definition of gross negligence. Thereby increasing the penalties for fatalities caused by these activities and forcing District Attorneys across the state to recognize the seriousness of these crimes.
Sacramento, CA – Governor Newsom announced appointments to the Governor’s Council on
Holocaust and Genocide Education (Council). The Council was created when evidence showing
a lack of knowledge about the Holocaust and other recent genocides among California students
came to light. The Council will focus on education about the Holocaust and genocides with a
particular emphasis on the public school system.
Sacramento, CA – A new study published in Environmental Science & Technology from researchers at
PSE Healthy Energy found that the gas that is piped into California homes for heating and cooking
contains elevated levels of benzene and other hazardous pollutants. Low-level gas leaks from kitchen
stoves alone can create benzene levels in homes comparable to living with a smoker.
Sacramento, CA. Street racers and extreme speeders will face stricter criminal
prosecution after Governor Newsom signed Senator Stern’s SB 1472 this week. Ryan’s Law
is named after Ryan Koeppel, a Tarzana teenager killed by a repeat extreme speeder taking
a left on August 6, 2020. A number of other residents in the southland and California have
been killed by criminally reckless drivers, including:
Sacramento, CA - On the final day of session, immediately following the passage of the
Governor’s Care Courts bill, the Legislature sent S enate B ill 1446 to the Governor’s desk,
offering a solution to the objections of disability rights and homelessness advocates that the Care
Courts proposal does not guarantee treatment or housing and will be offered to individuals with
severe behavioral health disorders.
Sacramento, CA - It is deeply troubling that Senate Bill 260 failed to make the Governor’s desk. SB
260 would have required American companies with more than one billion dollars of annual revenue that
operate in California to disclose specified emissions data.
Sacramento, CA - It was very disappointing that the clock struck midnight on September 1, 2022 and
Assembly Bill 2133 failed to garner 41 votes in the Assembly to head to the Governor’s desk for an
automatic signature as the Legislature tried to implement the Governor’s broad environmental vision. AB
2133 would have increased our current Greenhouse Gas ( reduction target from 40% to 55% by
2030, ensuring emissions are reduced to at least 55% below the 1990 level by no later tha n December 31,
2030.