FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2022
Senator Wiener Introduces Legislation To Cap the Price of Life-Saving Insulin
Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2022
Senator Wiener Introduces Legislation To Improve Outcomes For Refugees By Expanding Case Management
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2023
SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 70, the Medication Access Act. SB 70 improves access to medication by limiting the circumstances in which a health plans can change a patient’s medication for financial, rather than medical reasons. The bill builds on existing protections against the practice, expanding them to include dosage and medication form (intravenous, oral, etc.). The bill builds on the success of last year’s SB 853, which passed the Senate in a bipartisan, unanimous vote.
SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 58, to decriminalize the possession and personal use of certain psychedelic drugs. SB 58 is backed by a broad coalition, including combat veterans.
Research from top medical universities shows that these substances can have significant benefits, particularly for treating mental health and substance use disorders, and decriminalizing their personal use is part of the larger movement to end the racist War on Drugs and its failed and destructive policies.
SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) introduced SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, to allow faith institutions (such as churches, synagogues, and mosques) along with nonprofit colleges to build affordable housing on their property by-right, even if local zoning prevents this housing. SB 4 re-zones the property and ensures neither CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) nor local political processes can be misused to stop these affordable housing projects.
SACRAMENTO - Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s Senate Bill 922. It will become law on January 1, 2023. SB 922 extends and improves upon Senator Wiener’s previous legislation (SB 288, 2020) to expedite bike, pedestrian, light rail, and rapid bus projects by exempting these environmentally sustainable projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). SB 922 will accelerate approval of sustainable, climate-friendly transportation projects.
SACRAMENTO - Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation to impose stronger accountability on health plans by significantly increasing fines for illegal denial of health insurance coverage. Senate Bill 858, the Health Plan Accountability Act, updates and increases the penalty amount tenfold for health plans that violate state law in denying or delaying timely access to care. This law will take effect on January 1, 2023.
SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bill 467. SB 467, the End Wrongful Convictions Act, amends the standards used for evaluating expert testimony and forensics in court post-conviction. This law will take effect on January 1, 2023..