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D California Senate · District 29

Sen. Josh Newman

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Total votes
11,475
all sessions
Attendance
96%
413 missed
Lower than 97% of chamber peers
With party
99%
of cast votes
Bipartisan score
0%
crosses aisle rarely
Sponsored
448
bills & resolutions
Near the chamber average
Committees
0
assignments
448 bills and resolutions

Sponsored bills

Total
448
Primary
134
Co-sponsor
314
This page
448
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Primary SB 444
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Community colleges: Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement (MESA) programs.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. This bill would encourage community college districts to establish and implement Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement (MESA) programs at community colleges that are directed at identifying students affected by social, economic, and educational disadvantages, increasing the number of eligible students served under MESA programs, and increasing student success in transferring and completing baccalaureate degree programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors at four-year higher education institutions, as specified. The bill would require the Board of Governors to adopt regulations for the operation of MESA programs at community colleges that align with the programmatic components of MESA programs. The bill would require the operation of MESA programs and the regulations adopted by the Board of Governors to accomplish certain goals.

Signed into law Oct 13, 2023 0 co-sponsors
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 322
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Veteran and California National Guard Supplemental Orientation Act of 2023.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. This bill, commencing no later than the 2025–26 academic year, would require each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges, and would request each campus of the University of California, to include within first-year student and transfer student orientations the location and contact information of the campus point of contact for students who are veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States and members of the California State Guard and the California National Guard, and their dependents, make available in hard copy form at the location of the campus point of contact a document that includes information on polices, resources, and services for these students and their dependents, as specified, and post the document, along with other information available to these students and their dependents, on the campus's internet website. By imposing new duties on community college districts, 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, 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 13, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 34
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Surplus land disposal: violations: County of Orange.

Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of land determined to be surplus land by a local agency. Those requirements include a requirement that a local agency, prior to disposing of a property or participating in negotiations to dispose of that property with a prospective transferee, send a written notice of availability of the property to specified entities, depending on the property's intended use, and send specified information in regard to the disposal of the parcel of surplus land to the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law, among other enforcement provisions, makes a local agency that disposes of land in violation of these disposal provisions, after receiving notification of violation from the department, liable for a penalty of 30% of the final sale price of the land sold in violation for a first violation and 50% for any subsequent violation. Under existing law, except as specified, a local agency has 60 days to cure or correct an alleged violation before an enforcement action may be brought. Existing law provides for the deposit and use of penalty revenues for housing, as prescribed. This bill, until January 1, 2030, would require the County of Orange, or any city located within the County of Orange, if notified by the department that its planned disposal of surplus land is in violation of existing law, to cure or correct the alleged violation within 60 days, as prescribed. The bill would prohibit a County of Orange jurisdiction that has not cured or corrected any alleged violation from disposing of the parcel until the department determines that it has complied with existing law or deems the alleged violation not to be a violation. The bill would authorize a local agency that receives that notice to provide to the Department of Housing and Community Development a statement describing the actions taken to cure or correct the alleged violation within 60 days of receipt of the notice, and would require the department, if it receives that statement, to make specified determinations and notify the local agency of those determinations within 30 days of receipt of the statement. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Orange. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the 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, 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 11, 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
Co-sponsor AB 988
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act: veteran and military data reporting.

Existing federal law, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, designates the 3-digit telephone number "988" as the universal number within the United States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, maintained by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and the Veterans Crisis Line, which is maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Existing law creates a separate surcharge, beginning January 1, 2023, on each access line for each month, or part thereof, for which a service user subscribes with a service supplier. Existing law sets the 988 surcharge for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years at $0.08 per access line per month and beginning January 1, 2025, at an amount based on a specified formula not to exceed $0.30 per access line per month. Existing law authorizes the 911 and 988 surcharges to be combined into a single-line item, as described. Existing law provides for specified costs to be paid by the fees prior to distribution to the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law, the Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act, creates the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund and requires the fees to be deposited along with other specified moneys into the fund. Existing law provides that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the funds be used for specified purposes and in accordance with specified priorities. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to require an entity seeking moneys available through the fund to annually file an expenditure and outcomes report containing specified information, including, among other things, the number of individuals served and the outcomes for individuals served, if known. This bill would require an entity seeking moneys from the fund to also include the number of individuals who used the service and self-identified as veterans or active military personnel in its annual expenditure and outcomes report.

Signed into law Oct 8, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 641
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Automobile dismantlers: catalytic converters.

Existing law defines an "automobile dismantler" as a person who is engaged in the business of buying, selling, or dealing in vehicles that are required to be registered under the Vehicle Code, for the purpose of dismantling the vehicles, who buys or sells the integral parts and component materials of those vehicles, or deals in used motor vehicle parts, as specified. The definition of "automobile dismantler" also includes a person who keeps or maintains on property owned by the person, or under their possession or control, 2 or more unregistered motor vehicles no longer intended for, or in condition for, legal use on the highways, as specified. Existing law makes it a crime for a person to act as an automobile dismantler without having an established place of business, meeting specified requirements, and having a current, valid license or temporary permit issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. This bill would revise the definition of an automobile dismantler to include a person who keeps or maintains on property owned by the person, or under their possession or control, for any of the above-described purposes 9 or more used catalytic converters that have been cut from a motor vehicle using a sharp implement. The bill would make a first violation of acting as an automobile dismantler due to possessing 9 or more catalytic converters as described above punishable as an infraction, and subsequent violations punishable as a misdemeanor, as specified. By expanding the definition of an automobile dismantler, the bill would expand the scope of an existing crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would exclude from the revised definition of an automobile dismantler a junk dealer, recycler, commercial enterprise, or core recycler, as specified, that has 9 or more of these used catalytic converters. Existing law excludes from the definition of an "automobile dismantler" the owner or operator of any premises on which 2 or more unregistered and inoperable vehicles are held or stored, if the vehicles are used for restoration or replacement parts or otherwise, in conjunction with specified businesses, including the operation and maintenance of any fleet of motor vehicles used for the transportation of persons or property. This bill would also exclude from the definition of an "automobile dismantler" a person who possesses 9 or more catalytic converters that are used in the same manner as the unregistered and inoperable vehicles. 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.

Signed into law Oct 8, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 1185
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

Existing law establishes the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program under the administration of the Director of Emergency Services to provide grant funding to improve the physical security of nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of violent attacks or hate crimes due to ideology, beliefs, or mission. Existing law authorizes applicants to use grant funds for prescribed security enhancements, including security training. Existing law makes the operation of the program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act. This bill would require the grant program to provide the grants to nonprofit organizations and would authorize the grant program to provide grants to an applicant that provides support to the above-described at-risk nonprofit organizations for vulnerability assessments, security trainings, mass notification alert systems, monitoring and response systems, and lifesaving emergency equipment. The bill would prohibit the director from taking into account during the evaluation of an application the applicant's prior history with or receipt of grant funding to improve its physical security. The bill would require the director, when evaluating applications, to consider whether an applicant is more likely to be a target of hate-motivated violence. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to provide ongoing technical assistance for nonprofit organizations that require a vulnerability assessment for a state application to the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program or a threat assessment for a federal application to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program of the United States Department of Homeland Security. This bill would require that the above-described technical assistance include a resource page on the office's internet website, as specified, and continuous outreach to stakeholders on available resources for vulnerability assessments outside the established grant cycle.

Signed into law Oct 8, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 701
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Controlled substances: fentanyl.

Existing law classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. Existing law classifies the drug fentanyl in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also imposes an additional term, and authorizes a trial court to impose a specified fine, upon a person who is convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, specified provisions of law with respect to a substance containing heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, if the substance exceeds a specified weight. This bill would add fentanyl to the substances for which additional terms or fines can be imposed and would require a defendant who violates those laws with respect to a substance containing heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine, as specified, to know of the substance's nature or character as a controlled substance to be subjected to an additional term and authorized fine. By increasing the penalty for, and by changing the definition of, a crime, the 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 a specified reason.

Signed into law Oct 8, 2023 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 840
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Tied-house exceptions: advertising.

Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses. Existing law, known as tied-house restrictions, generally prohibits specified licensees, or their officers, directors, or agents, from giving or lending money or a thing of value to a person operating, owning, or maintaining any on-sale premises where alcoholic beverages are sold. In this regard, existing law specifically prohibits paying a retailer for advertising. Existing law creates a variety of exceptions to this prohibition, including permitting specified licensees to purchase advertising space and time from, or on behalf of, an on-sale retail licensee that is an owner, manager, agent or major tenant of the owner, or assignee of the owner's advertising rights of certain venues, subject to specified conditions. Existing law requires the purchase of advertising space or time, in this context, to be conducted pursuant to a written contract and, in certain instances, specifically authorizes a contract to be made with the owner, a long-term tenant of the complex, or a licensee of the complex, whether or not the owner, long-term tenant, or licensee holds an on-sale license. In this context, existing law makes certain acts of coercion crimes, including when an on-sale licensee coerces other specified licensees to purchase advertising space or time. This bill would expand the above-described exception to tied-house restrictions that allows for the purchase of advertising by applying it to various facilities that are situated on California State University campuses located in the Counties of San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Sacramento, Monterey, Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles, and on the campus of St. Mary's College of California located in the County of Contra Costa. The bill would additionally expand the exception applicable to a motorsports entertainment complex located in the County of San Bernardino, by reducing the minimum fixed seating capacity from 50,000 to 25,000. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for California State University campuses located in the Counties of San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Sacramento, Monterey, Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles, the campus of St. Mary's College of California located in the County of Contra Costa, and certain facilities located in the County of San Bernardino. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 25503.6 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 392 to be operative only if this bill and SB 392 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.

Signed into law Oct 7, 2023 1 co-sponsor
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