Dear Friend,
It's officially spring, and things are blooming in both the Capitol and in our District with several of our bills making their way through the legislative process. This week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a powerful bill that will hold fossil fuel corporations accountable and rein in greed. A year ago when Big Oil was gouging us at the pumps, I proposed a Windfall Profits Tax. After months of work, Governor Newsom, the Legislature, and our working group crafted a bill to protect hardworking Californians. Highlights include: industry data transparency, watchdog experts regulating the five oil corporations that control the supply in California, and price stabilization, which includes a penalty if oil companies are excessively profiting off consumers.
Women's History Month Celebration in the Capitol
On Monday, March 20, the California Legislative Women's Caucus hosted a Women's History Month celebration at the California State Capitol.
Connie De Grange was selected as 2023 Woman of the Year for the 24th State Assembly District in celebration of Women's History Month for her years of service and dedication to AD 24 residents and Sunol. She has been instrumental in supporting Sunolians recover from the devastating floods that occurred this winter, and she serves the town as the elected Chair of the Sunol Citizens' Advisory Council.
Housing Town Hall
Last week, I discussed some of our transformative housing bills from this session including: AB 309 (social housing), AB 362 (land value taxation), AB 835 (single stair reform), and AB 1490 (adaptive reuse). If you missed it, you can watch it here.
Bills Update
AB 83 - Stop Foreign Influence in California Elections Act - Passed out of Elections Committee
In order to protect the integrity of California's democratic self-governance, the bill prohibits foreign influenced corporations from contributing to candidates, parties, or committees (including super PACs) as well as from engaging in their own direct election.
AB 320 - Student Aid Commission - Passed out of Higher Education Committee
The bill improves student representation on the California Student Aid Commission by adding two additional student commissioners to the Student Aid Commission. With two additional student commissioners, there would be four student members, one from each type of higher education institution.
AB 413 - Daylighting to Improve Public Safety - Passed out of Transportation Committee
The bill would implement the safety feature "daylighting" which would prohibit parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk or intersection to increase the visibility of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vehicles. In 2021, pedestrian deaths in the U.S. reached a four-decade high, with California topping the list. This small change can have significant impacts on safety.
AB 502 - Food Delivery Platform Disclosures - Passed out of Privacy Committee
In order to better protect our small businesses, this bill would prohibit a listing service, such as Yelp or Google, from posting a phone number under a restaurant that doesn't go directly to the restaurant. It would also require a disclosure to the consumer if an order they are placing through the listing service will result in a cost to the restaurant.
AB 652 - Environmental Justice Advisory Committee - Passed out of Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee
This bill establishes the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee which will be composed of community members most impacted by pesticides including Native American tribes and socioeconomically disadvantaged farmers to make recommendations on reducing the impacts of pesticide exposure.
AB 664 - California Safe Drinking Water Act: Domestic Wells - Passed out of Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee
This bill provides stronger protections for tenants by ensuring that tenants that rely on domestic wells have access to safe drinking water.
Student Spotlight
I wanted to highlight out bill AB 640, which was brought to me by two high school students from Fremont, Brian and Emma Li. The bill will expand the scope of work permits to allow minors to telework for prospective employers.
The bill made it out of the Education Committee, and Emma even came up to the Capitol to testify. Watch the video!
Piedmont Middle School Begins Work on New Gym & Windows
After celebrating the groundbreaking at Piedmont Middle School, on March 8, 2023 the BUSD Board of Trustees accepted the State of California Department of General Services Regional K16 Education Collaboratives Grant Program Agreement for $10M for a new gymnasium and window replacement. As a member of the Budget Committee, I'm thrilled to be able to see this funding materialize!
STEAM Showcase
Finally, every year I look forward to attending the STEAM showcase in Milpitas to learn more about the projects from our brilliant students! This past weekend we had over 400 students in attendance to present their projects!
Yours in Service,
Alex Lee
Assemblymember, 24th District
