Senator John Laird announced the introduction of Senate Bill 917 that will create opportunities for small winemakers to connect with consumers face-to-face by expanding who can sell wine and offer tastings at certified farmers markets.
Senate Bill 575, authored by Senator John Laird, was approved by members of the State Senate with bipartisan and unanimous support. SB 575 re-establishes the California Sea Otter Voluntary Contribution Fund, allowing taxpayers to once again support sea otter conservation and near-shore ecosystem protection through voluntary donations on their state tax returns.
Lawmakers must demand accountability from our federal government. The rule of law is meaningless if federal agents are empowered and even encouraged to operate with impunity in American cities with no oversight from their handlers in Washington. We cannot allow the protections we all have fought for to be hollow words while people are shot and killed in the streets.
From State Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz): The Governor’s Proposal for 2026-27 is roughly balanced, with few new spending commitments and includes General Fund reserves totaling $23 billion.
State Senator John Laird issued a statement in response to the reopening of Highway 1 through Big Sur, ending the longest sustained closure of the roadway in the region’s history after nearly three years of disruption caused by consecutive major landslides.
Senator John Laird announced the introduction of Senate Joint Resolution 12, a bipartisan measure opposing the federal government’s proposed 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program and calling for California to be removed from the proposed plan, stronger environmental review and public engagement in the process.
Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, and California State Senate Leader Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) released statements in response to the Governor's Proposed 2026-27 State Budget.
California State Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limon announced that State Senator John Laird has been appointed to chair the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee for the remainder of the 2025–26 legislative session.
The Coastal Commission’s December 11, 2025 decision on the Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a major victory for land conservation and public access, said Senator John Laird. The commission's decision to allow Pacific Gas & Electric, which owns Diablo Canyon, to keep the facility open until 2030 ensures that future generations will benefit from the conservation of these special lands.
At your meeting of December 11, you will decide the future of the state’s only remaining nuclear power plant and the fate of the 12,000 acres that surround it known as the Diablo Canyon Lands. I am writing to you as the State Senator representing the Central Coast’s 17th Senate District, which includes the plant and those lands in coastal San Luis Obispo County.