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Ting Calls New State Budget 'Our Best Yet'

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, released the following statement after Governor Newsom signed the 2019-2020 budget for California. Ting’s statement is as follows:

Ting Calls New State Budget 'Our Best Yet'

California’s latest budget is an incredible and historic spending plan that invests in our long-held priorities and restores cuts made during the Great Recession, while still maintaining healthy reserves to protect programs through the next economic downturn. I commend Governor Newsom for setting the expectation that bold actions are necessary to build a stronger state. The Legislature shares that same progressive vision, which includes strengthening social infrastructure to lift families from homelessness and poverty; opening the door to more educational opportunities from pre-school to college; and closing the gap on universal health care. This is our best state budget yet.

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Newsom Doubled Down on a Tax Credit for the Working Poor. Why Does He Think It Will Work?

Publication: CalMatters

When Berenice Solis of Bakersfield received a direct deposit of $6,775 from the government this past March, her mind raced.

She could finally take her three daughters, ages 4, 6 and 9, on a trip to Disneyland. Then she thought about her goal of buying a house. Or upgrading her car, which is starting to feel cramped as her girls grow.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” said Solis, 40, a part-time teacher’s aide in Bakersfield. Her husband, Jose, is an elementary school teacher. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is the money we’re going to get!’ We can do so much.”

The money came from the Earned Income Tax Credit, one of the country’s principal tools to boost the incomes of low-wage workers who are struggling to make ends meet. 

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“There are so many folks really living on the edge in California today,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat who championed expansion of the credit,  after lawmakers voted to pass the governor’s expansion last week. “Having a few hundred more dollars or even a few thousand more dollars makes a huge difference to their everyday lives.”

Ting's Landmark Police Transparency Law Requiring the Release of Body Camera Footage Begins July 1

(Sacramento, CA) – Effective July 1, 2019, California law enforcement must release body camera footage within 45 days of a critical incident, as required under AB 748 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), signed into law by Governor Brown last year. The new mandate aims to increase police transparency by making the recordings available to the public. 

“Public access to body camera footage is necessary to boost confidence and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” said Ting. “This law sets clear expectations for agencies - they can no longer withhold body camera video or audio from us.”

Ting's Landmark Police Transparency Law Requiring the Release of Body Camera Footage Begins July 1

Prior to the passage of AB 748, California had no consistent policy regarding the release of body camera recordings. In April of 2018, the Los Angeles Police Commission adopted a policy similar to the new state law. But other departments commonly cite “pending investigation” as a reason to deny requests for footage under the Public Records Act. Such secrecy fosters mistrust after a critical incident, which AB 748 defined as the discharge of a firearm or use-of-force that causes death or great bodily harm.

Footage from body-worn cameras can help shed light and provide clarity when there is confusion in the community after tragic events. The footage can even help clear law enforcement of any perceived wrongdoing. If releasing body camera recordings interferes with an investigation, AB 748 also allows for subsequent 30-day extensions.

DMV to Close Offices Statewide for Half-Day on July 24

DMV to Close Offices Statewide for Half-Day on July 24Sacramento – The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will close its offices statewide for a half day on July 24, 2019, to better prepare employees to process REAL ID transactions and reinforce training on providing excellent customer service.

Operation Excellence: DMV Training will result in more consistent customer experiences statewide and equip employees with the tools they need to handle an unprecedented volume of REAL ID applications, which are more complex and take more time to process.

The training will take place at 183 DMV field offices, Commercial Drive Test Centers and Industry Business Centers throughout the state. More than 5,000 employees will receive the training at their home offices, which will open for business at 1 p.m.

“Our employees are at the heart of every transaction we perform,” said Kathleen Webb, DMV acting director. “With this commitment to training, we can ensure they have the proper tools, knowledge, and experience to provide excellent customer service to the people of California.”

Operation Excellence is an initiative of the DMV Reinvention Strike Team, which Governor Gavin Newsom created in January to lead a comprehensive modernization and reinvention of the DMV with an emphasis on transparency, worker performance, speed of service and overall consumer satisfaction. The Strike Team was created in response to long wait times in DMV field offices, which were exacerbated by the federal government’s REAL ID requirements.

More info here. 

California Push for Electric Vehicles Extends to Phil Ting’s Garage in SF

Publication: San Francisco Chronicle

Assemblyman Phil Ting’s quest to get Californians into electric vehicles isn’t limited to his work at the state Capitol — it extends 90 miles to his garage in San Francisco’s Sunset District.

More than two years ago, Ting bought a Chevrolet Bolt and made his Sacramento commute free of greenhouse gas emissions.

California Could Become First to Limit Facial Recognition Technology; Police Aren't Happy

Publication: USA Today

A routine traffic stop goes dangerously awry when a police officer’s body camera uses its built-in facial recognition software to misidentify a motorist as a convicted felon.

Guns are drawn. Nerves fray. At best, lawsuits are launched. At worst, tragedy strikes.

That imaginary scenario is what some California lawmakers are trying to avoid by supporting Assembly Bill 1215, the Body Camera Accountability Act, which would ban the use of facial recognition software in police body cams – a national first if it passes a Senate vote this summer and is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

State law enforcement officials here do not now employ the technology to scan those in the line of sight of officers. But some police officials oppose the bill on the grounds that a valuable tool could be lost.

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Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), sponsor of AB 1215, sees fundamental freedoms being encroached if police use facial recognition tech.

“If you turn on facial recognition, you have rolling surveillance cameras,” he says. “And I don’t think anyone in America wants to be watched 24/7.”

California DMV Budget Rises 17 Percent — That’s $242 Million — in Real ID Push

Publication: The Sacramento Bee

Millions of Californians have yet to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles for a driver’s license that will soon be required if they want to board airplanes or enter other federal facilities, including prisons and military bases, without a passport.

To help the DMV promote the federally mandated Real ID program and navigate ongoing implementation challenges, state lawmakers approved a budget on Thursday that will boost the department’s budget by more than $242 million.

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Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, helped draft the state’s nearly $215 billion budget that is on its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom. While Ting said in April that the DMV wouldn’t know what to do with more resources until it got a permanent leaders, Ting voted in favor of giving the department the extra money.

He said Newsom’s administration was “adamant” the DMV get more resources to address an expected surge in customer visits ahead of the Oct. 1, 2020 Real ID deadline. In a compromise, lawmakers added accountability measures requiring the DMV to disclose more data on key performance metrics, offer updates on hiring a permanent director, and continue providing monthly reports on wait times.

State Budget Reflects Long-Held Values and Priorities, Says Ting

STATE BUDGET REFLECTS LONG-HELD VALUES AND PRIORITIES, SAYS TING

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, released the following statement about the State Legislature’s passage of the 2019-2020 budget for California.  An Assembly Budget Committee overview of the spending plan is available here.  Ting’s statement is as follows:

“California’s long-held values and priorities are prominently reflected in the new state budget. Strong revenues allow us to make investments that ensure our state’s unparalleled prosperity touches all Californians. That includes strengthening social infrastructure to lift families from homelessness and poverty, opening the door to more educational opportunities from pre-school to college, and closing the gap on universal health care. We accomplish all this while still having healthy reserves to protect these programs through the next economic downturn. This is how we demonstrate leadership in California.”

Democratic State Lawmakers Push to Automatically Expunge 1 Million Criminal Convictions

Publication: KTLA 5

California has already moved to automatically expunge the records of those convicted of qualifying marijuana crimes. Now, Democratic lawmakers and advocates want to erase the records of those who have served their time for other crimes.

The lawmakers and dozens of supporters rallied in sweltering heat Tuesday supporting two Assembly-approved bills that would automatically expunge arrest and conviction records for an estimated 1 million residents who are already entitled under existing law because they have completed their sentences and supervision.

“Right now, if you serve your time you still can’t get housing, you still can’t get work, you still get treated like a criminal,” said San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting, who authored one of the bills.

His bill would require the state attorney general to catalog qualifying arrest and conviction records of lower-level felonies and misdemeanors so they can be cleared. That’s similar to a law that took effect Jan. 1 requiring the attorney general to identify by July 1 those who are eligible to have their records scrubbed because California legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 and made the reduction in legal penalties retroactive.