As we emerge from the pandemic and reopen our doors, I want to invite you to my first in-person Town Hall since 2019. This will be an outdoor event. I look forward to coming together with you to share my legislative priorities, describe the new laws that have gone into effect and hear your input on California’s future. As Chair of the California State Assembly Budget Committee, I also want to share how the Legislature and Governor are planning to spend the over $20 billion surplus. To read about the COVID-19 protocols for this event or to RSVP, click here.

San Francisco – Jaywalking is arbitrarily enforced throughout California with tickets disproportionately given to people of color and individuals of modest means. In a continued effort to seek fairness and prevent potentially escalating police stops for jaywalking, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) reintroduced a proposal to change the way pedestrians can be cited for crossing a street outside of an intersection. AB 2147, The Freedom To Walk Act, would decriminalize jaywalking when the roadway is safe to cross.

 “Whether it’s someone’s life or the hundreds of dollars in fines, the cost is too much for a relatively minor infraction. It’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians, especially when we are trying to encourage people to get out of their cars and walk more for health and environmental reasons,” said Ting at a San Francisco press conference.

The California State Library, in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA), is pleased to announce the availability of $10 million in grant funding for ethnic media outlets and organizations, especially those that serve communities that are historically vulnerable to hate incidents and hate crimes because of their ethnic, racial, religious, gender/gender expression, sexual orientation, or other identities.

SAN FRANCISCO – To help address the increased number of hate crimes and incidents targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) introduced AB 1947, which would require all California law enforcement agencies to adopt an updated hate crimes policy. The protocols should include how authorities recognize, report and respond to hate crimes, bringing consistency to responses victims receive and the information being collected.

“Unbelievably, California does not require law enforcement agencies to have a hate crimes policy. As we see the AAPI community facing a major surge in violence and harassment solely based on their race, we must have consistent enforcement of hate crime laws and accurate data collection,” said Ting who also championed a $166 million budget package last year to help stop AAPI hate.

Building upon California’s efforts to scale down the presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D- San Francisco) today introduced AB 1817/The Safer Clothes and Textiles Act, banning the use of these harmful chemicals in fabrics. Clothing, footwear, bedding, drapes and upholstery are some of the common everyday products treated with PFAS to repel water and stains.

“California has already enacted a series of laws to protect consumers and the environment from the hazardous impacts of PFAS, including a bill I successfully championed just last year prohibiting its use in paper-based food packaging. These efforts center on the premise that prevention is the best cure, and my bill would extend this same logic to the textile industry to reduce the harm these substances can cause,” said Ting. “There are safer alternatives manufacturers can use.”