Press Releases

February 11, 2022

SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 923, the TGI Inclusive Care Act. This legislation requires health providers and staff who interact with transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGI) people to undergo cultural competency training to help them provide inclusive care. These trainings must be facilitated by TGI-led organizations, and they must include the perspectives of TGI people. SB 923 also ensures that health plans’ online directories include a search feature to list providers who offer gender-affirming services.

February 11, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 980 to modernize liquor licensing. SB 980 makes it easier for small businesses to fill vacant storefronts by simplifying several elements of the liquor license application process. California’s small businesses often face significant challenges in navigating the liquor application process; these barriers make it difficult for entrepreneurs to open, adapt, relocate, and expand their operations.

February 11, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 964, the Behavioral Health Workforce Revitalization Act. SB 964 increases California’s investment in its behavioral workforce in order to retain workers, increase the size of the behavioral health workforce, and support behavioral health workers who are facing a significant increase in demand for services.

January 28, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement after the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit published a unanimous decision upholding SB 822, California’s Net Neutrality law. Senate Bill 822 was authored by Senator Wiener in 2018, and was signed into law. It has undergone multiple legal attacks from the telecom and cable industries and from the Trump Administration.

January 27, 2022

SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s legislation, Senate Bill 379, the Solar Access Act, has passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 31-1. It now moves to the Assembly to be heard in policy committees. SB 379 implements instant, online solar permitting in counties with over 150,000 residents. This legislation will greatly decrease approval times for residential solar and solar-plus-storage systems, cut permitting costs for local governments and homeowners, and help California meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

January 27, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) reintroduced legislation, Senate Bill 879, also known as the PET (Prohibiting Extraneous Testing) Act. 

January 26, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s Senate Bill 260, the Climate Corporate Accountability Act (CCAA), passed the Senate by a vote of 23-7. SB 260 would be the first law in the country to require U.S.-based companies — those doing business in California and generating over $1 billion in gross annual revenue — to disclose all of their greenhouse gas emissions to the California Secretary of State’s office. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will analyze this data and create a report for the Secretary of State to publish online.

January 26, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s Senate Bill 467 passed the Senate today with a bipartisan vote of 30-3. SB 467, the End Wrongful Convictions Act, would amend the standards used for evaluating expert testimony and forensics in court pre- and post-conviction. Faulty forensic and scientific evidence, provided by expert witnesses,is the second most common reason that individuals are wrongfully convicted. Today, courts have discretion over which expert testimony is admissible.

January 21, 2022

SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 866, the Teens Choose Vaccines Act. SB 866 allows young people 12 years and older to get vaccinated without parental consent. SB 866 applies to all vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that meet the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.