For many a householder or farmer, poison can be the easiest option to get rid of rats and mice, but the effect goes beyond rodent pests. Rat poisons have been found in dead or ailing big cats, predatory birds, and small humans. Recently, the necropsy of P-22, the mountain lion once caught by a trail camera against the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, found exposure to five different anticoagulant rodenticides in his liver. A bill to add one of them — diphacinone — to California’s list of banned poisons is on its way through the State Senate.

Since first taking Assembly office in 2016, I’ve worked to strengthen the safety net for transition-age foster youth, particularly when it comes to ensuring they have access to safe and supportive housing. I’ve successfully passed bills to provide financial support to cover housing costs for foster youth enrolled in college. I’ve also worked to cut the bureaucratic red tape that limited options for transition-age youth and foster care providers. And I’ve worked to secure additional funding for housing services in the state budget.

Bill by Assemblymem

Cameras that can automatically send tickets to motorists who are speeding moved a big step closer to reaching city streets after the bill that would legalize such ticketing got state Assembly approval in late May by a wide margin.

Assembly Bill 645, authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, authorizes “speed camera” pilot programs in school zones and on high-injury streets with speeding problems in six cities, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco.

The Armenian Relief Society of Western USA was selected as a 2023 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Laura Friedman of the 44th Assembly District. The ARS of Western USA is one of more than one hundred nonprofits that were honored by state senators and assemblymembers for their outstanding contributions to the communities they serve.

The  head of the Assembly Transportation Committee wants to know why Caltrans has cut the number of electricians needed to make repairs to the vital freeway lights and cameras. 

STATEWIDE – Assembly Bill 1572– legislation which would ban watering non-functional grass, passed Assembly May 31. If signed into law, the bill would phase out watering of public and commercial grass that isn’t used for recreation or community space by January 1, 2031.

“Landscaping has so much potential to support California’s important goals to conserve water, support biodiversity, and connect more people to nature,” said Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) who authored AB 1572.

Some people may think palm trees are native to California, but they’re not. In fact, non-native flora abound throughout our state. A bill moving through the California Legislature aims to boost the proliferation of native plants by requiring landscaping on some public and commercial areas to use at least 75 percent low-water, native plants by 2035. The idea is to promote cultivation of California’s native plants, increase biodiversity, and respond better to climate change.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A pair of California bills aimed at curbing water use for landscaping has cleared the California State Assembly.

On Wednesday, AB 1573, which requires the use of California native plants, and AB 1572, banning the use of potable water for irrigation on non-functional turf, passed onto the Senate.