Press Releases

Key Assembly & Senate Working Groups Unveil Joint $100 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan

July 27, 2020

SACRAMENTO – Key working groups from both houses of the California State Legislature are prioritizing economic recovery in the final weeks of session and have developed a joint $100 billion stimulus plan, building upon the successful collaboration that led to a balanced state budget addressing the $54 billion deficit.

CA Senate Majority Leader Responds to Judicial Council’s Temporary Bail Decision

April 13, 2020

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) released the following statement today regarding the emergency decision approved by the Judicial Council to temporarily set the statewide bail schedule at $0 for most misdemeanors;

Majority Leader Hertzberg Comments on 2020 State of the State Address

February 19, 2020

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) released the following statement today in response to Governor Gavin Newsom delivering his 2020 State of the State Address:

Senate Majority Leader Hertzberg proposes law to protect access to clean drinking water for the next big drought

February 11, 2020

SACRAMENTO - Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) today introduced legislation that would help ensure safe, clean, and affordable drinking water for vulnerable communities at risk of being impacted when the next drought hits.

During the 2012-2016 drought, almost 12,000 Californians ran out of water. That historic drought served as an alarming indicator of California’s warmer future, and we expect droughts to continue to increase in severity and frequency, especially in rural communities throughout California, including the hard-hit Central Valley. 

Senators Hertzberg & Durazo Introduce Bail and Immigration Consumer Protection Act of 2020

February 11, 2020

SACRAMENTO — Today, Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) introduced SB 960 with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and the California Low-Income Consumer Coalition (CLICC). SB 960 will make it clear that consumer financial protection laws apply to all bail and immigration bond companies.

Hertzberg Statement on SB 50 Vote

January 29, 2020

SACRAMENTO – See below for Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg's (D-Van Nuys) statement on the Senate Floor regarding his vote against Senate Bill 50, which failed to pass on the Senate Floor before the January 31 deadline:

Hertzberg Announces Hiring of Longtime Capitol Attorney Drew Liebert

January 4, 2020

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) announced today that he has appointed Drew Liebert, whose public service career of over 25 years in the California Legislature includes 18 years as chief counsel of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, as his new chief of staff.

Hertzberg Responds to Launch of Earthquake Early Warning System

October 17, 2019

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) today released the following statement in response to the announcement that the state has launched the nation's first statewide Earthquake Early Warning System:

Governor Signs Hertzberg Bill Ending Practice of Lunch Shaming in California

October 13, 2019

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) announced today that Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 265, a bill that will end the practice of lunch shaming students whose parents have outstanding school lunch debt.

In recent years, the practice of school lunch shaming has come to light. In some school cafeterias, students who haven’t paid lunch fees are directed out of lunch lines and instead given bread and cheese, or their lunches are simply dumped into the garbage while peers look on.

Governor Approves Hertzberg Bill to Improve Pretrial Practices

October 9, 2019

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) today announced that SB 36, his bill to regulate the use of pretrial risk assessment tools, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

In recent years, California has led the nation in adopting new tools and processes aimed at making the pretrial justice system fairer for the accused in the period between when they are charged with a crime and when they are brought to trial.