Innovation at the Center of Senator Cortese’s 2022 Plans

As the 2022 Legislative Calendar begins today for the California State Legislature, Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley), is excited to get back to work and build on the innovative, first-of-its-kind initiatives and investments he championed last year to address the impacts of COVID-19, build affordable housing statewide, expand access to mental health treatment, strengthen our healthcare and hospital systems, safeguard our environment, and bring needed reform to our criminal justice system.
 

Sustainability

·      Rooftop Solar Access and Equity: Senator Cortese plans to introduce a bill to reduce electricity prices for low-income families by establishing a program that will expand rooftop solar to multifamily housing units.

·      Stewardship of Natural Resources and Open Space: Senator Cortese intends to introduce legislation in 2022 to enhance recreational opportunities; expand access to recreational facilities; protect, restore, and improve parks, wildlife, open-space, and beach lands; preserve canyons, foothills, and mountains and develop public access to lands.

·      Climate Change Education: Along with Assemblymembers Rivas, Calderon, Ward, and others, Senator Cortese will be introducing legislation on climate change education in the 2022 legislative session that would integrate climate literacy into California’s education system and ensure ALL students learn about climate change. Learn more here.

 

Universal Basic Income & Youth Services

·      Universal Basic Income: Following his successful push for California’s first state-funded universal basic income (UBI) proposal, the “California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program”, Senator Cortese will continue his work to provide unconditional and direct cash assistance. This year, he will focus his attention on providing UBI to our most vulnerable students in the California State University (CSU) system.

·      Family Finding and Engagement: Sponsored by the California Judges Association, SB 384, The Family Finding Act, will return in 2022 as a two-year bill and requires that counties implement best-practice family finding protocols, increasing the likelihood that a child removed from parental care, for instance as a result of parental neglect or abuse, be placed with relatives. Learn more here.

 

Criminal Justice Reform

·      Sentencing Reform: A modest reform to an extreme injustice. SB 300, The Sentencing Reform Act, Senator Cortese’s historic bill to end unjust practices in California’s current sentencing scheme, including mandating life in prison without the possibility for parole for a person who did not kill anyone or intend for anyone to die, will return this year as a two-year bill. Learn more here.

 

Workers’ Rights & Parity

·      Promotional Probation Period Parity: In 2022, Senator Cortese intends to introduce legislation to ensure probation period parity for classified employees in merit districts vs. non-merit districts.

·      Equity in Workers’ Compensation for Frontline Healthcare Workers: SB 213, sponsored by the California Nurses Association (CNA), will return as a two-year bill and helps achieve parity between a predominantly female RN and hospital workforce and frontline professions that are predominately male, including firefighters and police officers. Learn more here.

 

Housing Affordability

·      Tenant Preferences to Prevent Displacement: SB 649, sponsored by the City of San Jose and the Housing Action Coalition, is a two-year bill that will return this year to support the use of tenant preferences to fight displacement. SB 649 will play a vital role in bolstering the state’s efforts to protect our most vulnerable residents from displacement. Learn more here.

 

Sexual Assault Prevention

·      Ending Online Sexual Exploitation: SB 435, the first bill of its kind in the nation, will return as a two-year bill to tackle online sexual exploitation, giving victims, including children, more civil causes of action against the distribution of naked or sexual photographs and video.

 

Public Health & Safety

·      Protecting Entertainment Workers on Theatrical Productions: In the wake of the tragic shooting on the set of the film “Rust” and to improve safety on the set of theatrical productions, Senator Cortese will be introducing legislation that sets up a first-in-the-nation regulatory process to keep entertainment workers safe and hold industry entities accountable.

·      Protecting Continuing Care Retirement Communities: Sponsored by the Continuing Care Residents' Association, SB 707 will return as a two-year bill and protects current and future continuing care facility residents by providing them with transparency on the financial status and safety of the facilities they are making a lifelong commitment to. 

·      Red Flag Laws to Prevent Gun Violence: In response to the mass shooting impacting the Senator’s District in San Jose that took the lives of 9 Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) workers, Senator Cortese intends to introduce legislation to expand and improve California’s “red flag” laws to prevent gun violence and mass shootings. Learn more here.

 

Cortese’s Authored Bills that Became Law in 2021:

  • SB 461 – “Consumer Protection Law” - allows local communities to better fight back against unethical and deceptive business practices
  • SB 564 – “Santa Clara County Hospitals” - ensures the completion of seismic safety of Santa Clara County hospitals by 2024
  • SB 780 – “Local Economic Development; Funding for Affordable Housing” - revitalizes tools to support local infrastructure, economic development and affordable housing
  • SB 791 – “California Surplus Land Unit” - creates the California Surplus Land Unit to expedite the construction of affordable housing on local vacant lands
  • AB 1171 – “Ending Spousal Rape” - provides the same penalties for spousal rape as any other rape in the California Penal Code (Principal Co-Author)
  • SB 383 – “Juvenile Justice Diversion” - increases access to supportive programs for youth that commit non-violent felonies
  • SB 411 – “Working After Retirement Act” - helps retirees continue post-retirement opportunities to earn income without penalty
  • SB 790 – “Wildlife Connectivity Barriers” - ensures that state agencies can access funds to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and protect wildlife (Joint Author)

 

Cortese’s Requests Secured in the 2021-2022 State Budget:

  • Student Mental Health - an augmentation of $205,000,000 to create school and county mental health partnerships across California
  • VTA Recovery - $20,000,000 to VTA to provide post-tragedy relief to traumatized employees and help get essential transit services running again as soon as possible
  • Universal Basic Income - an historic $35,000,000 “California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program” to serve California youth exiting the state’s extended foster care program as well as pregnant women
  • Highway 17 Wildlife and Trail Crossings Project - $2,000,000 to create connectivity and a safe crossing for trail users to enjoy the natural beauty of our Santa Cruz Mountains
  • Litter Abatement - $2,000,000 to assist local jurisdictions with the removal of trash and debris from local streets and along state highways in Santa Clara County
  • San José - Evergreen Community College District - a planning and community engagement grant of $1,000,000 to plan the development of vacant college property to serve students
  • Wildfire Preparedness Technologies - over $2,000,000 to provide state-of-the-art technology to communicate securely and effectively during a wildfire or natural disaster including emergency mobile cell phone coverage

 

For more information, contact Tara Sreekrishnan, Office of Senator Dave Cortese, at 408 480 7833 or tara.sreekrishnan@sen.ca.gov.

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Senator Dave Cortese represents State Senate District 15 which encompasses most of Santa Clara County, including the cities of Campbell, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, and much of San Jose, stretching from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and Mountain Hamilton Range to the east.