U.S. Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced legislation on Nov. 21 that would allow individuals serving decades-long federal sentences to petition courts for a sentence reduction or release after having served at least 10 years of their sentence.
Political news briefs from throughout the state of California.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Dozens of state legislatures introduced bills to restrict the practice of voting by mail. Other states have begun aggressively removing voters from the rolls and re-drawing Congressional maps blatantly designed to silence the Black vote.
Senate Bill (SB) 14 –legislation that makes trafficking of a minor for purposes of a commercial sex act a serious felony — is now the law in California.
The State Legislature has passed a package of bills introduced by Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas that will better empower and protect workers across California. These transformative bills are now headed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature.
Pro-public service legislation introduced by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor’s (D-Inglewood), Assembly Bill (AB) 1, moved closer to becoming law when it was passed by the Assembly with a 66-3 vote in late last Month. It is now under consideration in the Senate.
Connecticut lawmakers, still grieving the death of a fellow legislator killed in a wrong-way crash in January, gave final legislative approval Friday, June 2, to a bill that attempts to address the large increase in wrong-way crashes on the state’s roads.
Representative Nanette Barragán (CA-44) and Senator Cory Booker (NJ) reintroduced the bicameral EVs for All Act, legislation that would establish an innovative grant program at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to support electric vehicle car-sharing for public housing residents.
Nearly two years into the California reparations task force’s work, the group still has yet to make key decisions that will be at the heart of its final report recommending how the state should apologize and compensate Black residents for the harms caused by slavery and discrimination.
At a press conference held at the Pasadena Rose Bowl last week, Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 252, called the College Athletic Protection Act.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the most significant piece of gun violence prevention legislation passed by Congress in the last three decades, said Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán.
Republican legislators are setting their sights on the University of Wisconsin System, scheduling votes Tuesday on contentious bills that look destined for vetoes but will give the GOP talking points on the campaign trail heading into the November election.
“The weaponization of rules once meant to short-circuit obstruction have been hijacked to guarantee obstruction. We must ask ourselves: if the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the State level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same? We must adapt,” said Sen. Schumer.
Advocates to protect the vote have been pushing Biden and Congress to move ahead affirmatively for months.
I see the $6 trillion price tag on the Biden legislation as more of an investment than simple spending. A better-educated workforce earns more money, pays more taxes. A healthier workforce means less absenteeism, more efficiency, and productivity. Quality childcare means more women in the workforce —millions of women left in the wake of COVID. The investment makes sense to build our labor force back better.