Press Releases

Senate Passes Senator Wiener’s Legislation to Ensure Incarcerated Transgender People Are Housed According to their Gender Identity

SB 132 protects transgender people from the violence that frequently arises from being housed in prison according to their birth-assigned gender instead of their actual gender identity
May 23, 2019

Sacramento–  Today, the Senate passed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation requiring that incarcerated transgender individuals in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) be classified and housed based on their gender identity - absent specific security concerns - on a 29-6 vote. It will now head to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming weeks. When transgender people are housed according to their birth-assigned gender, which is currently the typical practice, they are at heightened risk of violence, including sexual violence.

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Senate Passes Senator Wiener’s Complete Streets Bill to Ensure State Highways that Run through Local Communities Are Safe and Usable by Transit Riders, Pedestrians, and Cyclists

SB 127 will require Caltrans to make roads safer for people walking, bicycling, or using transit when repairing or upgrading state-owned roadways in urbanized areas
May 23, 2019

San Francisco –  Today, Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bill 127, which will prioritize the creation of ‘complete streets,’ including safer and better designed sidewalks, bikeways, and crosswalks, on state highways that run through cities, towns, and neighborhoods passed out the Senate with a 28-9 bipartisan vote. It will now head to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming months.

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Senator Wiener’s Statement on HUD’s Attempts to Allow Discrimination Against Transgender Homeless Individuals Seeking Shelter

May 22, 2019

Sacramento–  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) made the following statement on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeking to allow taxpayer-funded shelters to discriminate against and turn away transgender homeless individuals:

“Transgender people are at significant risk of homelessness. They deserve to be able to access shelter. It’s despicable to claim tax-funded shelters can turn them away. People are entitled to their religious beliefs. They are not entitled to discriminate, especially with taxpayer funds.”

 

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Senate Passes Senator Wiener’s Legislation to Reduce Food Insecurity Among Californians Experiencing Hunger

SB 285 Streamlines CalFresh enrollment by setting clear and accountable statewide enrollment goals, improving ease of access to enrollment for eligible Californians, and eliminating questions deemed unnecessary and that only create obstacles in the enroll
May 22, 2019

Sacramento–  This week, Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation to reduce food insecurity passed the Senate with a 38-0 bipartisan vote. It will now head to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming weeks. SB 285 streamlines CalFresh enrollment by setting clear and accountable statewide enrollment goals, improving ease of access to enrollment for eligible Californians. Over 4.1 million low-income households in California are currently food insecure, and California is among the lowest-performing states to connect households to federal food assistance.

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Senator Wiener’s Statement on Harvey Milk Day

May 22, 2019

Sacramento–  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, made the following statement regarding Harvey Milk Day:

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Senate Passes Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Gloria’s Legislation to Increase Access to PrEP, a Once-Daily Pill to Prevent HIV

SB 159 authorizes pharmacists to furnish pre- and post- exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP) without a physician prescription and prohibits insurance companies from requiring prior authorizations in order to obtain PrEP coverage
May 21, 2019

Sacramento–  Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Todd Gloria’s (D-San Diego) legislation to reduce barriers to accessing HIV preventative medications passed the Senate on a vote of 34-1. It now heads to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming weeks. SB 159 authorizes pharmacists to furnish pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to patients without a physician prescription.

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Senate Passes Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Gonzalez’s Bill to Support Lactation in the Workplace

SB 142 ensures working mothers have access to lactation facilities in the workplace, and helps create more family friendly work environments
May 21, 2019

Sacramento – Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez’s (D-San Diego) bill to support lactation in the workplace passed the Senate with 25-9 vote. It now heads to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming weeks.  Senate Bill 142 is modeled on Senator Wiener’s SB 937 from 2018, which passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Brown.

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Senate Passes Senator Wiener’s Bill Allowing Cities to Choose to Extend Nightlife Alcohol Sales to 4 AM

SB 58 creates pure local control on whether to extend nightlife alcohol sale hours - is limited to ten California cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Coachella, Cathedral City, Fresno, and Palm Springs
May 21, 2019

Sacramento –  Today, Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) bill to allow – but not require – ten pilot cities to extend sales of alcohol at bars, nightclubs, and restaurants (but not liquor stores) to as late as 4 a.m. passed the Senate with a 28-6 vote.

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Senator Wiener’s Bill to Save Compassionate Care Programs that Provide Free Cannabis to People with Serious Illnesses Passes Senate

Oversight in Prop 64 has led to taxes that are crippling programs that provide free medical cannabis to financially disadvantaged people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other life-threatening conditions
May 20, 2019

Sacramento –  Today, Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) bill to exempt compassionate care programs from paying state commercial cannabis taxes when they are providing free medical cannabis to financially disadvantaged people living with serious health conditions passed the State Senate with a 35-0 vote. It will now head to the Assembly for committee hearings in the coming weeks.

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Senator Wiener’s Nightlife, Increasing Access to PrEP, Solar Bill of Rights, and Reducing Unnecessary Sentence Enhancements Bills Among Those to Be Voted On by the Senate

Thirteen bills were approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will be taken up by the full Senate over the next two weeks
May 20, 2019

Sacramento–  Thirteen of Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) bills, including legislation to protect individuals consumers’ rights to harvest and store solar energy, increase access to HIV medications, reduce unnecessary sentence enhancements, and to allow cities to choose to extend nightlife hours will be taken up for a full Senate vote over the next two weeks.

The deadline for approving the bills is Friday, May 31, after which they will move to the Assembly.

The full list of bills moving to the Senate floor are:

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