Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson Advances Legislation to Lower Home Prices and Increase Housing Stock SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) has taken decisive action to address California’s housing crisis by authoring AB 317, the First Time Homeowner Act, a bill designed to boost affordable housing production by eliminating unnecessary regulatory delays. The legislation passed the Assembly Floor last week with strong bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate....
Jun 19, 2025•15 min•Ep. 124
Bill would protect immigrant children from President-elect Donald Trump’s stated plan for mass deportations Torrance, CA – Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 49, a bill that would protect immigrant children from actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who enter school sites or child care facilities. The bill would prohibit school or child care employees from allowing ICE officers to enter a sch...
May 22, 2025•38 min•Ep. 123
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin fire recovery videos https://a42.asmdc.org/videos California Volunteers (Ca Service Corps) Josh Fryday californiavolunteers https://www.californiavolunteers.ca.gov/
Apr 24, 2025•26 min•Ep. 122
California’s Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and the Assembly Democratic Caucus are working to protect the people of California, its communities and economy by supporting the rights of immigrants. While the new federal administration has shown it has no respect for immigrants, Speaker Rivas and Assembly Democrats are listening to and supporting everyone in our communities. The immigration issue is particularly important in Central California. As part of the Look West Immigration Series Assemblymem...
Apr 17, 2025•22 min•Ep. 121
Not long ago women in the California State Legislature were rare. Today 58 of the 120 state lawmakers are women. That’s double what it was less than 10 years ago. In this episode of Look West, we sat down with the Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, at the Women Inspire exhibit in the California Museum in Sacramento. She talked with us about the impact near gender parity is having the legislature, the power of the Women’s Caucus and what her favorite th...
Mar 20, 2025•18 min•Ep. 120
Five years ago, on March 19th, the Governor issued the stay at home order California needed to survive the Covid pandemic. Covid changed our lives. Some of those changes, like Zoom, are here to stay. Assembly Democrats legislative initiatives helped Californians survive the pandemic. On this episode we look back at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and talk with current lawmakers, including Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel, about their personal Covid stories, how it changed the way the legi...
Mar 13, 2025•24 min•Ep. 119
California’s Assembly Democrats are pushing back against the Trump administration’s overreach when it comes to immigration. Even before the new administration took office, exactly one month ago today, Assembly Democrats have been providing immigration information and support to all Californians. Assemblymembers Juan Carrillo and Jose Luis Solache join us for a conversation about their personal immigration stories, what rights you need to know and the work they are doing to help.
Feb 20, 2025•47 min•Ep. 118
The wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area and the 7.3 earthquake off the North Coast of California just over a month ago has put disaster preparedness back in the spotlight. State Assemblymember Chris Rogers knows quite a bit about disaster preparedness. He has hands on experience with wild fires, floods and earthquakes. His advice – prepare now, before the next fire, flood or earthquake.
Jan 16, 2025•10 min•Ep. 117
Meet the other new Members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus in these two episodes: https://look-west-how-california-is-leading-the-nation-22f6dfb5.simplecast.com/episodes/freshman-class-filled-with-moms-dads-teachers-doctors-and-more https://look-west-how-california-is-leading-the-nation-22f6dfb5.simplecast.com/episodes/new-faces-join-the-assembly-democratic-caucus-in-2025
Dec 19, 2024•21 min•Ep. 116
Seventeen new faces have joined the Assembly Democratic Caucus. Joining the Caucus for the 2025-26 legislative session are several veterans of local government, advocates and attorneys, Moms and Dads, teachers and educators and more. Each new Member brings their own unique experience and background to the State Assembly. You met seven of the new Members in the last Look West episode. In this episode Look West caught up with five new Members as they were going through their orientation shortly af...
Dec 12, 2024•21 min•Ep. 115
The incoming class of the Assembly Democratic Caucus includes 17 new faces. Joining the Caucus are several veterans of local government, advocates and attorneys, Moms and Dads, teachers and educators and more. Each new Member brings their own unique experience and background to the State Assembly. In the next three episodes of Look West we will meet them all. In this episode: Assemblymembers Mark Gonzalez, Rhodesia Ransom, Nick Schultz, John Harabedian, LaShae Sharp-Collins, Celeste Rodriguez an...
Dec 05, 2024•21 min•Ep. 114
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin proudly announces the signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 2839 into law, marking a significant advancement in the protection of electoral integrity and voter trust in California. This groundbreaking bipartisan legislation, authored by Assemblymember Pellerin and coauthored by 11 legislators, addresses the growing threat of deepfake technology that is used to manipulate and deceive voters with false information related to an election. AB 2839 specifically prohibits the dist...
Oct 17, 2024•23 min•Ep. 113
AB 1778, as amended, Connolly. Vehicles: electric bicycles. Existing law defines an electric bicycle and classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different restrictions. Under existing law, a “class 2 electric bicycle” is a bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle, and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Under existing law, a “class 3 electric bicycle” is a bicycle equipped with a spe...
Sep 19, 2024•19 min•Ep. 112
AB 3139, as amended, Weber. Data privacy: vehicle manufacturers: remote vehicle technology. Existing law establishes various privacy requirements applicable to vehicle manufacturers, including limitations on the usage of images or video recordings from in-vehicle cameras in new motor vehicles equipped standard with one or more in-vehicle cameras. Existing law provides various protections to persons who are escaping from actual or threatened domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human traf...
Aug 15, 2024•25 min•Ep. 111
Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo’s AB 1950 would mandate a historical report, compensation options, and a memorial to honor uprooted residents Los Angeles, CA – Today, Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo unveiled Assembly Bill (AB) 1950, the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, which aims to address the historical injustice faced by those living in the Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, a predominately Latino community. Authored by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara,...
Jul 25, 2024•14 min•Ep. 110
Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson introduces Bill Assembly Bill 2229 (AB 2229), aimed at enhancing comprehensive sexual health education in California schools. This bill seeks to address a crucial gap in current education by including menstrual health as an integral part of sexual health curriculum. The idea for AB 2229 emerged from our "There Oughta Be a Law" contest, highlighting the importance of community engagement in shaping legislative initiatives. Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson emphasized the i...
Jul 18, 2024•34 min•Ep. 109
2024 Legislative & Budget Priorities 2024 #1 Priority Legislation AB 1955 (Ward, LGBTQ Caucus) – SAFETY Act The Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY Act), would strengthen existing California protections against forced outings of LGBTQ+ students in schools; provide critical resources for parents and families of LGBTQ+ students to support them in working towards family acceptance on their own terms; and provide additional protections to educators who face ret...
Jun 20, 2024•23 min•Ep. 108
The month of May is Older Californians Month. This year California is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the trend setting California Department of Aging. With that in mind we’re featuring a conversation with Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains, Chair of the Aging and Long Term Care Committee and California Department of Aging Director Susan DeMarois discussing the growing population of Californians over the age of 60, the challenges they face and ways California is working to make their live...
May 16, 2024•26 min•Ep. 107
California’s foster care system is in desperate need of an upgrade. The list of problems is long…and the outcomes for foster youth have been poor in far too many cases. May is Foster Care Awareness Month so we sat down with Assemblymember Dr. Cory Jackson, a leading voice in the effort to improve the child welfare system, to talk about what needs to be done to fix the problems facing California’s foster care children.
Apr 18, 2024•18 min•Ep. 106
New Bill Stops Landlords from Denying Housing to Tenants with Pets The chair of the California Legislative Renters Caucus, Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation that prohibits blanket pet bans in rental units in California. AB 2216 will require landlords to have reasonable reason(s) for not allowing a pet in a rental unit and only allows landlords to ask about pet ownership after a tenant’s application has been approved. California has the second highest number of tenants in th...
Mar 21, 2024•24 min•Ep. 105
Throughout the month of February extra focus is on the history of African-Americans, as the country marks Black History Month. For more than 50 years, the California Legislative Black Caucus has been at the forefront of efforts to make sure the real history of Black America is told and improve the lives of Blacks in California. Assemblymember Lori Wilson is the current Chair of the CLBC. In this episode with her we’ll review the Caucus’ reparations legislative package, look back at black history...
Feb 22, 2024•23 min•Ep. 104
California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has announced the formation of a new Select Committee on Retail Theft, and has named Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) as Committee Chair. The Select Committee is comprised of bipartisan members from across the state, including from areas most impacted by retail theft. The committee will provide a forum to engage impacted stakeholders – including large retailers, small businesses, criminal justice reform advocates, law enforcement, and r...
Jan 18, 2024•21 min•Ep. 103
More than 400 celebrate historic Native American monument in Capitol Park honoring tribes on whose land the state Capitol now stands State marks Native American Heritage Month by unveiling 10th tribute in the park commemorating California heroes & protectors SACRAMENTO—On a cool, breezy Sacramento morning, more than 400 tribal members, dignitaries and students gathered to unveil the first-ever Capitol monument acknowledging tribes residing in California and their millennia-long, resilient pr...
Dec 21, 2023•21 min•Ep. 102
California has more military bases within its borders than most states: a whopping 32 bases are in CA, some from every military branch. There are 158,000 active duty members of the armed forces in California. There are 1.35-million military veterans in California. Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo is the new Chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. In the Northwest San Fernando Valley, Assemblywoman Schiavo co-founded an organization that helped secure housing for Veterans experiencing ho...
Nov 16, 2023•29 min•Ep. 101
Asm. Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro) Announces Governor Signed New Law to Prevent Child Labor Exploitation SACRAMENTO ― California high school students will learn about their rights at work and how to defend themselves against workplace abuses under a first-of-its-kind law just signed by Governor Gavin Newsom over the weekend. AB 800, authored by Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro), creates a Workplace Readiness Week at all public high schools to teach students about their workplace rights, pro...
Oct 19, 2023•20 min•Ep. 100
AB 5: The Safe and Supportive Schools Act As LGBTQ+ rights across the country come under attack, from book bans to outlawing instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, California is leading the way in preserving the rights of LGBTQ+ students across the state. While the state is making progress, LGBTQ+ students still experience harassment, violence and lack of affirmation in school settings far too often. This is why I introduced the Safe and Supportive Schools Act on my fi...
Sep 21, 2023•30 min•Ep. 99
There is power in numbers. That’s one reason why California’s Central Coast lawmakers have banded together and formed the Central Coast Legislative Caucus. There are ten Members of the CCLC representing the coast from Ventura County to Santa Cruz. Take a trip with us to Morro Bay to hear from CCLC Chair Dawn Addis and other Members of the new Central Coast Legislative Caucus.
Aug 17, 2023•30 min•Ep. 98
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Jul 20, 2023•22 min•Ep. 97
California Reparations Task Force: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121 California Reparations Task Force Members: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/members Assemblymember and Task Force Member Reggie Jones-Sawyer: https://a57.asmdc.org/ Look West podcast: https://asmdc.org/look-west
Jun 15, 2023•24 min•Ep. 96
“One Pill Can Kill” Awareness Campaign and Legislation to address Fentanyl Crisis SACRAMENTO ---- Today,Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), along with Assemblywoman Liz Ortega (D-Alameda), Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, (D-Fresno), and Senator Dave Cortese, (D-Santa Clara), held a press conference to discuss their legislative priorities to address the fentanyl crisis and announce the statewide rollout of the DEA’s “One Pill Can Kill” campaign. Fentanyl is one of the most dangerous and...
May 09, 2023•16 min•Ep. 95
