Publication: San Francisco Gate

A state assembly bill proposing motorists reserve a spot and pay a toll before driving down Lombard Street in San Francisco has passed the Assembly Transportation Committee by an 11-to-3 vote on Monday, according to the Office of Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco.

Assembly Bill 1065, the Lombard Street Reservation and Pricing System, is eligible to go to a floor vote on the assembly floor at the State Capitol in Sacramento next week, Ting's spokeswoman Nannette Miranda said, and Ting will try to get it on Thursday, May 2 agenda.

Ting announced the introduction of the legislation on Monday, April 15. It would authorize the city to start implementing the pricing and reservation program at the iconic street, which, according to Ting, attracts more than two million visitors annually.

Publication: San Francisco Chronicle

The Bay Area faces no challenge more vexing or vast than the need to create hundreds of thousands of new housing units, at all price levels, in ways that don’t undermine the cultural and environmental traits that make this region so desirable.

Publication: Ventura County Star

Those long paper receipts shoppers get at stores could be going away under legislation working its way through the state Assembly, although not everyone supports the plan for reasons ranging from convenience to privacy.

Assembly Bill 161, authored by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, would require businesses that have more than $1 million in gross receipts to provide electronic receipts unless a customer specifically requests a paper one.

Although the bill’s proponents say it would help conserve the trees and water used to create paper receipts, some Ventura County residents prefer the convenience of a physical receipt.

Camarillo resident Lina Park, 61, who was shopping at a Target recently, said electronic receipts are more of a hassle to keep track of.

“Electronic receipts are a pain. They either get lost in your email or, like when I was shopping at Target,” Park said, cashiers “had a hard time reading the scanning code off of my phone.”

Publication: Associated Press News

Thousands of tourists could soon have to pay as much as $10 to drive down world-famous Lombard Street in San Francisco.

City and state officials on Monday announced a bill that would give San Francisco the authority to establish a toll and reservation system for the street that winds down a steep hill, in an effort to reduce crowds and traffic congestion.

“We must implement a system that enables both residents and visitors to enjoy the ‘Crookedest Street in the World,’” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat who authored the legislation.

Residents say the scenic thoroughfare feels more like an overcrowded amusement park than a neighborhood street. They have been calling for years for officials to address the traffic jams, trash and trespassing by visitors.

Publication: United Press International

A proposal making its way through the California Assembly would automatically seal low-level criminal records -- part of a growing effort by several states to give offenders a better chance at reform.

The bill would affect millions of Californians whose prior rap sheets present significant social obstacles.  AB 1076 would ensure the automatic secrecy of records for certain offenders who  have completed their sentences. If passed, the law would take effect Jan. 1, 2021.

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"Because of cost, time or complexity, they don't get their records expunged," Assembly member Phil Ting, the bill's author, told UPI.

Automating the process, he said, will help free former offenders from these "paper prisons." He also said the change would save money on both ends. Right now, it costs people about $3,700 to seal their record -- compared to zero under the new plan.

"The big difference is the state bears that cost, not the individual," Ting said, adding the plan is a good investment for the state because more sealed records would mean fewer people depending on government assistance.

Publication: San Francisco Examiner

In an attempt to straighten-out traffic along San Francisco’s most “crooked street,” Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, is proposing legislation that would allow San Francisco to charge drivers for making a trip down Lombard Street.

In addition to a fee, the legislation would also establish a reservation program, meaning drivers would have to reserve spots in advance to go down the famously crooked part, between Hyde and Leavenworth streets, according to Ting’s office.

In addition to easing congestion in the area, the proposed program would also bring relief to residents living near the busy tourist attraction.

Ting is expected to announce more details about the legislation on Monday.

Publication: KQED News

State legislators are considering a bill that would hold plastic bottle manufacturers accountable for recycling and reusing their own products.

AB 792, introduced by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, would require plastic beverage containers in California to be made of at least 50% recycled content by 2025 and be 100% by 2035. The legislation would apply to bottles currently covered under the California Redemption Value program, including those used for soda, fruit drinks and water.

“The overall goal is to really think about how we can utilize less plastic and how we can better recycle plastic,” Ting said. “We know right now, that by 2050, if we don’t do anything else we’ll actually have more plastic in the ocean than fish.”

Publication: KCRA 3

There were long lines Tuesday at DMV field offices across California after computer outages caused delays for many customers.

“The computers were completely down and they were shut off, so I just waited my time out,” said Curtis Larsen, a customer at the DMV field office on Broadway in Sacramento.

Larsen said he waited three hours with no appointment. Richard Moreno waited 45 minutes even though he had an appointment.

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Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, is skeptical. He said the DMV has failed to make good use of existing resources.

“They said they were going to deploy tablets in every single DMV field office," Ting said. "We got them the tablets -- they didn't use them."