Hello Neighbor,

At the conclusion of this year’s legislative cycle, I am happy to report that the Legislative Bill Package for Senate District 14 heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

This year, I carried an aggressive legislative agenda to increase senior housing production, statewide water planning and local school accountability for dollars earmarked for disadvantaged students. Additionally, my office worked hard to convince legislators and the Governor’s office to allocate resources to meet the needs created by two disasters: the closure of Madera Community Hospital and flooding in Planada in Merced County.

I am proud of my team’s hard work and dedication. Together, we successfully crafted thoughtful solutions to issues families in the district and across California face. I am committed to working to represent residents and to ensure that our region has what it needs to thrive.

You can learn more about my bill package and other district updates in this newsletter.

In Service,

Senator Anna Caballero
State Senator, 14^th Senate District

 

 

 

2023 – 2024 Bill Package:

SB/AB 112 Financially Distressed Hospital Emergency Loan Program: Creates an emergency loan program for at-risk hospitals seeking to re-open or those at risk of closure.

SB 17 Senior Housing Production: Requires the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) to revise the regulations for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) to increase the housing goal to 20% for senior housing.

SB 306 Extreme Heat: Establishes reporting guardrails on the newly funded Direct Install Program at the California Energy Commission and codifies California’s Extreme Heat Action Plan of 2022 to ensure regions, which experience extreme heat can get grants to modify their houses to be more energy efficient and to ensure state strategies are updated and made publicly available.

SB 565 CalEITC Filing Enhancement: Improves the CalFile system for low or no income filers to expand access to tax credits like CalEITC and the Young Child Tax Credit.

SB 599 Safe and Secure Visitation: Authorizes Superior Court locations to serve as supervised visitation and exchange locations for custodial visits, as well as clarifies in statute that virtual visitation is appropriate when a restraining order has been issued due to allegations of domestic violence. 

SB 609 Supplemental and Concentration Funds Accessibility: Requires School Districts, County Offices of Education (COEs) and charter schools to post the current school year's approved Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) on the performance overview portion of the California School Dashboard (Dashboard). This ensures the public can access information on how the schools are utilizing special funds awarded to assist at-risk youth.

SB 621 Reducing Prescription Drug Prices for California Patients Act: Increases patient access to certain lower-cost medications in order to reduce healthcare premiums and provide safe and effective treatment options.

SB 657 Geriatric Training for Homeless Service Providers: Requires specialized gerontological (age-related) training for homeless service providers to better prepare them to assist older adults experiencing homelessness.

SB 684 Infill-Level Homeownership Production: Expedites the permitting process to assist in the construction of small homeownership development projects.

SB 699 Non-Compete Agreements: Allows the award of attorney fees and damages to employees who are required to sign an employee contract in violation of California’s long-standing policy against “non-compete” clauses, when the employer threatens to enforce the clause.

SB 149 CEQA Judicial Streamlining: Ensures that energy, transportation, water and semiconductor projects are eligible for expedited judicial review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which will save the projects time and money.

SB 706 Progressive Design-Build: Will allow counties, cities, and special districts to use the Progressive Design-Build (PDB) procurement and delivery method to build infrastructure projects, to expedite construction and reduce costs.

SB 747 Surplus Land Act Reform: Makes numerous improvements to the Surplus Land Act (SLA) giving cities, counties, and special districts clarity on the scope and application of the law to avoid delays and uncertainty for local agencies advancing important public policy priorities.  

SB 753 Cannabis Water Theft Penalties: Expands the existing felony of intentionally or with gross negligence causing substantial environmental harm to surface or ground water to those who plant, cultivate, harvests, dry, or processes more than six living cannabis plants without the legally required permits.

SB 800 Advanced Air Mobility, Zero-Emission, and Electrification Aviation Advisory Panel: Creates the Advanced Air Mobility and Aviation Electrification Advisory Panel, to assess the feasibility and readiness of existing infrastructure for air mobility and the development of a three-year prioritized work plan, with pathways for promoting equity and access to advanced air mobility infrastructure.

SB 831 The California Permanent Residency Program: Authorizes the Governor to work with the federal government to establish a program to allow undocumented agricultural workers in California to work legally in the state.

 

 

Our Capitol Team was caffeinated and ready to handle the last day of session!

 

 

Senate Bill 14, jointly authored by Senators Grove, Rubio and I was signed into law by Governor Newsom. This bill adds the sex trafficking of a minor to the list of felony crimes that are defined as serious, making it a strike offense, under California’s Three Strikes law. With the high rate of child sex trafficking that occurs in California, this is an important safety measure that will help protect an extremely vulnerable population in our state.

 

 

Congratulations, Jose!

Every year, I have the honor of selecting a recipient for the Senate District 14, California Latino Legislative Caucus Scholarship award of $5,000. This year, Jose Eduardo Rodriguez Vargas of Madera received the award. Eduardo, a graduate of Matilda Torres High School, was an active member of the Madera Leo Club, Class Council Secretary and a member of his school’s Speech and Debate team.

While working as a field laborer, Eduardo maintained a 4.33 GPA and will attend UC San Diego this fall as a structural engineering student.

Jose is an example of the best and brightest that the Central Valley has to offer. Through diligent work, he has overcome self-doubt and with the encouragement of family, has accomplished his educational goals. I am proud of Jose, and hope that this scholarship award will help him to continue his education.

 

 

I joined my colleagues this year to champion a budget allocation of $7 million for the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s Peace and Justice Cultural Center in Bakersfield. This center will be a hub to train, educate, activate and empower civic leaders throughout the Central Valley.

Read more here.

 

 

We joined California State Treasurer, Fiona Ma to tour Fresno Housing Authority facilities. The state has made sizeable investments in the Housing is Key Program. The Monarch in Chinatown and the Bridges at Florence both mixed income housing were also part of the tour.

 

 

I had an opportunity to visit with City Council members from the cities of Selma and Parlier to discuss city needs and priorities.

 

 

Team Caballero had a great time in the city of Kerman to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and to welcome the city’s new Chief of Police, Steve Wilkins. Chief Wilkins most recently served as Undersheriff for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office after 32 years in Fresno County law enforcement. Welcome to Kerman, Chief!

 

 

Gerardo Portillo, Anthony Trinidad, Jonathan Alfaro and Jimmy Fuentes proudly represented Mendota and California, at the 2023 National Engineering Design Competition in New Mexico for creating an app called “FentaKNOW.” The app connects members of the community to resources and information to combat the fentanyl crisis and provides much needed information in English and Spanish. The team earned first place and beat 25,000 other students!

It was an honor to have them join me today at the State Capitol to personally congratulate them on a job well done, and to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment together.

Click here to view the floor presentation.

 

 

The Mexican Consul, Adriana Gonzalez Carrillo, was presented with a Senate resolution in honor of 216years of Mexican Independence and 200 years of diplomacy between Mexico and the United States.

 

 

I had the pleasure of presenting Habitat for Humanity Greater Fresno Area with a check for $240,000 from the State of California for their housing project in the city of Firebaugh.

I also had the opportunity to present Firebaugh’s City Manager, Ben Gallegos with a Senate Resolution in honor of being named the 2023 Affordable Housing Champion honoree by Habitat for Humanity, Greater Fresno Area. Ben has been a great partner and has advocated to bring funds for many new projects throughout the city. This recognition is well-deserved!

 

 

Opening Day at the Madera County Fair!

 

 

Happy 100th Birthday, Chowchilla!

Fun Fact: The palm trees along Robertson Boulevard were planted in 1913 and have stood tall for many years. #TakeMeBackInTime

 

 

Staff attended the 2023 Community Partners Jamboree at UC Merced where they had an opportunity to speak with nearly 200 college students.

 

 

Meet and Greet with the League of Women Voters, Merced County.

 

 

Staff attended the Merced Breastfeeding Network’s Breastfeeding Graduation and Family Resource Fair. Mothers received recognition for their successes and determination to breastfeed.

 

 

The Dole Sunshine for All Cities Program launched at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Planada. The Good Stuff Kiosks pilot program is a system of freestanding refrigerated food kiosks operated in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club to provide access to healthy food options at a reasonable cost to families.

Access to fresh fruits, vegetables and health education is important to me, and I am excited to see how this program will benefit children and families. Thank you, Dole Sunshine!

Click here for healthy recipes and more information on kiosks.

 

 

Community Development Corporation and Regional Women’s Business Center Ribbon Cutting and Open House for new offices in Salinas, California.

 

 

Grand opening of the first inclusive park in South Monterey County!

Orchard Lane Park in Soledad, funded by Prop 68 dollars from the State of California includes a dog park, skate park, inclusive playground, restrooms, nature walk, a butterfly garden, lawn and event space, picnicking and accessible park pathways.

 

 

In partnership with the Panda Cares Foundation and the Monterey County Boys and Girls Club, staff celebrated the completion of the Learning Center and the renaming of the space to, “Center of Hope.”

Additionally, the Panda Cares Foundation provided the Boys and Girls Club with a check for $10,000!

 

 

Braceros: "manual laborer" or "one who works using his arms."

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution declaring the week of September 16, Bracero Workers History Recognition Week. They also remembered the 60th Anniversary of the Chualar Bracero Tragedy of 1963.

What an honor to be joined by original members of the Bracero Program along with their families to share and learn more about this chapter in labor history.

Read more here.

In 2009, I introduced AJR 2, a resolution to urge the Mexican government to extend the deadline for braceros to submit a claim to recover unpaid wages from a settlement fund, established because the Braceros never received money owed to them for working as Braceros.

You can watch here.

In 2010, I also introduced ACR 113- Bracero Memorial Highway which designates the portion of US 101 from milepost 312 to exit 317, south of Chualar, in Monterey County, as the “Bracero Memorial Highway.”

You can watch here.
 

 

Staff joined the Chalon Indian Nation for a land acknowledgement and dedication ceremony of the new entrance sign at Pinnacles National Park in San Benito County. This is the first-of-its-kind ceremony for a national park and made possible through the leadership of the Chalon Indian Nation and Superintendent of Pinnacles National Park, Blanca Alvarez Stransky.