Press Release

First Year Senator Dave Min Tallies Eight Bills Authored, Signed by Governor Newsom

SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) announced today that Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a total of eight of his bills into law. At the end of the State Legislature’s session in September, Senator Min had introduced a total of 15 bills, of which eight had  reached the Governor’s desk for consideration. All eight of these bills were enacted, including SB 264, which ends gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds; SB 374, which recognizes reproductive coercion as a form of domestic abuse; SB 500, which requires all autonomous vehicles to be zero emissions by 2030; and SB 654, which protects children by barring unsupervised visits with abusive parents. 

“We faced a series of enormous challenges during my first year in office, including the COVID-19 pandemic, school reopenings, the economic downturn, and most recently the Orange County Oil Spill,” said Senator Min. “But thanks to my incredible staff and the help of my colleagues in the State Legislature, we were able to meet those challenges head on.”  

Senator Min continued, “Whether it was historic investments in my community’s needs or groundbreaking legislation that will improve the lives and safety of so many Californians, including our most vulnerable populations and survivors of domestic violence, I’m so proud of the work my office was able to accomplish this year on behalf of our Orange County community. I look forward to taking on more challenges next year with a bit more experience under my belt.”

In addition to his legislative work, Senator Min also successfully steered over $35 million in direct appropriations for Orange County priorities this year, a signal that the 37th Senate District is and will continue to be a priority for future State investments under Senator Min’s new leadership. In addition, Senator Min was a principal co-author of SB 87, which added $2.1 billion to California’s Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant program. This program allocated over $60 million to small businesses in Min’s district. The Senator was also able to help shepherd nearly a quarter billion dollars in funding to other projects and priorities in Orange County.

In the past, due to a lack of effective representation, Orange County and Senate District 37 had consistently been among the lowest recipients in the state when it came to state investments of any kind.

As part of the State Senate’s Budget Subcommittee on Education, Senator Min was also instrumental in helping our K-12 schools and higher education institutions safely resume in-person instruction, and also in negotiating a massive increase in the number of slots at the University of California and California State University systems for in-state students, while preventing tuition increases. 

The eight bills authored by Senator Min and signed into law by the Governor are:

  • SB 264: Prohibits the sale of firearms, ammunition, and firearm precursor parts (used to build ghost guns) at the Orange County Fairgrounds. 
  • SB 308: Simplifies the process for transferring unclaimed property to the state for safekeeping, making it easier for those who own these unclaimed funds to receive them.
  • SB 374: Adds reproductive coercion to the definition of domestic violence. 
  • SB 391: Allows Homeowners Associations (HOAs) to meet virtually during times of officially declared emergencies and disasters. 
  • SB 500: Requires all autonomous vehicles under 8,501 pounds to be zero emission by Model Year 2031
  • SB 512: Expands access to higher education for current and former foster youth.
  • SB 607: Increases efficiency and provides clarifying authority for business licensing programs to continue to do their important regulatory work.
  • SB 654: Requires judges to consider a history of abuse when placing children in unsupervised visitation and prevents children from testifying in front of parties seeking custody. 

Min also requested, and received, the following line items in the 2021-22 budget, totaling $37.4 million:

  • $17.9 million for the ALERTWildfire Phase 2 expansion

    • ALERTWildfire is an incredibly successful wildfire prevention program, relying on 700 remote cameras to provide early detection for wildfires. Phase 2 of this program, which will be funded by this budget allocation, will provide an infrared map of the fuel concentrations of fire-prone areas. This infrared mapping will not only inform fuel reduction efforts in our state, but will also be critical for deploying first responders trying to put out wildfires, by providing a real-time assessment of where fires are likely to spread.
  • $14.5 million for the City of Irvine for the completion of the Jeffrey Open Space Trail (JOST)
    • A critical element of the region’s open space plan, JOST will run through Senate District 37 and link existing bike and pedestrian trails, connecting the coastline to the Santa Ana Mountains and Cleveland National Forest.
  • $5 million to the Orange County Sustainability Decathlon
    • The Orange County Sustainability Decathlon challenges 20 teams from around the world to design, build, and operate green energy-powered houses that meet net-zero energy building standards. Scheduled for 2023, the Decathlon is expected to attract global media coverage and hopefully will provide meaningful green innovation that can help developers meet the state’s ambitious zero-emission standards.

Senator Min was also a principal co-author of SB 87, which seeded the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant program with $2.1 billion in funding. This program, which was crucial for small businesses across the state struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, brought back over $60 million to over 5,000 small businesses in Min’s district.

In addition to these projects that were funded at Senator Min’s direct request, Min was proud to help shepherd nearly a quarter billion in State funding for local initiatives throughout Orange County, including:

  • $185 million for deferred maintenance projects throughout the state, including approximately $21 million for cottage rehabilitation at Crystal Cove State Park
  • $8 million for Banning Ranch conservation, led by Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris
  • $30 million toward grants to the Orange County Food Bank, among other statewide organizations, to provide diapers to low-income families with infants or toddlers
  • $5 million for the County of Orange toward the forthcoming Be Well OC campus located in Irvine, led by Senator Tom Umberg & Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris
  • $2.5 million for the City of Costa Mesa’s regional fire and rescue facility
  • $1.15 million for the City of Tustin toward a new, backup generator 

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Dave Min represents California State Senate District 37, which is located in Orange County and includes the communities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Foothill Ranch, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, and Villa Park.

 

Dave was a University of California Irvine law professor and a former economic policy staffer in the United States Senate and for the Center for American Progress. He began his legal career at the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the retirement security of seniors, turning down high paying jobs to serve the public interest. Dave and his wife Jane live and work in Irvine, where they are raising their three young children.