With the deadline for the California Legislature to pass any bills soon approaching, elected officials kept a close eye Friday on bills committees greenlighted.
Here’s a look at some pieces of legislation Santa Clarita Valley representatives authored that are headed to the Assembly and Senate floors:
State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita
Senate Bill 153: This bill attempts to ensure California is well-positioned to begin the cultivation of industrial help by revising the state’s provisions regulating cultivation and testing of hemp to conform to the requirements for a state plan on or before Jan. 31, 2020.
“This is a really important bill to be on the governor’s desk and I’m pretty confident that it will get to his desk and get signed,” Wilk said Friday. “Industrial hemp is being grown not only in my district but all over California and will revolutionize agriculture in California because hemp is used in 25,000 different products. It requires little water and in light of climate change it’s a very important bill.”
Senate Bill 202: Known as the “Doggy Donor Bill,” SB 202 looks to provide more flexibility to the rules on animal blood donation and allows for a more humane treatment of animal blood donors by expanding legal donation from the current two companies to include community-based donation opportunities, according to the bill analysis.
Senate Bill 333: The bill would require the state’s Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan for addressing homelessness in California but was held in committee.
“I was surprised; I don’t know why it was held,” said Wilk. “I’ve been working with the governor’s office on that bill and believed they were supportive.”
The Santa Clarita City Council voted in support of SB 333 in May, after its 2019 Legislative Platform advised to “support legislation, regulatory or administrative efforts that provide additional authority or funding for municipalities to address homeless issues within their communities.”
Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita
Assembly Bill 629: The bill seeks to compensate victims of human trafficking for any economic losses as a result of trafficking by establishing compensation from California’s Victim Compensation Board.
“A victim’s ability to recover is rooted in justice, and that means we must ensure access to fair compensation,” Smith said in April. “My work on this bill so far has shown me that when women lead, we uplift each other and our communities. I am honored my AB 629 speaks to the breadth and diversity of women who make up our caucus and who we represent across the state.”
Assembly Bill 1637: The proposed law would allow the state controller to transfer property reported to the state under the unclaimed property request process. Examples of those entities include schools, cities and public agencies.
There was approximately $9.3 billion worth of property transferred to the state pursuant to the UPL as of January 2019. In Santa Clarita there are 58 properties valued at more than $11,000 in unclaimed local government property, according to the State Controller’s Office.
“Our objectives with my legislative package were to promote return on investment and uplift the people of the 38th Assembly District and California,” Smith said in a prepared statement Friday. “I take pride that my bills address a wide range of issues with a solutions-based approach and look forward to seeing my measures implemented into law to help elevate our quality of life.”
Smith sent five other bills to the Senate Floor related to education.
