Photo of Ricardo Lara
D California Senate · District 33

Sen. Ricardo Lara

Compare
Total votes
22,880
all sessions
Attendance
94%
756 missed
Among the lowest in the chamber
With party
99%
of cast votes
Higher than 96% of chamber peers
Bipartisan score
0%
crosses aisle rarely
Among the lowest in the chamber
Sponsored
603
bills & resolutions
Lower than 87% of chamber peers
Committees
0
assignments
603 bills and resolutions

Sponsored bills

Total
603
Primary
214
Co-sponsor
389
This page
603
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Co-sponsor AB 2561
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Personal agriculture: restrictions.

(1) Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies, and prohibits a landlord from interfering with a tenant's quiet enjoyment of the premises. This bill would require a landlord to permit a tenant to participate in personal agriculture in portable containers approved by the landlord in the tenant's private area, as defined, if certain conditions are met. (2) Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, defines and regulates common interest developments and authorizes the board of directors of the association that manages the development to adopt and amend the operating rules for the development. This bill would make void any provision of a governing document of a common interest development that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the use of a homeowner's backyard for personal agriculture.

Signed into law Sep 26, 2014 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 496
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Medicine: continuing medical education: sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. Under the act, a physician and surgeon is required to demonstrate satisfaction of continuing education requirements. Existing law requires all continuing medical education courses on or after July 1, 2006, to contain curriculum that includes cultural and linguistic competency, as defined, in the practice of medicine. Existing law requires accrediting associations to develop standards for compliance with the cultural competency requirement before July 1, 2006, and authorizes the development of these standards in conjunction with an advisory group that has expertise in cultural and linguistic competency issues, as specified. This bill would authorize the accrediting associations to update these compliance standards, as needed, in conjunction with the advisory group described above. Existing law, for purposes of these provisions, defines cultural competency as a set of integrated attitudes, knowledge, and skills that enables a health care professional or organization to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities. Existing law recommends that this definition, at a minimum, include, among other things, understanding and applying cultural and ethnic data to the process of clinical care. This bill would expand this recommendation to include, as appropriate, information pertinent to the appropriate treatment of, and provision of care to, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities.

Signed into law Sep 26, 2014 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 1439
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Unfair business practices: contests and sweepstakes.

Existing law generally regulates false advertising and specifically prohibits certain unfair acts or practices undertaken by, or omissions of, a person in the operation of a contest, including misrepresenting the odds of winning a prize or failing to award and distribute all prizes. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. This bill would apply the prohibition described above to unfair acts or practices undertaken by, or omissions of, a person in the operation of a sweepstakes, as defined. The bill would prohibit using or offering to use any method intended to be used by a person interacting with an electronic video monitor to simulate gambling or play gambling-themed games in a business establishment, as defined, that directly or indirectly implements the predetermination of sweepstakes cash, cash-equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value, or otherwise connects a sweepstakes player or participant with sweepstakes cash, cash-equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also except from this prohibition game promotions and sweepstakes conducted on a limited basis as an advertising and marketing tool incidental to substantial bona fide sales of consumer products or services, as specified. 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 Sep 26, 2014 1 co-sponsor
Primary SB 1204
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, commonly known as cap and trade revenues, to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes. This bill would create the California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program, to be funded from cap and trade revenues, to fund zero- and near-zero emission truck, bus, and off-road vehicle and equipment technologies and related projects, as specified, with priority to be given to certain projects, including projects that benefit disadvantaged communities. The program would be administered by the state board, in conjunction with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with the commission, to create an annual framework and plan, and to develop guidance through the existing Air Quality Improvement Program funding plan process for implementation of the program.

Signed into law Sep 21, 2014 0 co-sponsors
Primary SB 605
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Short-lived climate pollutants.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This bill would require the state board to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, as defined, in the state.

Signed into law Sep 21, 2014 0 co-sponsors
Primary SB 1273
Signed into law · California Senate · Lead sponsor
Insurance: low-cost automobile insurance program.

(1) Existing law establishes within the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) a low-cost automobile insurance program for all counties in California, until January 1, 2016, in order to provide a means for eligible consumers to buy automobile insurance, as specified. The parameters of the program, include, but are not limited to, value limits for the insured vehicle, initial ratesetting for certain counties, a surcharge for specified high-risk drivers, eligibility, sales commissions set at the rate CAARP pays for private passenger nonfleet risks, cancellation restrictions, rate and surcharge setting restrictions, and reporting requirements. Existing law limits the premium financing arrangements under the program to those offered by CAARP and one under which the insured pays no more than 15% of the policy cost initially followed by 6 payments. This bill would revise and recast the parameters of the program by, among other things, deleting provisions that limit the initial implementation of the program to specified counties and that require the Insurance Commissioner to make a need-based assessment as to implementation in all other counties, by increasing the limits on the value of an automobile that can be insured through the program, and by additionally authorizing the value of an automobile to be determined by a method adopted by the CAARP Advisory Committee and approved by the commissioner. The bill would extend the repeal date of the program to January 1, 2020. The bill would also expand the surcharge and eligibility requirements to include drivers with fewer than 3 years of driving history, including a person who operates a motor vehicle with a specified type of driver's license, or drivers who have not been continually licensed for the past 3 years. The bill would require, after the January 1, 2017, rate filing, that subsequent rate filings be mandatory if the rate indication is a change of greater than 7% from the previous filing, or at the discretion of the CAARP Advisory Committee if the rate indication is a change of less than 7%. The bill would allow additional premium payment plans, subject to approval by the commissioner, including one under which the insured pays no more than 20% of the policy cost initially followed by 7 payments. (2) Existing law requires an agent or broker, referred to as a producer, to inform every new prospective automobile insurance policyholder who requests specified information that the low-cost automobile insurance policy may be available for qualifying motorists. Under existing law, if a consumer requests more information about the program from a producer who is not certified under the plan, that producer is required to provide the consumer with a toll-free telephone number for the plan as an alternative coverage option for the consumer. This bill would allow those producers who are not certified to alternatively provide the consumer with the program's Internet Web site. (3) Under existing law, a certified producer who issues a low-cost automobile insurance policy pursuant to the program is entitled to the same commission rate as is paid by the plan for private passenger, nonfleet risks. This bill would instead, upon the setting of policy rates in 2015 as provided, entitle those certified producers to a commission of 12% or $50, whichever is greater. The bill would require, by January 1, 2016, the CAARP Advisory Committee to report to the commissioner on a proposal, subject to approval by the commissioner, to allow a consumer to reinstate, in lieu of canceling, all policies that have been canceled for nonpayment of premium, and on a proposal, subject to approval by the commissioner, to allow consumers to keep policies in force by making installment payments by debit card or credit card. The bill would also require, by July 1, 2016, the CAARP Advisory Committee to report to the commissioner on a proposal, subject to approval by the commissioner, to allow access to the program for applicants 16 to 18 years of age who are economically independent and meet other eligibility guidelines, and for families who have an adult driver covered under the program and a driver 16 to 18 years of age in the household. (4) Existing law requires the plan to report to the Legislature annually on the status of the program, and requires the commissioner to make an annual report to specified committees of the Legislature. This bill would instead require the plan to make the former report to the commissioner and to include specified data in that report, and would require the commissioner to combine the 2 reports and submit the combined report to the Legislature on or before March 15 annually. (5) Existing law requires, in order to be eligible for funding through the budget process, that the plan be reviewed by specified committees of the Legislature. This bill would delete that provision. (6) Existing law requires the plan, subject to the commissioner's approval, to establish and maintain an Internet Web site that provides members of the public with an option for either a referral to a list of certified agents or brokers, as specified, or an assignment to a randomly selected certified agent or broker, as specified. This bill would delete the above provisions and instead require the Department of Insurance, by December 31, 2015, in consultation with the CAARP Advisory Committee, to establish a consumer-oriented Internet Web site that fulfills specified requirements, and would require by December 31, 2015, the CAARP Advisory Committee to develop a proposal, subject to approval by the commissioner, for interested consumers to apply for the program without physically visiting the office of a producer, as provided. (7) This bill would make conforming changes.

Signed into law Sep 19, 2014 0 co-sponsors
Co-sponsor SB 1116
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Physicians and surgeons.

Under existing law, the Medical Board of California licenses and regulates physicians and surgeons and imposes various fees on those licensees. Under existing law, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California licenses and regulates osteopathic physicians and surgeons and imposes various fees on those licensees. Existing law establishes the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians within the Health Professions Education Fund that is managed by the Health Professions Education Foundation and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Under existing law, the primary purpose of the account is to fund the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program, that provides for the repayment of educational loans, as specified, obtained by a physician and surgeon who practices in a medically underserved area of the state, as defined. Under existing law, funds placed in the account for those purposes are continuously appropriated for the repayment of loans and may be used for any other authorized purpose. Physicians and surgeons and osteopathic physicians and surgeons are eligible for the loan repayment program and the board assesses an additional $25 license fee for purposes of the loan repayment program. This bill would require each of those boards, on or before July 1, 2015, to develop a mechanism for a physician and surgeon or an osteopathic physician and surgeon, respectively, to pay a voluntary contribution, at the time of application for initial licensure or biennial renewal, for those purposes.

Signed into law Sep 18, 2014 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 1915
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Pupil instruction: social sciences: Armenian Genocide.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including social sciences. Existing law requires the instruction in social studies to provide instruction in, among other things, human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust. This bill would enact the Armenian Genocide Education Act, and would provide that the instruction in human rights issues may also include particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of the Armenian Genocide. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to incorporate materials relating to civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science and other requirements. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness testimony into the teaching of human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. This bill would encourage the department to incorporate materials relating to the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science. The bill would require the commission to consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides in the recommended history-social science curriculum framework when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law. The bill would also specify that the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony, as defined, into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 51226.3 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 1380, to be operative only if SB 1380 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last.

Signed into law Sep 18, 2014 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 1951
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Vital records: birth certificates.

Existing law prescribes the duties of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and local registrars of births and deaths with respect to the registration of a live birth. Under existing law, a certificate of live birth is required to contain, among other things, the full name, birthplace, and date of birth of both the father and mother of a child, except as provided. Existing law provides for the Vital Statistics Advisory Committee, which, among other things, is required to review and make recommendations to the State Registrar as to proposals for addition or deletion of items on the certificate of live birth and advise the State Registrar on the content and format of the certificate. Existing law requires the State Registrar to publish within 30 days of receipt of recommendations by the committee, both a list of the recommendations adopted and a list of the recommendations not adopted, with reasons for the action. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2016, instead require the State Registrar, with regard to identification of the parents, to modify the certificate of live birth to contain 2 lines that both read "Name of Parent" and contain, next to each parent's name, 3 checkboxes with the options of mother, father, and parent to describe the parent's relationship to the child. The bill would also require that all local registrars, deputy registrars, and subregistrars use the modified certificate of live birth, update all forms to incorporate the modification, and discard all forms in use before the modification. The bill would, for a birth occurring prior to January 1, 2016, authorize a parent to amend specified parental titles on the certificate of live birth to the parent relationship designation described above. The bill would require, if the birth mother is listed on the certificate of live birth, the birth mother's name, date of birth, and place of birth to be linked to her medical and social information, and would require that the linkage be confidential, as specified. The bill would make technical and conforming changes.

Signed into law Sep 15, 2014 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 396
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Public services.

Proposition 187, which was approved by the voters at the November 8, 1994, statewide general election, made illegal aliens ineligible for specified public social services, public health care services, and public school education at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Among other things, the proposition also required various state and local agencies to report suspected illegal aliens, as specified, and required the Attorney General to perform certain tasks in connection with transmitting and retaining those reports. These provisions of Proposition 187 were rendered unenforceable after a federal court found them to be preempted by the United States Constitution and other federal law. This bill would repeal the unenforceable provisions of Proposition 187, as described above.

Signed into law Sep 15, 2014 1 co-sponsor
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