Sacramento - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding his bill, SB 288, which passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. SB 288 will expand CEQA statutory exemptions to speed up most of California’s sustainable transportation projects and make the approval and construction processes more streamlined and cost-effective. It is also an economic recovery bill that would make it easier to build important infrastructure projects and create jobs.
Press Releases
SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) issued the following statement regarding his bills, SB 855 and SB 932, which both passed the Assembly Health Committee last night. Both are landmark pieces of legislation that will help California understand and mitigate negative impacts of COVID-19 and other illnesses and communicable diseases.
Sacramento - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) today announced the introduction of SB 378, legislation that would end mandatory jail and prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. This would repeal state law established during the height of the War on Drugs era in 1986, which enacted these mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. The War on Drugs has since been widely acknowledged as failed racist policy, and its vestiges must be dismantled.
SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has re-introduced legislation that would expand the pool of prospective jurors to include any state tax filers. This would ensure that jury pools are more diverse and demographically representative of California’s population. Currently, juries are selected using lists of registered voters and licensed drivers or identification card holders. However, these lists are not demographically representative, and thus the jury pool pulled from these lists tend to skew whiter, wealthier, and overall less diverse than the state actually is.
Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding Governor Newsom's announcement that the state will release approximately 8,000 incarcerated individuals as COVID-19 rates soar in San Quentin State Prison.
SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) yesterday asked the Legislature’s administrative committees to obtain input from an advisory group that includes historians and California Native Americans before determining the fate of the Junípero Serra statue taken down on Capitol grounds by protestors on July 4.
The Serra sculpture was placed in Capitol Park after the state approved legislation by then-San Francisco Assemblymember Milton Marks in 1965. His law, AB 1124, authorized the purchase and maintenance of the memorial.
SAN FRANCISCO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding the International AIDS Conference, largely taking place virtually this year but based in San Francisco. The Conference was last held in San Francisco in 1990.
SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding COVID-19, its impact on California’s prison population, and the transfer of incarcerated individuals into ICE detention facilities. He will speak today on this issue at the Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing at 9am, which can be seen live here.
Senator Wiener said:
SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement upon learning that Harry Britt, a gay man and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who succeeded Harvey Milk, had passed away:
“Harry Britt was a pioneer in the LGBTQ community’s entry into electoral politics. He deeply understood that while our allies are essential, we must have our own seat at the table. Harry helped create political space for people like me to serve in elected office. Harry’s death is a tragedy. He will be missed.”