SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, released the following statement on the Legislature sending SB 154 to the Governor:

“Once again, we had a tremendous opportunity with a robust surplus to address the critical needs of California’s most vulnerable by providing more funding for families, small businesses, CalWORKS and SSI recipients, students, and child care. This spending plan prioritizes necessary infrastructure improvements for affordable housing, transportation and transit, school facilities, student housing projects. I’m proud of the budget that we put together, which focuses on lifting up individuals who have been left behind from the last two years of economic growth and provides smart investments that will benefit Californians for years to come.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) Oversight Committee’s vote to penalize drivers who weren’t able to pay their toll fees:

“The Bay Area Toll Authority should have identified these drivers sooner to provide earlier notice and create payment plan options. Bay Area drivers should not be penalized because BATA chose to remove their operators. The switch to using technology to pay tolls has disproportionately impacted drivers who don’t have debit or credit cards. Now many drivers who rely on their vehicles for work or to bring their kids to school may face not being able to renew their DMV registrations.

Today, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), and Senate and Assembly Budget Committee Chairs, Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), announced a Legislative budget agreement that will deliver prosperity and strengthen the future by putting California’s wealth to work.

The joint legislative plan, which contains the budget priorities laid out by both houses and includes elements the Governor included in his proposals, strikes the balance of providing real relief to families and small businesses—including $8 billion to help Californians withstand the rising cost of gas and consumer goods—while investing in programs that will bolster Californians and our economy. For more than a decade, responsible budgeting has been the cornerstone of Legislative Democrats’ approach, and this budget further builds upon that record by investing an unprecedented $37.5 billion in reserves.

On the heels of the Texas mass shooting in which 19 elementary children died, the California State Assembly today passed AB 1594 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) to hold the gun industry more accountable. It empowers California citizens, the state Attorney General and local governments to sue manufacturers and sellers of firearms for the harm caused by their products when the state’s strict gun laws aren’t followed. The possibility of civil litigation aims to push the gun industry to be more responsible and improve their practices, as the number of mass shootings in the United States surpasses 200 this year.

Sacramento – All California law enforcement agencies may soon be required to adopt a hate crimes policy after the state Assembly today passed AB 1947 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). Protocols for how authorities should recognize, report and respond to hate crimes would be standardized under this legislation, bringing consistency to responses victims receive and the information being collected. The bill’s passage comes as the number of hate crimes and incidents targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have increased.

The California State Assembly today took a step towards making the payment system for missed bridge tolls more fair and equitable by approving AB 2594 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). The bill gives drivers opportunities to resolve their toll charges before they escalate into crippling debt that started out as $6 or $7, but ballooned to hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars, after late fees and penalties are assessed multiple times.

“The switch to using technology to pay tolls has disproportionately impacted drivers who don’t have debit or credit cards. The resulting penalties for unpaid tolls are worse than those given for traffic violations,” said Ting. “We must give people the chance to settle their account before we saddle them with balances they can never pay off.”