SB 890 – Out-of-Statute Debt Collection
This bill would address the recent phenomenon of debt buyers who sue debtors to pay back loans even though the statute of limitations on them has expired. The bill would protect consumers from these improper lawsuits by requiring the debt buyer to prove to the court that the debt is still collectable and the statute has not expired.
SB 900 – Foreclosure Reduction Act
This bill would extend to all distressed California homeowners many of the safeguards obtained by California and 48 other states in a recent settlement with five major banks for widespread foreclosure irregularities. Sponsored by the Attorney General Kamala Harris, the bill will, among other things, make permanent many mortgage servicing standards in the settlement that are designed to return integrity and uniformity to the foreclosure process, and apply the standards to other banks and servicers.
SB 1116 – Capital Access Loan Program
This bill would help small businesses in California access low-cost business loans. The bill reduces the minimum contribution amount for borrowers and lenders to loan-loss reserve accounts in the California Capital Access Program (CalCAP). Administered by the California State Treasurer, CalCAP encourages banks and other financial institutions to make loans that fall outside conventional underwriting standards by providing a form of portfolio insurance for those loans. Reducing the minimum contribution from 2% to 1% of a loan will make the CalCAP program more attractive to lenders and more accessible to borrowers who may not qualify for conventional or current CalCAP loans.
SB 1133 – Sex Trafficking of Minors
Sponsored by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, this bill will create a new criminal forfeiture statute that will give prosecutors a powerful tool to deprive those convicted of sexual trafficking of minors the resources and equipment which would allow them to continue to operate and commit future crimes. Under the bill, proceeds from forfeited assets will be used to increase investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases and provide additional resources to organizations that provide treatment and victim services for this vulnerable population.
SB 1140 – Religious Freedom Act
Some opponents of equal marriage rights for all couples have cited fears that churches and religious institutions will be forced to perform any and all marriages. This bill resolves any uncertainty by reaffirming that religious denominations and individual clergy members are free to determine which marriages they solemnize, and protects their tax exempt status for refusing to solemnize marriages contrary to their faith.
SB 1170 – Seniors/Veterans Insurance Scam Protections
This bill would prohibit deceptive marketing by insurance agents about the Veterans Aid and Attendance (VAA) program by requiring agents to disclose that “educational seminars” about the program are actually insurance sales presentations.
SB 1177 – Workers Compensation Offsets
This bill would prohibit employers whose criminal actions lead to the injury or death of an employee from using worker's compensation insurance to offset court-ordered restitution, unless the employer can demonstrate that all policy premiums actually owed were paid. The bill is sponsored by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
SB 1182 – Medical Marijuana
This bill clarifies the legality of medical cannabis collectives, cooperatives, and other business entities and their right to receive compensation, provided they are organized and operated in compliance with the Guidelines For The Security And Non-Diversion Of Marijuana Grown For Medical Use issued by the Attorney General in 2008.
SB 1202 – Dental Hygienists Omnibus Bill
This bill will increase access to dental hygiene care and provide greater consumer protection. The bill would clarify the ability of the Dental Hygiene Committee of California to license and discipline Registered Dental Hygienists (RDHs) and allow RDHs in Alternative Practice to establish mobile dental clinics. The bill is sponsored by the CA Dental Hygienists Association.
SB 1208 – Executive Retirement Benefits Sunshine
The bill would require publicly traded corporations registered in California to annually disclose to the Secretary of State all forms of compensation paid to the five most highly compensated retired executive officers of the corporation. Current law already requires this disclosure for executives who are currently working for the corporation, so the bill would extend this requirement to executives who are retired from the corporation.
SB 1222 – Solar Power
SB 1222 helps reduce the cost of rooftop solar installations, which have remained much higher than necessary in some places because of inconsistent local permitting fees and costly inspection processes that are ill-suited for modern solar technology. This bill helps make solar power more affordable to Californians while creating jobs and generating revenue for the state.
SB 1350 – Utility Penalty Funds
In the wake of the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion and the record fines and penalties that may be levied in the wake of the disaster, this bill will help ensure some of the fines are used for gas safety measures. Currently, all fine proceeds go the State General Fund, but many observers find it unfair for ratepayers to be asked to pay the costs to bring pipelines to a level of safety that the utilities should have already been providing. This bill would allow a portion of California Public Utilities Commission penalty proceeds to be used to mitigate unfairness to ratepayers, by allowing their use to offset the costs of expenditures that a utility is required to make to improve system safety.
SB 1407 – Foster Child Privacy
This bill protects the privacy of foster children and other minors who are removed from their parents’ care. It denies a parent who has lost physical custody of a child as a result of a court order the right to access and authorize the release of confidential mental health information about his or her children, unless authorized to do so by the court.
SB 1434 – Location Tracking Privacy
In furtherance of the recent US Supreme Court Decision, United States v. Jones, involving locational privacy and law enforcement’s use of location tracking, this bill will provide a clear standard for law enforcement’s access to personal locational data of private citizens.
SB 1462 – County Jail Medical Probation/Medical Release
This bill would provide sheriffs with the capability to more effectively manage the high costs of their medically incapacitated inmate population by extending to county jails the same authority for compassionate release and medical parole already granted to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The bill is sponsored by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
SB 1470 – Foreclosure Reduction Act
(See SB 900)
SB 1476 – Parent-Child Relationship
This bill would reaffirm a family court judge’s ability to recognize parent-child relationships based on the evidence and what is in the best interests of the child. The bill modernizes state law by giving courts the flexibility to protect children who have parent-child relationships with more than two people.
SB 1492 – VALA
This bill would allow the City and County of San Francisco the option to add a Voter Approved Local Assessment (VALA) to the Vehicle License Fee should the Board of Supervisors approve it with a 2/3 vote and the voters approve with a majority vote.
SB 1506 – Penalty Reform for Simple Possession
This bill would add California to the list of 13 other states and the federal government that currently treat the simple possession of drugs as a misdemeanor. The bill holds offenders accountable for up to one year in jail, and three years on probation, while allowing local and state government to dedicate resources to probation, drug treatment and mental health services that have proven most effective in reducing crime. The bill is co-sponsored by the ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and the NAACP.
SB 1516 – Public Contracts Fair Bidding
This bill will increase transparency and close an unfair loophole that is costing taxpayers. In order to encourage the submission of innovative public contract bids that are of equal or greater value and at a lower cost, SB 1516 prohibits non-state public agencies from requiring early submission of these proposals and prohibits the sharing of these innovative ideas.
SB 1522 – Developmental Centers
This bill requires a developmental center to immediately report serious crimes, including a death, a sexual assault, or an assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, to the local law enforcement agency, regardless of whether the Office of Protective Services has investigated the facts and circumstances relating to the incident. It also requires the developmental center to submit a written report of the incident within two working days of any telephone report to that local law enforcement agency.
SB 1536 – Strip Searches
This bill protects Californians from intrusive visual strip searches and body cavity searches when they are taken into custody for minor offenses that do not involve drugs, weapons, or violence
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