Press Releases

MEDIA ADVISORY: SENATOR CORTESE’S SENATE BILL 429 WILL ESTABLISH NATION’S FIRST WILDFIRE CATASTROPHE PUBLIC MODEL

SAN JOSE, CA –California State Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) will host a press conference highlighting the successful passage of his Senate Bill 429 (SB 429) this past year. The press conference will be held in front of CAL FIRE’s Fire Hawk helicopter helipad. SB 429 will establish the first-in-the-nation wildfire catastrophe public model. The science-based model will help inform homeowners about their property’s wildfire risk in addition to equitably informing homeowners’ insurance policy rates.



Senator Dave Cortese’s Initiative Leads to Cooperative Agreement Between State and City of San Jose Addressing Blight and Litter

SAN JOSE, CA – As Chair of the California State Senate Transportation Committee, Senator Dave Cortese (D – San Jose) met earlier this year with former Caltrans Director, Tony Tavares,  and current Secretary of Transportation, Toks Omishakin, at the request of City of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, requesting that the state agency enter into a cooperative agreement that would authorize the City of San Jose to directly conduct removal of blight and litter at 13 different Caltrans interchange areas within the city’s limits.



Governor Signs Senator Cortese’s Law Targeting Dirty Diesel Train Pollution

SACRAMENTO – In a big win for climate action, Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law Senator Cortese’s SB 30 that prevents the resale of high-polluting diesel trains decommissioned by public entities. It closes a major loophole that would have allowed older diesel-powered locomotives to be sold to other states or countries, relocating the pollution rather than eliminating it. 



Senator Cortese & Mayor Mahan Celebrate Passage of Legislation to Address Abandoned Shopping Carts Epidemic

SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley) joined San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in celebrating SB 753 being signed into law - a bill to modernize California’s shopping cart recovery law and give local governments the tools they need to keep communities clean and safe.



Governor Signs Senator Cortese’s Wildfire Resilience Package

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law Senator Dave Cortese’s (D–Silicon Valley) landmark wildfire resilience package to strengthen California’s prevention, preparedness, and insurance transparency efforts. The package includes SB 653 and SB 429, two bills that advance the state’s response to increasingly destructive wildfires.