12 Key Bills Reach Governor’s Desk & Don’t Miss Free Soil Testing Saturday

Dear Neighbor, 

We have wrapped up the first year of the Legislature’s two-year Session. I am proud to share that twelve of my bills have passed both the Senate and the Assembly and are awaiting action by the Governor.

These measures reflect the priorities we have heard directly from our communities, such as strengthening wildfire recovery and prevention, improving our schools, protecting working families, and expanding access to housing, among others.  

Alongside our legislative work, I also want to highlight an important upcoming event for our community. For people impacted by the Eaton Fire, there will be Free Soil Testing in Altadena on Saturday, September 20 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

For additional information, please scroll to the bottom.

Legislative Update:

Here’s a summary of legislation with full details below. 

Housing and Tenant Protections

• SB 610 (Disaster Protections for Homeowners and Renters), as part of the Senate's Golden State Commitment, this bill provides clarity to existing law and establishes key protections for tenants and homeowners following a disaster. It establishes a presumption that the presence of debris from a disaster renders a unit uninhabitable; clarifies that landlords are responsible for repairing damage, including smoke and ash, to the unit after a disaster; clarifies tenants are not obligated to pay rent during a mandatory evacuation order; and requires the state to coordinate with mortgage lenders and servicers upon an emergency declaration for a wildfire to facilitate mortgage forbearance for those financially impacted.
• SB 634 (Unhoused Service Providers Protection Act), protects the ability of charities and organizations to provide supportive services, including legal and medical services, as well as other basic survival resources like food, to unhoused individuals. This commonsense bill ensures these groups can continue their vital work without the threat of local governments outlawing their services, as happened temporarily in the City of Fremont in the Bay Area.

Wildfire Response & Recovery

• SB 293 (Generational Homeownership Protection Act), establishes a pathway for homeowners affected by the 2025 Southern California wildfires who lost or sustained damage to their homes during a declared emergency to update their property transfer records without financial penalty and being at greater risk of losing their homes altogether. This ensures continuity for families who have inherited their homes and reduces the immediate tax burden from property value reassessments, helping homeowners avoid unexpected financial hardships.
• SB 547 (Commercial Insurance Protection Act), part of the Senate's Golden State Commitment wildfire package, this legislation responds directly to the January wildfires. It would help small businesses recover from future disasters by prohibiting commercial insurance cancellations or non-renewals for one year following a declared emergency, protections that homeowners already receive. My bill ensures condominiums, affordable housing communities, small businesses and nonprofit organizations can recover without losing coverage.
• SB 581 (Fight for Firefighters Act), would transition all 3,000 seasonal Cal Fire firefighters to full-time, permanent status. The measure would also fully staff all 356 Cal Fire engines and all helicopter bases year round. We know all too well that California no longer has “fire seasons.” Fire is a year round threat.
• SB 782 (Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District), creates a streamlined option for cities and counties to form a disaster recovery financing district following a Governor-declared state of emergency. The formation and implementation of the district requires public engagement and transparency, including multiple public hearings and public access to the infrastructure financing plan before approval. All district revenues are strictly dedicated to projects that repair, rehabilitate, or replace disaster-damaged infrastructure, and initiatives that mitigate future disaster risks. This includes economic recovery projects, resiliency enhancements, small business recovery, and workforce development programs.

Supporting Immigrant Communities

• SB 98 (Sending Alerts to Families in Education (SAFE) Act), requires K-12 schools and higher education institutions to notify campus community members if immigration enforcement authorities show up on campus.
• SB 805 (No Vigilantes Act), expands the scope of existing police impersonation laws by making it illegal to impersonate peace officers, including federal agents, and requires all law enforcement operating in California to clearly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number or both. This bill also authorizes law enforcement to request identification from anyone claiming to be law enforcement, and bans bounty hunters from engaging in any form of immigration enforcement in California.
• SB 281 (Immigration Advisement), ensures consistency across California’s courts in delivering the mandatory advisement of potential immigration consequences whenever a person enters into a plea agreement.

Protecting and Supporting Our Students

• SB 848 (Safe Learning Environments Act), strengthens student safety in California schools by requiring updates to Comprehensive School Safety Plans with clear procedures for preventing, detecting, and addressing employee sexual misconduct. It also broadens mandated reporting requirements, enhances employee training, and revises relevant provisions in law to ensure stronger protections.
• SB 411 (Stop Child Hunger Act), tackles student food insecurity and improves access to school meals through multiple fronts. It requires the California Department of Education to create a single statewide and user-friendly application for families to apply for SUN Bucks, helping ensure all eligible students receive summer food assistance. Additionally, the bill strengthens child privacy protections by prohibiting the sale of data collected through school meal applications to outside parties.

Workers’ Rights

• SB 355 (Wage Theft), helps protect California workers who have experienced wage theft by authorizing the Labor Commissioner's Office to report unpaid claims to the Employment Development Department (EDD) as potential tax fraud.

Transportation Funding

• SB 512 (District Elections Initiatives), updates California’s election laws to align with Proposition 218 to facilitate voters in transportation districts to propose and pass local sales tax measures for transit projects through a ballot initiative.

Free Soil Testing on Saturday

On Saturday, September 20 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., learn how to collect soil samples and submit them for free lead testing. You can connect with trusted health experts ready to answer your questions. Free blood lead level testing from the LA County Department of Public Health will also be available.

Loma Alta Park (Farmer's Market)
587 W. Palm Street Altadena, CA 91001

Click here for more information!

Thank you for your tremendous support during my first year in office. It is an honor to represent you in the State Senate. 

Please reach out if I can be of assistance.