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D California Senate · District 13

Sen. Josh Becker

Compare
Total votes
14,289
all sessions
Attendance
96%
411 missed
Near the chamber average
With party
99%
of cast votes
Near the chamber average
Bipartisan score
0%
crosses aisle rarely
Near the chamber average
Sponsored
499
bills & resolutions
Near the chamber average
Committees
9
assignments
499 bills and resolutions

Sponsored bills

Total
499
Primary
130
Co-sponsor
369
This page
499
matching current filters
Co-sponsor AB 525
Signed into law · California House · Co-sponsor
Energy: offshore wind generation.

The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 established as a policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045. The act requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , and State Air Resources Board to, as part of a public process, issue a joint report to the Legislature by January 1, 2021, and every 4 years thereafter, that includes specified information relating to the implementation of the policy. Existing law requires the PUC and the Energy Commission to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state's clean energy and pollution reduction objectives. This bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before June 1, 2022, to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and to establish offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in coordination with specified agencies, to work with stakeholders, state, local, and federal agencies, and the offshore wind energy industry to identify suitable sea space for wind energy areas in federal waters sufficient to accommodate the offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in coordination with relevant state and local agencies, to develop a plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the PUC and Independent System Operator, to assess the transmission investments and upgrades necessary to support the offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to develop and produce a permitting roadmap that describes timeframes and milestones for a permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure off the coast of California. The bill would require the information described in this paragraph and potential impacts on coastal resources, fisheries, Native American and Indigenous peoples, and national defense, and strategies for addressing those potential impacts, to be included in the strategic plan, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before December 31, 2022, to submit to the Natural Resources Agency and the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature a preliminary assessment of the economic benefits of offshore wind as they relate to seaport investments and workforce development needs and standards. The bill would repeal all of these provisions on January 1, 2027.

Signed into law Sep 23, 2021 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SCR 11
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Relative to the Cancer Patients' Bill of Rights.

This measure would proclaim specified principles as the Cancer Patients' Bill of Rights to make clear the Legislature supports the best cancer care for cancer patients in the state.

Signed into law Sep 10, 2021 1 co-sponsor
Primary SB 355
Passed · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Court fees and costs: waiver.

Existing law requires the court to grant a fee waiver to an applicant at any stage of the proceedings at both the appellate and trial court levels if the applicant meets specified standards of eligibility and application requirements, including a person who is receiving certain public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income or Medi-Cal, or who has a monthly income of 125% or less of the current poverty guidelines, as specified. An initial fee waiver excuses the applicant from paying, among other fees and costs, fees for the first pleading and other court fees and costs as specified in rules adopted by the Judicial Council. Existing law requires an applicant for a fee waiver to complete, under penalty of perjury, a Judicial Council application form containing specified information. This bill would additionally require a court to grant a fee waiver to an applicant who receives benefits under the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) , or who receives unemployment compensation. The bill would eliminate the fee waiver for a person who has a monthly income of 125% or less of the current poverty guidelines, and instead would grant a fee waiver for an applicant who is a member of a low-income family, as defined, for the county that has the highest low-income limit in the state. The bill would require the Judicial Council to annually publish a table establishing the threshold monthly household income for this income-based fee waiver. By requiring an applicant who is requesting a fee waiver based on receiving WIC Program benefits or unemployment to complete, under penalty of perjury, a Judicial Council application form and a financial statement, this bill would expand the crime of perjury and impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Passed Sep 8, 2021 0 co-sponsors
Primary SB 767
Passed · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Educational technology: Digital Education Equity Program: regional consortia: State Digital Equity Plan.

Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that the state should encourage the use of multiple technologies in distance learning education, and that the state should recognize the value of regional networks serving regional needs and the value of a statewide network. This bill would establish the Digital Education Equity Program (DEEP) , to be administered by the State Department of Education. The bill would require the DEEP to provide a regionalized network of technical assistance to schools and local educational agencies on the implementation of educational technology as set forth in policies of the State Board of Education. The bill would require the DEEP to be composed of 11 regional consortia of county offices of education that would work collaboratively with school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to meet locally defined educational needs that can be effectively addressed with the use of technology, as specified. The bill would require, upon approval of a comprehensive State Digital Equity Plan prepared by the department on or before January 31, 2024, the department, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, to authorize grants of up to 3 years in duration, and eligible for renewal, to fund county offices of education in each of the 11 existing regional consortia of county offices of education to act as lead agencies to administer services, as needed, to local educational agencies under the bill. The bill would require, on or before December 1, 2024, local educational agencies to adopt a local education technology equity plan and a plan summary as a component of its local control and accountability plan. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2024, the state board to adopt guidelines and criteria for inclusion in the local education technology equity plan and a plan summary template for the local control and accountability plan. By requiring local educational agencies to adopt a local education technology equity plan and a plan summary, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to establish an Office of Educational Technology and Digital Equity with sufficient staff to administer the provisions of the bill. The bill would specify the duties of the department in administering the DEEP, including the preparation of the comprehensive State Digital Equity Plan that reflects the overall needs and priorities related to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the access and use of technology to support teaching and learning in California schools. The bill would require the Superintendent to submit the plan to the state board on or before January 31, 2023, and would require the state board to adopt the plan on or before March 31, 2023. The bill would specify that the funding would be provided through the annual Budget Act to the Superintendent to provide centralized statewide educational technology services that address locally defined needs, as specified. The bill would also require the Superintendent to submit an annual written report to the state board and the Legislature on the services provided, persons served, and funds expended for purposes of the bill, and the extent to which the objectives of the State Digital Equity Plan prepared pursuant to the bill were attained in the immediately preceding year. The bill would make the above-described provisions operative only in fiscal years when sufficient funding for their implementation is appropriated to the department in the Budget Act or in another statute. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Passed Aug 26, 2021 0 co-sponsors
Co-sponsor SB 693
Passed · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Pupil instruction: genocide education: the Holocaust.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to incorporate age-appropriate materials relating to, among other things, genocide and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of genocide and the Holocaust. This bill would establish a 15-member Governor's Council on Genocide and Holocaust Education to, among other things, establish best practices for, and promote implementation of, education on genocide, including the Holocaust, and submit an annual report to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would provide that the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Rules would each appoint 5 members of the council, who would be required to be individuals with particular interest in, or expertise on, genocide, including the Holocaust. The bill would make an appropriation by authorizing the department to use funds donated by private individuals or entities for the purpose of reimbursing members of the council for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties as members of the council. The bill would strongly encourage local educational agencies, as defined to include school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, with pupils in grades 4 to 12, inclusive, to integrate the best practices into instruction on genocide, including the Holocaust, that meets existing academic content standards and the history-social science curriculum framework for these pupils. The bill would authorize the department to issue grants to local educational agencies for professional development, and would specify that the grant funds would either be appropriated through the annual Budget Act or another statute, or provided through donations to the department from private individuals or entities. To the extent that the bill would authorize the department to make grants with these donated funds, it would make an appropriation. The bill would require the department to conduct a study on the manner in which the instruction is offered to assess the impact of the instruction.

Passed Aug 26, 2021 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 472
Passed · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Social Innovation Financing Program.

Existing law establishes the Social Innovation Financing Program, administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to award grants to 3 counties selected by the board, for the purpose of entering into a social innovation financing contract, pursuant to which private investors agree to provide financing to service providers to achieve social outcomes agreed upon in advance and the government agency that is a party to the contractual agreement agrees to pay a return on the investment to the investors if successful programmatic outcomes are achieved by the service provider. Existing law requires the board and each county receiving an award to report annually to the Governor and Legislature, as specified. Existing law repeals the program on January 1, 2022. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2022, authorize the board, upon an appropriation by the Legislature to the Social Innovation Fund created by this bill, to award a new round of grants to 5 counties selected by the board, as specified. The bill would also authorize the board to utilize no more than 2% of any appropriated funds to award microgrants to counties applying for a grant to support the development of grant proposals. The bill would require the board and the grant recipients to report annually to the Governor and the Legislature, as specified. The bill would extend the repeal date of the program to January 1, 2028.

Passed Aug 26, 2021 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 1368
Passed · California House · Co-sponsor
Social services for persons granted asylum.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, after setting aside state administrative funds, to allocate federal funds for refugee social services programs to eligible counties and, in certain circumstances, to nonprofit organizations. Existing law requires a county administering refugee social services to designate an agency that is responsible for developing and implementing a plan for the refugee social services. Existing law requires the plan to provide services to refugees that lead to their successful self-sufficiency and social integration. This bill would establish the Enhanced Services Program for Asylees to provide resettlement services for persons granted political asylum to live in the state by the United States Attorney General. The bill would authorize an agency that has been designated by a county to implement social services for refugees, as described above, to provide social services for persons granted asylum. The bill would require the program to provide culturally specific and responsive case management services, as specified, for persons newly granted asylum for up to 90 days. The bill would require the program to aim to have similar reintegration success rates for persons granted asylum as for refugees receiving social services. The bill would require an agency providing services under the program to notify the department each time a person applies for services and would require the department to provide funding to the agency for services for that person at the time the person is admitted to the program. Under the bill, the program would be implemented only to the extent that funds are appropriated for the program in the Budget Act of 2021.

Passed Aug 26, 2021 1 co-sponsor
Showing 481 to 490 of 499 bills