Press Releases

April 12, 2018

Sacramento–  Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) bill to restore net neutrality in California has gained key support from elected leaders, organizations, businesses, and almost 53,000 California residents. These supporters include Tom Wheeler, who served as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under President Obama and wrote the 2015 Open Internet Order.

April 10, 2018

Sacramento –  Today the Senate Public Safety Committee approved the Dignity and Opportunity Act, a bill authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to expand civil rights protections for transgender individuals in California jails and prisons. This includes creating certain gender identity rights and preventing exclusion from programming and work opportunities.

SB 990 was passed by a bipartisan 6-0 vote, and now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing.

April 10, 2018

Sacramento –  Today the Senate Public Safety Committee passed Senate Bill 923 – authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-Marin County)-- which sets statewide eyewitness identification standards to help prevent misidentifications that lead to innocent people being convicted and actual perpetrators remaining free. SB 923 is sponsored by the California Innocence Coalition and the ACLU of California.

April 10, 2018

Sacramento –  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced amendments to Senate Bill 827, which allows for more housing near public transportation. These amendments were made in consultation with colleagues, advocates, local elected officials, and housing experts.

April 5, 2018

San Francisco –  Today a group of national fair housing and civil rights experts issued a joint letter supporting Senate Bill 827, Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) bill to allow for more housing to be built near public transportation. The letter cites SB 827 as a national model that will open up more areas for housing, break down historical patterns of segregation, and create more affordable housing near public transportation.

March 28, 2018

San Francisco –  Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement after a developer announced they will invoke SB 35, a streamlining bill authored by Senator Wiener, and in doing so create 2400 units – including 1200 units of affordable housing – in Cupertino. The project is located at the Vallco shopping center, where a developer has been blocked for years from moving a mixed-use project forward. A previous iteration of the project proposed only 800 housing units, which means SB 35 is leading to triple the number of housing units in Cupertino.

March 22, 2018

Sacramento –  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced a new civil rights bill to ensure that transgender individuals in California jails and prisons are treated equally and with dignity. Senate Bill 990 requires correctional facilities to allow people in custody to register their preferred gender identity and first name, and also that facility staff address people by these expressed preferences.

March 21, 2018

Sacramento –  Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement after Senator Toni Atkins was officially elected to serve as the President pro Tempore of the California State Senate:

March 20, 2018

Sacramento –  Today the Senate Public Safety Committee passed a bill authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to close a loophole that hampers prosecutions for automobile break-ins. Senate Bill 916 allows prosecutors to prove that a defendant committed an auto burglary by showing that he or she broke a car window with the intent to commit theft.  It was passed with bipartisan support in the Senate Public Safety Committee, and now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.