For Immediate Release
Bills by Senator Becker on Voter and Environmental Justice Clear First Hurdles
SACRAMENTO – Key Senate policy committees approved three bills by State Senator Josh Becker today to ensure voter access and equity and to reduce barriers that make it difficult for low-income communities to access energy efficiency and distributed energy programs.
The hearings marked the first bill presentations by the Peninsula Democrat, who was elected in November.
“I thank my colleagues for their support of this important legislation,” Senator Becker said.
Uniform Signature Verification for Mail-In Ballots
The Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee voted 4-1 to pass Senate Bill 503, which would implement a uniform standard for signature verification of mail-in ballots.
Voting by mail has soared. Less than 60% of state voters cast their vote by mail in the 2016 presidential election. Amid COVID, the rate climbed to more than 87% during the presidential election last year.
More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected in California’s March primary. Yet with the exception of an emergency measure put in place specifically for the November election, California does not have a set standard for signature verification of mail-in ballots.
In a report published last spring, the Stanford Election Law Project found significant disparities among more than 30 California counties on how signatures were evaluated and how challenged signatures were addressed, said Senator Becker, who credited the work of students at Stanford Law School, his alma mater, for inspiring the legislation.
“SB 503 ensures that counties across the state use the same practices for signature assessment and reporting rejections,” said Senator Becker. “Challenged signatures disproportionately impact the most vulnerable Californians -- those with limited English proficiency, people living with disabilities, first-time and aging voters, and voters of color. SB 503 gives confidence to all Californians that their votes are counted.”
The Elections Committee’s vote on SB 503 sends the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a fiscal review.
Voter Registration Equity
The committee voted 5-0 on Senator Becker’s SB 504 to ensure Californians who were involved with the criminal justice system and have paid their debt to society are not inadvertently removed from voter rolls. The bill also ensures that members of the military and other Californians overseas have equal access to registration and voting as other Californians.
“Californians continue to show a strong desire to enfranchise justice-involved and formerly incarcerated voters. But incomplete or inaccurate information makes election officials resort to guessing as they attempt to keep voter registration records up to date,” Senator Becker said. “Currently military and other overseas voters are prohibited from using Same Day or Conditional Voter Registration options that are available to voters who are in California.”
SB 504 would improve flow of information and data sharing by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to the Secretary of State’s Office so that appropriate information is transmitted to counties. In turn, counties would be required to notify people leaving the criminal justice system that their voting rights have been restored. SB 504 would also give military and other overseas Californians the access to Same Day and Conditional Voter Registration that in-state voters have.
The Elections Committee’s unanimous vote sends SB 504 to the Senate Public Safety Committee for further policy review.
Environmental Justice
With a 10-2 vote, the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee passed Senator Becker’s SB 345 to make it easier for low-income and disadvantaged communities to gain access energy efficiency and distributed energy programs.
“SB 345 will drive more energy efficiency and distributed energy investments into communities that are in the most need, but have historically been left out,” Senator Becker said.
The California Public Utilities Commission oversees spending of almost $1 billion annually in public purpose charges that are included in utility bills for a variety of distributed energy resources – programs that promote energy efficiency, distributed solar, energy storage, electric vehicles and demand response technologies.
But access to such programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities consistently lags behind because in deciding which projects to fund, the CPUC typically uses a cost-effectiveness test that considers only the benefits to the grid.
“The commission usually does not consider nonenergy benefits, like lower bills or improved air quality, which directly impact quality of life for participants and their community,” said Senator Becker. “We should be optimizing the use of these public purpose funds to maximize the total benefits and try to help communities with the least ability to make the transition to cleaner energy on their own.”
Senator Becker said he would make amendments to address concerns and emphasize his intent that nonenergy benefits be considered along with, not instead of, cost effectiveness. With the Energy Committee’s vote, SB 345 now goes to the Senate Appropriations for fiscal review.
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Media Contact: Leslie Guevarra, 415-298-3404, leslie.guevarra@sen.ca.gov