Welcome to my legislative website. It is an honor to have this opportunity to serve my community. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any comments, questions or concerns that you may have with the district—or with your state government.
For the third year in a row, California is offering an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for working low-income families and individuals. This year, the eligibility thresholds were lowered so that more people could qualify. Click on the graphic for more information.
Veterans exemplify the best values of our country, and have earned the respect and gratitude of a grateful nation. To that end, I wanted to make you aware of two programs that may be of interest to you or the honorably discharged veterans in your life. Click on the graphic for more information.
Amid the #MeToo movement, California extends the statute of limitations for sexual assault survivors to seek civil damages from assailants.
SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1619, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, giving adult sexual assault survivors an additional eight years to file a civil case in response to a sexual assault.
SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 3043, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), which will improve and increase access to school meals.
“Good nutrition and a full stomach are essential for learning in school,” said Assemblymember Berman. “Providing breakfast to all students at no cost and utilizing food trucks to provide nutritious meals are two ways to ensure that California students do not go hungry.”
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed several pieces of legislation this month aimed at fixing or improving access to mental health services in California, while vetoing one bill that promised to reimburse student loans for mental health professionals working in "shortage areas."
Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign bills passed by the Legislature last month.
SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 2639, authored by Assemblymembers Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) and Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), aimed at preventing student suicide, the second leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year olds.
SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 2218, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), which will allow California voters to track their vote by mail ballots by 2020.
SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Brown signed legislation authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) to modernize the way families receive information about their CalFresh and California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) benefits. Specifically, Assembly Bill 1957 authorizes county human services agencies to send notices and reminders via computer-generated text message.
A court efficiency bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown Monday will allow attorneys to produce much shorter discovery outlines for issues in dispute and gives additional time for judges to rule on new trial motions.
The bill, AB 2230, is a rare meeting of the minds between the Consumer Attorneys of California and the California Defense Counsel, sponsors of the bill.
Typically, a motion in a discovery dispute can be a laborious process for all parties involved because it requires filing separate statements under the California Rules of Court.
“So much detail is required in these separate statements that they often amount to anywhere from fifty pages to entire reams of paper. This process is often tedious and ultimately has no benefit for judges,” the Consumer Attorneys of California said in a statement.
The bill will allow for a party to file a concise outline of a discovery request instead of a separate statement.
Legislation designed to help prevent student suicide is on its way to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for signing.
Assembly Bill 2639, which was introduced by Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, and Assembly Education Committee chairman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, passed through both the Assembly and state Senate with unanimous votes with the Senate voting on Monday.
“The issue of youth mental health and suicide hits very close to home for me,” Berman wrote in a statement. “Palo Alto, my own hometown, has experienced two youth suicide clusters in the last 10 years. As suicide rates continue to rise among youth and young adults, we can and must do more to prevent these tragedies.”
California officials want to make sure the Secretary of State’s office is helping local elections officials prepare for possible cyber attacks. California Assembly Bill 3075, which was signed into law on Aug. 28, creates the Office of Elections Cybersecurity within the Secretary of State’s office.
The new office will work with state and local elections officials to reduce the likelihood and severity of cyber incidents that could interfere with the security or integrity of elections in the state. The office will also monitor and counteract false or misleading information related to the electoral process to suppress voter participation or cause confusion.
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