Sacramento – Sacramento – As Governor Gavin Newsom takes steps to prohibit new oil wells and facilities within a 3,200-foot exclusion area – or setback – from sensitive locations such as homes, schools, and hospitals, State Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica), chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and Co-Chair of the Environmental Caucus, today applauded the proposal that would also require pollution controls for existing wells and facilities within the same areas.

Sacramento – Californians incarcerated due to criminal penalty enhancements that are no longer in state law may soon have those enhancements retroactively removed from their record. Governor Newsom’s signature of Senate Bill 483 last week, authored by Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica), applies the repeal of these demonstrably ineffective enhancements to people currently in jails and prisons, subject to court review and approval. As California’s Committee on Revision of the Penal Code argues, “it is difficult to justify a sentence that is longer than someone else’s merely because it was imposed at a slightly different date.”

Sacramento – The Creative Workforce Development Act of 2021 was signed into law by Governor Newsom this week. Inspired in part by the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration, Senate Bill 628 by Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica) will provide employment and job training for artists and creative sector workers. The new law focuses on uplifting people from disadvantaged communities who may not otherwise have opportunities to pursue careers in the arts.

Sacramento – Environmentally friendly mass transit projects will soon be eligible for an expedited approval process in Los Angeles County. Senate Bill 44, by Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica), will allow zero-emission mass transit projects to be considered for expedited California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. Governor Newsom signed the measure into law on Thursday.