Mark Leno

Brown Ends 2015 With a Whimper: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Submitted by Eddie Barrera on Mon, 10/12/2015 - 18:56

Landmark bills protecting digital privacy, greening energy use in the state, reining in health insurance abuses and expanding voter registration were among the good proposals signed by Gov. Jerry Brown as the 2015 legislative year drew to a close. Yet, in a year Californians called for bold, progressive action on gas prices, toxics regulation and ratepayer protection against back room dealings with regulated utilities, centrist saddling and tepid reforms dull the shine of those wins for the public. 

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Big Privacy Victory As Gov. Brown Signs CalECPA

Submitted by John Simpson on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 16:04

Californians won a major privacy victory today that catches protections up with modern technology.  Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 178, the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA), into law.

It will require that law enforcement get a warrant before poking around in our digital records.  If the cops want to search your desk for letters and files, they need a warrant.  But who relies on paper files and letters these days?

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Waiting for Governor Jerry Brown to Sign Bills Protecting Californians

Submitted by Eddie Barrera on Fri, 09/18/2015 - 11:52

The crowded hallways outside of the Legislature's chambers may now be empty but that doesn't mean the fervent lobbying to kill pending legislation is over. 

With more than 600 bills sitting at the governor's desk, we are keeping an eye on bills that protect privacy, healthcare, elections, consumer rights and the environment. Below are some of the bills we are watching:  

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Chamber of Commerce Doing Bidding of Big Oil on Climate Change Bills

Submitted by Eddie Barrera on Sun, 04/12/2015 - 12:10

The California Chamber of Commerce's usual and powerful response to meaningful climate change legislation is to call it a "job killer."
 
In 2006, the Legislature passed groundbreaking AB 32, which aimed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming to 1990s levels by 2020. The Chamber said that it would be a job killer and push businesses out of the state. It lost that battle, and nearly ten years later, the predictions proved false.
 

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