SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s legislation to create more diverse and representative juries, Senate Bill 271, passed the Senate Governance and Finance Committee by a vote of 3-1. SB 271, the Fair Federal Juries Act, will expand jury pools in federal courts in California by allowing them to summon jurors using state tax filing lists.
Press Releases
SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 834, a first-in-the-nation bill that authorizes the suspension of the California tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations that participated in or aided the insurrection of January 6, 2021, or that support current and future efforts to overthrow our democratically elected government.
SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 271, the Fair Federal Juries Act. This legislation will expand jury pools in federal courts in California by allowing them to summon jurors using state tax filing lists. This will help create more diverse and demographically representative juries in federal courts, as jurors are currently selected from narrower lists that are more likely to skew wealthier, whiter and generally less diverse. This legislation builds on SB 592 (Wiener, 2020), which expanded state jury pools.
SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced he will not be moving forward with Senate Bill 225: the Intersex Bodily Autonomy, Dignity and Choice Act. This civil rights legislation would ban medically unnecessary, irreversible genital surgeries on intersex infants and other young children, thus providing children and their families with a chance to make informed decisions about major, life-altering genital reconstruction surgeries.
SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced new criminal justice reform legislation, Senate Bill 467. The text of this legislation will be available online tonight. This bill 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.
SAN FRANCISCO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement on World AIDS Day:
“The HIV pandemic is not even close to over, as millions around the world continue to become infected — all too often lacking access to life-saving medication — and as so many continue to die. On this World AIDS Day, we must recommit to ensuring that people around the world have access to life-saving drugs to prevent infection and to help those who are infected live healthy lives.
SACRAMENTO - Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation, SB 221, which requires health plans and insurers to provide patients with timely follow-up care for mental health issues and substance use disorders. It will go into effect on July 1, 2022.
SACRAMENTO - Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Bar and Restaurant Recovery Act, Senate Bill 314. It goes into effect immediately.
Sacramento – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation, Senate Bill 110.
The Recovery Incentives Act, SB 110, would have legalized the effective substance use disorder treatment known as “contingency management” — financial incentives to get and stay sober — and authorized Medi-Cal to cover it.