BILLS HEADED TO GOV. BROWN

SB595 by state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, will ask voters to decide whether to raise bridge tolls to pay for more than 30 road projects that would reduce traffic on the Bay Area’s heavily traveled roads, including extending and improving BART and widening freeways. Voters in the nine-county Bay Area would be asked to increase bridge tolls by up to $3. The bill also would allow Bay Area voters to decide whether BART should have an independent inspector general to review spending, investigate waste and propose changes for better service. That provision was pushed by state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, a longtime critic of BART. The inspector general applicants would be narrowed to three finalists nominated by the BART board, with the final selection made by the governor.

SB568 by state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County), would move California’s presidential primary up to make the state more relevant in elections. Under the bill, the primary in presidential election years would move from June to March.

SB149 by state Sens. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would require candidates for president to release five years of tax returns before being placed on the California ballot.

SB5 by state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, would ask voters next year to approve a $4 billion bond for water, flood and parks projects.

AB19 by Assemblymen Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles; David Chiu, D-San Francisco; and Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, would waive the $46-per-unit fee for full-time students in California entering their first year of community college.

SB386 by Wiener would allow many low-level sex offenders to petition to be removed from the registry 10 to 20 years after they are released from prison, as long as they have not committed another serious or violent felony or sex crime. Brown is expected to sign the bill.

SB63 by state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would allow new mothers and fathers working for businesses with at least 20 employees to receive 12 weeks of job-protected parental leave. Companies with 50 or more employees are already required to provide 12 weeks of leave.