Representing the 7th District

Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 761 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved 5-1 by the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee. The bill would require CalPERS and CalSTRS to divest any existing pension fund investments from companies that manufacture firearms or ammunition, other than those done so exclusively for the United States Military. It would also prohibit future investments in such companies as long as these actions were found to be consistent with the Funds’ constitutionally prescribed fiduciary duties.

“Companies who manufacture firearms and ammunition have no business receiving investment funds from the State of California – it’s just common sense. The state has an obligation to our citizens and communities to ensure that our investment dollars support entities that uphold our values,” said Dickinson.

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Bill Would Ban Anonymous “Money Bombs” Close to Election Day

Sacramento – Assembly Bill 45, comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento), was approved 4-2 today by the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee. The bill seeks to ensure greater disclosure and transparency of political campaign funding sources and would increase the California Fair Political Practices Commission’s (FPPC) oversight powers of campaign contributions.

“Without legislative action, we will continue to see last minute ‘money bombs’ flowing into California elections without informing voters where this money is coming from,” said Dickinson. “The public has a right to know the source of the money so informed decisions can be made at the ballot box,” he added.

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Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 140, authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento), was approved on a unanimous vote by the Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care Committee. The bill would help protect seniors by modernizing the definition of undue influence for elder financial abuse and related probate matters, a definition that has not been revised for over 140 years.

“A population as vulnerable as seniors and dependent adults deserve statutory protection to ensure that when a senior is unduly influenced, that senior has an ability to recover what has been lost,” said Dickinson.

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Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 844 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved by the Assembly Banking & Finance Committee on an 8-3 vote. AB 844 would protect consumers' personal information when making credit card purchases online. The bill is in response to the recent ruling by the California Supreme Court that online retailers can continue to require customers purchasing with credit cards to provide personal information.

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Sacramento - Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) released the following statement on the school discipline data released today by the California Department of Education:

“The California suspension data released today regrettably affirms what experts have suspected – our students are being suspended in startlingly high numbers and students of color are continually disproportionately suspended and expelled. Sadly, these students will have worse educational outcomes than other student groups. California must bring fairness and balance to our school disciplinary practices without risking school and teacher safety,” said Dickinson, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development.

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Sacramento – Assembly Bill 420 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved yesterday by a unanimous bipartisan vote by the Assembly Education Committee. The bill would take a large step towards fixing California’s broken school discipline practices. In California alone, there are more than 700,000 student suspensions per year. AB 420 would curb the excessive use of willful defiance as a reason to suspend and expel students.

“Kids who have been suspended or expelled are five times more likely to drop out and 11 times more likely to turn to crime,” said Dickinson, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development. “We must address behavioral issues with alternative means of correction so we can keep young people in school and on track to graduate, and out of the criminal justice system.”

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Dickinson Bill Seeks to Reduce the Incidence of Mental Illness

Assemblymember Dickinson speaking at his press conference regarding AB 760, which would impose a five cent per bullet tax.

Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 760 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was heard by the Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee and will be voted on in the coming weeks. AB 760 would impose a five cent ($0.05) tax on each bullet sold in California. Further, the bill would dedicate the revenue collected to an existing program to screen young children for mild to moderate mental illness, and intervene with strategies to address their problems.

“Screening young children for signs of mental illness and addressing any issues early on is the key to a healthier and more productive adult life. A limited tax on ammunition is a small price to pay for better mental healthcare for California’s kids,” said Dickinson.

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Sacramento – Today, the Assembly Banking & Finance Committee approved Assembly Bill 385 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) which would establish the Bank on California Program within the new Department of Business Oversight on a unanimous bipartisan vote. The bill gives the program a permanent home and establishes it in statute indefinitely.

“This bill will ensure that the Bank on California Program will stand the test of time but more importantly, that more unbanked Californians join the financial mainstream by becoming banked,” said Dickinson, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance. “With a bank account, unbanked Californians can achieve financial security, start to save for the future, and establish a credit history,” he added.

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Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 169 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved on a 5-2 vote by the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The bill would close the loophole in law that currently allows the private party transfer of “unsafe handguns” to individuals not eligible to buy them. It further closes a loophole that presently allows some buyers to purchase an unsafe handgun if that handgun was previously modified to be a single shot weapon.

“AB 169 will keep non-rostered, unsafe handguns out of the hands of people who don't have a legitimate and lawful reason to own them. By limiting the guns available for sale we can further protect our families and our communities from gun violence,” said Dickinson.

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Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 339 authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved by the Assembly Public Safety Committee on a bipartisan 6-0 vote. The bill would prohibit the sale of animals at swap meets and flea markets in order to prevent the suffering of animals, protect consumers, and eliminate the public health and safety risks and potential threats of disease outbreaks associated with such sales.

“Animals are currently being sold at flea markets and swap meets in often abysmal conditions where there is no legal oversight of the seller and no consumer accountability,” said Dickinson. “AB 339 would prohibit the sale of animals at swap meets and flea markets to alleviate the suffering of these animals, ensure that public health and safety is protected, and safeguard consumers,” he added.

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