Photo of Ben Allen
D California Senate · District 24

Sen. Ben Allen

Compare
Total votes
14,273
all sessions
Attendance
92%
893 missed
Lower than 88% of chamber peers
With party
99%
of cast votes
Near the chamber average
Bipartisan score
0%
crosses aisle rarely
Near the chamber average
Sponsored
478
bills & resolutions
Near the chamber average
Committees
13
assignments
478 bills and resolutions

Sponsored bills

Total
478
Primary
137
Co-sponsor
341
This page
478
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Co-sponsor SB 332
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Minor league baseball players.

Existing law provides that 8 hours of labor constitute a day's work unless it is otherwise expressly stipulated in a collective bargaining agreement, and requires that any work in excess of specified hours in one workday or one workweek be compensated at a rate higher than the regular rate of pay for the employee, as specified. Existing law authorizes, upon the proposal of an employer, employees of an employer to adopt a regularly scheduled alternative workweek that authorizes work by the affected employees for no longer than 10 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek without the payment to the affected employees of an overtime rate of compensation, as specified. Existing law prohibits an employer from employing an employee for a work period of more than 5 hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period, as specified, but, notwithstanding these provisions, existing law authorizes the Industrial Welfare Commission to adopt a working condition order permitting a meal period to commence after 6 hours of work if specified conditions are met. Under existing law, the Industrial Welfare Commission issues wage orders that regulates wages, hours, and working conditions in various occupations, including Wage Order No. 10-2001, which regulates the amusement and recreation industry. This bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to a person who is covered by a contract to play baseball at the minor league level with a labor organization that has at least 10 years of experience representing baseball players and who is compensated pursuant to the terms of a valid collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, working conditions of employees, payment for time worked during the off-season and spring training, and final and binding arbitration of disputes. The bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations to amend and republish Wage Order No. 10-2001 to provide that specified provisions of the wage order do not apply to a person subject to these provisions, as specified. Existing law requires an employer, semimonthly or at the time of payment of wages, to furnish an employee an accurate, itemized, written statement containing specified information regarding the amounts earned, hours worked, and the employee's identity, among other things, subject to certain variations. Existing law provides that an itemized wage statement furnished by an employer pursuant to these provisions is not required to show total hours worked by the employee if, among other things, the employee is exempt from the payment of minimum wage and overtime under specified law. This bill would provide that an itemized wage statement furnished by an employer pursuant to these provisions is not required to show total hours worked by an employee if the employee is exempt from the payment of minimum wage and overtime under the bill's provisions described above. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs, among other things, the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies. Existing law also describes procedures for the promulgation of regulations by the Industrial Welfare Commission. This bill would exempt these provisions from the rulemaking procedures described above. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Signed into law Oct 13, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 302
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Department of Technology: high-risk automated decision systems: inventory.

Existing law establishes the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency and requires the Director of Technology to supervise the Department of Technology and report directly to the Governor on issues relating to information technology. This bill would require the department, in coordination with other interagency bodies, to conduct, on or before September 1, 2024, a comprehensive inventory of all high-risk automated decision systems, as defined, that have been proposed for use, development, or procurement by, or are being used, developed, or procured by, state agencies, as defined. The bill would require the comprehensive inventory to include a description of, among other things, the categories of data and personal information the automated decision system uses to make its decisions. On or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the bill would require the department to submit a report of the above-described comprehensive inventory to specified committees of the Legislature.

Signed into law Oct 13, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Primary SB 789
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Elections: Senate Constitutional Amendment 2 of the 2021–22 Regular Session and Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 of the 2023–24 Regular Session.

Existing law requires a constitutional amendment submitted to the people by the Legislature to appear on the ballot of the first statewide election occurring at least 131 days after the adoption of the proposal. The Legislature adopted Senate Constitutional Amendment 2 (SCA 2) of the 2021–22 Regular Session, which, if approved by the voters, would repeal provisions of the California Constitution that prohibit the development, construction, or acquisition of a low-rent housing project, as defined, by any state public body unless the project is approved by a majority of the qualified electors in the jurisdiction in which the project is proposed. The Legislature adopted Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA 5) of the 2023–24 Regular Session, which, if approved by the voters, would repeal a provision of the California Constitution that provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California and would instead provide that the right to marry is a fundamental right. Pursuant to the existing law described above, SCA 2 and ACA 5 are scheduled to appear on the ballot at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 (ACA 1) of the 2023–24 Regular Session, if approved by the voters, would amend and add provisions of the California Constitution to do both of the following for specified purposes relating to real property: (1) create an additional exception to the 1% limit on the ad valorem tax rate on real property that would authorize a local jurisdiction to levy an ad valorem tax to service bonded indebtedness incurred, if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of the voters in that local jurisdiction; and (2) authorize a local jurisdiction to impose, extend, or increase a sales and use tax, if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of the voters in that local jurisdiction. ACA 1, if approved by the voters, would also amend the California Constitution to prohibit a special district from incurring any indebtedness or liability exceeding any applicable statutory limit, as prescribed by the statutes governing the special district. Pursuant to the existing law described above, if adopted by the Legislature, ACA 1 would appear on the ballot at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election. This bill would call a special election to be consolidated with the statewide general election scheduled for November 5, 2024, and would require the submission of SCA 2 and ACA 5 to the voters at that election. The bill would also require the submission of ACA 1 to the voters at that election if ACA 1 is adopted by the Legislature. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.

Signed into law Oct 11, 2023 0 co-sponsors
Co-sponsor AB 812
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Housing development approvals: reserving affordable units in or near a cultural district for artists.

Existing law requires the Arts Council to establish criteria and guidelines for certification of state-designated cultural districts and collaborate with other public agencies and private entities to maximize the benefits of state-designated cultural districts. The Planning and Zoning Law imposes various requirements on cities and counties with regard to their review and approval of certain housing developments. This bill would authorize a city or county that requires, as a condition of approval, that a certain percentage of units of a residential development be affordable housing, as specified, to reserve for artists up to 10% of those required affordable housing units, except as provided, if certain conditions are met, including that the units reserved are located within or within one-half mile from a state-designated cultural district or within a locally designated cultural district, as specified. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

Signed into law Oct 11, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Primary SB 801
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
California Uniform Directed Trust Act.

Existing law establishes procedures for the creation, modification, and termination of a trust and regulates the administration of trusts by trustees on behalf of beneficiaries. This bill would enact the California Uniform Directed Trust Act to provide a method for regulating trusts where a person who is not a trustee has been given a role in directing the trust. The bill would require the consent of the public administrator, public guardian, or public conservator before they are appointed to act as a trust director or directed trustee. The bill would set forth the duties and responsibilities of the trust director and the duties and responsibilities of the directed trustee, including specifying what powers may be given to a trust director and the information required to be exchanged by the trust director and the directed trustee. The bill would require a directed trustee to take reasonable action to comply with a trust director's exercise or nonexercise of a power of direction, except that the directed trustee is not required to comply with a trust director's exercise or nonexercise of a power of direction to the extent that, by complying, the trustee would engage in willful misconduct. The bill would exempt from duties and liabilities under the act a trust director who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to provide health care in the ordinary course of the trust director's business or practice of a profession, to the extent the trust director acts in that capacity. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions.

Signed into law Oct 10, 2023 0 co-sponsors
Co-sponsor SB 43
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Behavioral health.

Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, provides for the involuntary commitment and treatment of a person who is a danger to themselves or others or who is gravely disabled. Existing law, for purposes of involuntary commitment, defines "gravely disabled" as either a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter or has been found mentally incompetent, as specified. This bill expands the definition of "gravely disabled" to also include a condition in which a person, as a result of a severe substance use disorder, or a co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder, is, in addition to the basic personal needs described above, unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, as defined. The bill would also expand the definition of "gravely disabled," as it applies to specified sections, to include, in addition to the basic needs described above, the inability for a person to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care as a result of chronic alcoholism. The bill would authorize counties to defer implementation of these provisions to January 1, 2026, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes. To the extent that this change increases the level of service required of county mental health departments, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law also authorizes the appointment of a conservator, in the County of Los Angeles, the County of San Diego, or the City and County of San Francisco, for a person who is incapable of caring for the person's own health and well-being due to a serious mental illness and substance use disorder. Existing law establishes the hearsay rule, under which evidence of a statement is generally inadmissible if it was made other than by a witness while testifying at a hearing and is offered to prove the truth of the matter stated. Existing law sets forth exceptions to the hearsay rule to permit the admission of specified kinds of evidence. Under this bill, for purposes of an opinion offered by an expert witness in any proceeding relating to the appointment or reappointment of a conservator pursuant to the above-described provisions, the statements of specified health practitioners or a licensed clinical social worker included in the medical record would not be made inadmissible by the hearsay rule under specified conditions. The bill would authorize the court to grant a reasonable continuance if an expert witness in a proceeding relied on the medical record and the medical record has not been provided to the parties or their counsel. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to collect data quarterly and publish, on or before May 1 of each year, a specified report that includes, among other things, the number of persons for whom temporary conservatorship are established in each county and an analysis and evaluation of the efficacy of mental health assessments, detentions, treatments, and supportive services provided, as specified. This bill would, beginning with the report due May 1, 2024, require the report to also include the number of persons admitted or detained, as specified, for conditions that include, among others, grave disability due to a mental health disorder, severe substance use disorder, or both a mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder. 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.

Signed into law Oct 10, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 1216
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Wastewater treatment plants: monitoring of air pollutants.

Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the State Air Resources Board or the air district to adopt rules and regulations to require the owner or the operator of an air pollution emission source to take any action that the state board or the air district determines to be reasonable for the determination of the amount of air pollution emissions from that source. Existing law requires the air pollution control officer to inspect, as the officer determines necessary, the monitoring devices installed in every stationary source of air contaminants located within a jurisdiction that is required to have those devices to ensure that the devices are functioning properly. Existing law authorizes the district to require reasonable fees to be paid by the operator of that source to cover the expense of the inspection and other costs related thereto. A person who violates these requirements, or any rule, regulation, permit, or order of the state board or of a district adopted pursuant to these requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a specified fine or imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility that is located within 1,500 feet of a residential area and has an original design capacity of 425,000,000 gallons or more per day to develop, install, operate, and maintain a wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system approved by the appropriate air quality management district. The bill would require the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system to include equipment capable of measuring pollutants of concern, as provided, emitted into the atmosphere that the appropriate air quality management district deems appropriate for monitoring. The bill would provide that it does not alter the responsibility of an owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to not exceed limits for nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted into the atmosphere established in existing air quality regulations, as provided, and would require source testing for these pollutants to be conducted pursuant to a protocol approved by the appropriate air quality management district. This bill would require the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to collect real-time data from the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system, to maintain records of that data for at least 3 years, and to transmit that data to the appropriate air quality management district. The bill would require the air quality management district to maintain records of data from a wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system for at least 3 years. In addition, the bill would require, to the extent feasible, the data generated by these systems to be provided to the public in a publicly accessible format that provides a real-time data display. This bill also would require the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to be responsible for specified costs related to the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system, including all costs incurred by the air quality management district related to the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system and source testing at the wastewater treatment facility, and the costs associated with providing the required data to the air quality management district and the public. By adding to the duties of air districts and by expanding the scope of crimes, this bill would 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 specified reasons.

Signed into law Oct 10, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 644
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Hotel and private residence rental reservations: cancellation: refunds.

The Unfair Competition Law (UCL) makes various unfair competition practices unlawful, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice. Existing law regulates consumer refunds specific to certain industries under specified circumstances. This bill would require a hotel, third-party booking service, hosting platform, or short-term rental, as defined, to allow a reservation for a hotel accommodation or a short-term rental located in California to be canceled without penalty for at least 24 hours after the reservation is confirmed if the reservation is made 72 hours or more before the time of check-in. This bill would require, if a consumer cancels a reservation pursuant to that provision, the hotel, third-party booking service, hosting platform, or short-term rental to issue a refund to a consumer for all amounts paid to the hosting platform, hotel, third-party booking service, or short-term rental to the original form of payment within 30 days of the cancellation of the reservation. This bill would authorize certain public attorneys, including the Attorney General, to bring an enforcement action, as provided. The bill would require a court to impose a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation pursuant to consideration of specified factors. The bill would exempt certain types of reservations from its provisions, including a reservation made for a negotiated rate that was not advertised, or otherwise made available, for booking by the general public.

Signed into law Oct 10, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Primary SB 622
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Cannabis regulation: plant identification program: unique identifier.

(1) Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , approved by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, regulates the cultivation, distribution, transport, storage, manufacturing, testing, processing, sale, and use of marijuana for nonmedical purposes by people 21 years of age and older. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. Existing law requires the Department of Cannabis Control to implement a unique identification program for cannabis and cannabis products and requires the program to include the identification of permitted cannabis plants at a cultivation site during the cultivation period. Existing law requires a unique identifier to be issued for each cannabis plant and to be attached at the base of each plant or as otherwise required by law or regulation. This bill would instead require the unique identifier to be recorded in a manner as determined by the department by regulation. (2) AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions by a 23 vote of each house if the amendment furthers its purposes and intent. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of AUMA.

Signed into law Oct 8, 2023 0 co-sponsors
Primary SB 389
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
State Water Resources Control Board: investigation of water right.

Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board within the California Environmental Protection Agency. Existing law provides generally for the appropriation of water. Existing law authorizes the board to investigate bodies of water, to take testimony in regard to the rights to water or the use of water, and to ascertain whether or not water is appropriated lawfully, as provided. Under existing law, the diversion or use of water other than as authorized by specified provisions of law is a trespass, subject to specified civil liability. This bill would instead authorize the board to investigate and ascertain whether or not a water right is valid. The bill would authorize the board to issue an information order in furtherance of an investigation, as executed by the executive director of the board, as specified. The bill would authorize a diversion or use of water ascertained to be unauthorized to be enforced as a trespass, as specified.

Signed into law Oct 8, 2023 0 co-sponsors
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