Senator Laird, Chair of the Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, commended Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of Assembly Bill 108, an emergency budget measure providing urgent financial relief to hospitals at immediate risk of closure and helping preserve access to critical healthcare services in vulnerable communities across California.
The Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 146, introduced by Senator Laird, which proclaims May 2026 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month in California.
As Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Older LGBTQ+ Californians, Senator Laird convened a hearing that highlighted the growing challenges facing LGBTQ+ older adults – many of whom survived decades of stigma, loss, and activism but now face barriers accessing the care and support they need to age with dignity.
The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 917 by Senator Laird, a measure to expand opportunities for small winemakers to sell wine and offer tastings at certified farmers’ markets. The bill now heads to the Assembly for consideration.
On California Ocean Day, the State Senate passed two measures led by Senator Laird to protect and celebrate the state’s coastline – Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 12 and Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 136. Both measures now head to the Assembly for consideration.
The California State Senate unveiled its “Foundation for the Future” budget plan for the 2026-27 fiscal year. This proposal aims to bring stability to the state and address the current funding shortfall. The framework helps protect vital programs while strengthening our financial health for the future.
When the state extended operations at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant through 2030, it did not extend the community funding established to offset local impacts. Senator Laird and principal coauthor Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) introduced legislation to address that funding gap and ensure continued support for local governments and schools in San Luis Obispo County.
Three years after a catastrophic levee breach along the Pajaro River forced thousands of residents to evacuate and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, Senator Laird has introduced SB 1055 to help accelerate critical flood protection projects along the river.
To address insurance reimbursement barriers that make it difficult for community health providers to offer HIV prevention medication, Senator Laird introduced SB 1023 to expand access to injectable Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a highly effective medication used to prevent HIV infection. SB 1023 increases access to injectable PrEP by requiring health plans that already cover the medication to also reimburse it through their outpatient prescription drug benefit.