Newsom Signs All Nine of Senator Stern's Bills, Creating Nation's First Fire Innovation Unit
Sacramento is a city in Sacramento County, California. California Governor Gavin Newsom on October 8 signed all nine bills authored by state Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) that reached his desk this year — the first time every bill the senator sent to the governor has been signed into law. The signing took place in Sacramento, capping a legislative package spanning wildfire protection, school cooling, utility accountability and mental-health care.
The centerpiece, SB 1079, creates the nation's first Fire Innovation Unit within CAL FIRE to research, test and more quickly deploy new technology to prevent and fight wildfires. SB 1107 streamlines bulk contracting so schools can build shade structures faster, building on a $14 million state investment transforming twelve San Fernando Valley schoolyards and aligning with LAUSD's planned $40 million shade program.
Other measures include SB 1128, which lets parents decline school-issued take-home devices for kindergartners and starts a state review of screen-time risks; SB 1158, requiring energy planners to weigh transmission and permitting challenges in reliability assessments; and SB 1359, the Natural Gas Ratepayer Protection Act, aimed at saving ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars by avoiding duplicative gas infrastructure.
The package also includes SB 1370, which streamlines permits for wildfire prevention projects; SB 1423, which helps state and local planning agencies share land-use data and information about flood and fire risks; SB 1387, which adds an optional 'Jewish' box to state demographic forms; and SB 1401, which seeks to ensure people too mentally ill to stand trial for felonies receive psychiatric care rather than being released from jail without treatment. 'These laws address concerns I hear from Californians every day — protecting their homes, supporting their children and making government more responsive to their needs,' Stern said. He represents Senate District 27, spanning from Los Angeles to Ventura County.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, 作者 Frank Schulenburg
