Press Releases

Tax Relief for Thomas and Woolsey Fire Survivors Moves Forward

SB 1246 Passes Senate Governance and Finance Committee 4-0

May 5, 2022

Sacramento, CA- In a 4 to 0 vote, the Senate Governance and Finance Committee passed SB 1246 to make settlements from the Woolsey and Thomas fires nontaxable. Combined, both fires burned almost 380,000 acres of land in southern California, destroyed almost 3000 structures, and caused over $8 billion in damages. This vote marks a major victory for the thousands of people having lost homes, businesses, and possessions to these widespread tragedies.

Stern Bill to Establish Right to Mental Health Care and Housing that Heals for Severely Mentally Ill Californians Passes Key Committee

April 29, 2022

Sacramento, CA - In a 7 to 1 vote, the Senate Health Committee approved Senator Stern s
landmark legislation, Senate Bill 1446, to establish a right to treatment for unhoused Californians
with severe mental illness.

Currently, California as whole faces a major shortage in street level mental health services and
housing options, and despite the City of Los Angeles recent housing settlement with L.A.
Alliance for Human Rights, LA County is still fighting the suit, maintaining that it is doing

Senate Energy Committee Votes 8-1 to Pass SB 1486: Aliso Canyon Closure

April 29, 2022

Sacramento, CA- In an 8 to 1 vote, the Senate Energy Committee voted in favor of SB 1486 for the responsible and equitable closure of the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Facility.

“A future without Aliso Canyon is finally in sight,” said Senator Henry Stern (D- Los Angeles), the bill’s author.

The tensions surrounding this natural gas facility have followed the October 23, 2015 gas leak started from well SS-25 at Aliso Canyon. This leak would later became the largest known leak of methane in our country’s history.

On Yom HaShoah Sen. Stern Fights for Thousands of Holocaust Survivors Living, and Dying, in Poverty

April 28, 2022

LOS ANGELES - Today is recognized as Yom HaShoah. In Hebrew, the literal translation is “Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day”.

For the Jewish community – and victims of genocide globally – this day is one of memorialization, commemoration, and mourning. This holiday is also a critical component of Holocaust education, ensuring that younger generations recognize the horrors that can occur when prejudice, hate, and anti-Semitism run rampant in our communities.

Senate Public Safety Committee Votes 4-0 to Pass SB 1472: Ryan’s Law

April 28, 2022

Sacramento, CA- In a 4 to 0 vote, the Senate Public Safety Committee voted in favor of SB 1472: Ryan’s Law. Marking a major victory in the fight to keep California’s streets safe. After moving testimony from Carin Koeppel, founder of the Koeppel foundation and mother to Ryan Koepell who was killed by a reckless driver, the votes came in to recognize and address the growing issue of extreme speeding and reckless driving.

Rewilding Los Angeles, creating open space for all Angelenos and a private sector challenge grant

April 22, 2022

Agoura Hills – As I was standing at the groundbreaking for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the world's largest wildlife corridor here in our own backyard, at Liberty Canyon, I couldn’t help but feel sad that all Angelenos do not have the same access to the outdoors. To rectify this situation I and all Legislators in Los Angeles should commit to the following:

Senator Stern Offers Legislative Help for MWD Employees

April 21, 2022

SACRAMENTO – Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles), Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee offers the following quote about the State Auditor's report on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) State Audit Report 2021-104.