Wilk measures passed by Senate, move to Assembly
PALMDALE — Seven bills introduced by Republican State Sen. Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita that passed out of the California State Senate will now go through the legislative process in the California State Assembly.
Two other proposed bills covering education and Social Security are still with the state Senate.
The bills cover topics such as foster youth, unemployment fraud prevention, and learning loss reduction.
“My focus remains on helping California recover from the pandemic,” Wilk said in a statement. “That includes legislation to address students with learning loss, fixes that would force the Employment Development Department to address practices that result in fraud, help for foster youth
and urging Congress to address a technical problem that will hurt those turning 60 during the pandemic in their retirement. I am glad to see these measures move to the Assembly, but will continue to work across the aisle on these measures and any others that will get our small business community the support it needs to recover and reopen safely.”
Here are the proposed bills and their current status:
•Senate Bill 58: Employment Development Department Fraud Protection, which is now with the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, would prohibit, with exceptions, the Employment Development Department from sending any outgoing US mail to an individual containing the individual’s Social Security number, unless that Social Security number is replaced with a modified unique identifier.
The bill would also require the Employment Development Department, on or before Jan. 1, 2022, to identify the fraud prevention efforts it can adjust to improve effectiveness during periods of high demand for benefits. In addition it would also require the department to use existing resources, to designate a single unit responsible for coordinating fraud prevention and align the unit’s duties with best practices for detecting and preventing fraud.
• Senate Bill 292: Industrial Hemp Clean Up, which is now with the Assembly Agriculture committee, revised provisions regulating the cultivation and testing of industrial hemp to conform to the requirements for a state plan under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.
• Senate Bill 360: Escrow Agent Rating Services & Agents, which is pending referral in the Assembly, would extend protections set to expire on Jan. 1, 2022, to Jan. 1, 2027, for escrow rating services. Current law applies important protections from California’s credit reporting laws to escrow agencies, such as the right to receive a copy of any report produced by the rating service, and the right to dispute and correct inaccurate information.
•Senate Bill 509: Optometry Examination, which is with the Assembly Business and Professions committee, would create a provisional license that allows optometry school graduates who are required to travel to North Carolina during the pandemic to take Part III of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, to temporarily practice optometry under the supervision of another optometrist.
•Senate Bill 520: Water Appropriation Applications, which is with the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife committee, requires the publication of a new notice of application if the State Water Board has not rendered a final determination on an application within 30 years from its original filing date. The new notice would re-open the protest period for these projects, as if they are being undertaken for the first time.
•Senate Bill 545: Learning Loss Reduction, which is pending referral in the Assembly, would require school districts to approve a parent’s request to offer their student specified interventions/supports, give access to prior semester courses in which the pupil received a D or F letter grade, and provide information about research on the effects of pupil retention, and the types of interventions and supports that have been shown to be beneficial to pupils.
•Senate Bill 546: Foster Youth Mobile Device Fund: which is pending referral in the Assembly would mandate the C Public Utilities Commission to continue to offer the current benefits of the “iFoster Pilot Program” to the state’s foster youth between the ages of 13 and 26. These benefits include smartphones with free unlimited voice, text and data. The program is set to sunset this year.
•Senate Joint Resolution 4: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is with the Senate Education Committee, urges Congress to fully fund their portion of education students receiving special education services.
•Senate Joint Resolution 5: Social Security, which is with the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement committee, urges Congress to amend the social security benefits formula, so that those turning 60 during the pandemic do not lose benefits.