Which bills will survive CA Legislature committees?

California’s Legislature is getting crazy busy as key bill deadlines get closer — and we’re keeping track.

Tuesday, some bills didn’t survive crucial committee hearings, while others were watered down to stay alive.

CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall watched the Senate Public Safety Committee kill a bill for a statewide ban on homeless encampments near parks and schools, for the second year in a row. The Democratic legislators against the bill said they didn’t want to penalize down-and-out residents who sleep on public property. 

• Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Democrat from Fremont and chairperson of the committee: “Just because individuals that are unhoused make people uncomfortable does not mean that it should be criminalized. And this bill does that.”

The lone Republican on the committee, Sen. Kelly Seyarto of Murrieta, was also the only “yes” on the bill. 

• Seyarto: “We had a slew of people that came forward to tell us about what we shouldn’t be doing. But what the hell should we be doing? Because right now we’re not doing anything.”

Read more about the bill in Marisa’s story.

Meanwhile, CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang is monitoring bills aimed at stopping maternity wards from closing. One, which passed out of committee Tuesday, would require hospitals to notify the state if their labor and delivery services are at risk, potentially giving counties and the state more time to intervene. Another proposal to raise community awareness of impending closures bumps up the public notification requirement from 90 days to 120 days and was approved in committee last week.

The California Hospital Association isn’t a fan of either bill, arguing that they do little to address the underlying reasons hospitals are closing maternity wards, such as labor shortages and increasing costs. 

Learn more about these bills in Kristen’s story.

In other bill drama Tuesday:

Child sex trafficking: The Senate public safety committee did pass a bipartisan bill to increase penalties for those who purchase sex from minors — but with amendments the author didn’t want. One change lowered the age of those protected from 17 to 15. And instead of potentially going to prison, offenders would be able to serve in county jails or pay a fine. Republican Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, the author of the bill, said the changes “only lessen the impact” of the measure.

• Grove: “It takes two criminals to do this to children. A trafficker and a buyer.”

Reminder: This bill is a bookend to another huge controversy last session: A law that made it a serious felony and possible third strike for child sex traffickers. It was initially shelved in the Assembly public safety committee before public outcry and Democratic leaders forced it through.

Restraining orders: The Assembly public safety committee killed a bill, known as “Kayleigh’s Law,” that would have allowed survivors of sexual abuse to seek permanent restraining orders against their attackers (rather than having them to repeatedly face their abusers in court to renew a protective order). The Assemblymember behind the bill, Newport Beach Republican Diane Dixon, said in a statement that she was “ incredibly disappointed” and that the committee “failed to protect vulnerable Californians.”

Online ticket sales: Assemblymember Buffy Wicks grudgingly agreed to Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee amendments for her bill to increase ticket sale competition and combat Ticketmaster’s dominance in the industry. In one major change, the bill exempts professional sports events. But representatives for the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Clippers still all spoke in opposition.

And don’t forget the state budget deficit: Late Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the early action budget bill passed by the Legislature last week and designed to reduce the budget shortfall by $17 billion.

CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Ryan Sabalow dives into two other pieces of legislation.

After a student sent Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal’s daughter a swastika on social media, Lowenthal was told by his daughter’s middle school that it couldn’t expel the offending student because recent California reforms have emphasized restorative justice instead of punishing students.

In response, the Democrat from Long Beach and member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus authored a bill to enable school administrators to suspend or expel students if they cyberbully other students off campus and outside of school hours.

But critics of the bill, which include the ACLU and other social justice organizations, argue that this could result in the return of “racially biased and disparate” punishments that disproportionately affect students of color. A 2021 memo from the state’s Department of Education, for example, said that Black students are suspended at higher rates, not because they behave worse “but because of harsher treatment for minor offenses.”

After advancing through the education committee, the bill is now before the judiciary committee. 

Meanwhile, the Senate transportation committee has endorsed a bill that would enable the city of Malibu to establish its own pilot program for speed cameras along the Pacific Coast Highway. If passed, Malibu would join six other cities that were granted the authority last year.

Democratic Sen. Ben Allen of El Segundo is leading the measure, after a high-speed crash on a two-mile stretch of the highway known as Dead Man’s Curve killed four students in October 2023.

To learn more about the school bullying and the traffic camera bills, read Ryan’s stories.

More on Digital Democracy: CalMatters has launched Digital Democracy, a project using the latest technologies to help Californians understand their state government and create more accountability for politicians. The website introduces each of the state’s 120 legislators and explains this year’s policy agenda. In our unprecedented database, you can instantly find any word uttered in a public hearing, every vote cast, every bill introduced and every dollar donated. For more details, see our about and methodology pages and read more from our engagement team.

The California Immigrant Policy Center held its annual “Immigrant Day of Action” at the state Capitol Tuesday, gathering with lawmakers and advocates to drum up support for legislative priorities. This includes:

• Food security: Twin bills in the Assembly and Senate to expand CalFresh access, the state’s nutrition program for low-income households, to undocumented Californians.

• Healthcare: Following the state’s recent expansion of Medi-Cal to low-income, undocumented residents, another bill proposes to allow undocumented people to buy health coverage from a marketplace similar to Covered California, the state program that offers discounted health insurance.

• Unemployment benefits: Establishes the Excluded Workers Program, which would extend unemployment benefits to undocumented immigrants. Eligible residents could receive up to $300 per week of unemployment.

And today, janitors from SEIU United Service Workers West plan to rally at the Capitol to support a bill to rein in overworking of janitorial staff, many of whom are immigrants. Authored by Assemblymember Luz Rivas, the proposal would also bump the pay employers offer for participants undergoing sexual violence and harassment prevention training. The measure is expected to be heard by the Assembly’s labor committee today.

State regulators, trying to prevent overpumping of groundwater, considered unprecedented probation and fines for water agencies in Kings County. What did they decide Tuesday? Find out from CalMatters water reporter Rachel Becker.