SB 260 — the first bill of its kind in the nation — mandates all companies with over $1 billion in gross annual revenue disclose and set up targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Sacramento — Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 260, the Climate Corporate Accountability Act (CCAA). SB 260 would be the first law in the country to require U.S.-based companies — those doing business in California and generating over $1 billion in gross annual revenue — to disclose all of their greenhouse gas emissions and set science-based targets to reduce those emissions. SB 260 is…

I won’t lie. It’s been a difficult and frustrating start to 2021.

On the positive side: tomorrow, we’ll have a President and Vice President who believe in science, who believe white supremacy is a bad thing, and who are creating an organized plan to end the pandemic and the economic misery it’s caused.

Also on the positive side: we now have two highly effective and safe vaccines, with one or two more likely to join the list in the coming months. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

On the rough side: the pandemic is surging…

What happened on January 6th was nothing short of a violent attempt to overthrow the United States government. We were all shaken by this terrifying attack on our democratic institutions.

We all watched in shock as armed rioters streamed into the Capitol building and as members of Congress, their staff, journalists, and other Capitol employees were forced to evacuate or were sequestered in their offices, praying for their safety and the safety of others.

I won’t mince words: President Trump and his Republican sycophant enablers are responsible for this armed mob storming the Capitol. They’re responsible for delaying our democratic…

As we settle into our second stay-at-home order in the Bay Area, I’ll be honest: it’s a bit of a struggle to offer new words of guidance, comfort, or advice. No one needs to be reminded of how hard a time this is — we’re all living it. Many of us had to make tough phone calls to loved ones to let them know we wouldn’t be gathering for Thanksgiving. And we’ll have to do it again for Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years.

The unusual holiday season, of course, is piling on top of the many reasons folks are struggling…

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m reflecting on what I’m thankful for during this very unusual and difficult year. I am thankful for all of our essential workers who keep our communities running during this time. I’m also thankful for all of you — the members of our community — for hanging in there through the very challenging events of the past 8 months. Thank you for social distancing, for postponing weddings and birthdays, for staying home, for cancelling plans, and for everything else you’ve done to slow the spread of COVID-19. All of your efforts matter — you’ve helped protect our…

All six of my bills that made it to Governor Newsom’s desk this year were signed into law

This legislative session was nothing short of extraordinary — and I mean that in the literal sense. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on our normal processes and shortening our session, we were forced to cut down on the amount of legislation we pursued.

That being said, amidst the unpredictability of the last 7 months, I’m proud to say that I sent six important progressive reforms to the Governor’s desk, all of which he signed into law.

In total, since I took office four…

I’ve been volunteering at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank over the past four months. I’ve gotten used to the flow of it: packing food into bags and boxes, and handing it out and talking with folks (from a distance) as people queue in a long line. Even after numerous times volunteering, I’m always devastated by how many people are in line with their children, just trying to get food to feed their families for another day. …

Police Violence, Mass Incarceration, and Where We Go from Here

The police murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in Louisville and Minneapolis were beyond sickening and shocking. At the same time, these horrific acts of violence were, ultimately (and tragically), unsurprising. Our country has a deep and long-standing problem with police violence — all too often lethal — directed at Black people. Our country was built using slave labor, and this foundation of racism and violence against Black people has stayed with us through our entire history: from the Jim Crow era and segregation, to decades of redlining and systemically denying financial opportunity to the Black community, to the…