• Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills authored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), SB 295 and SB 414, that arose in response to this year’s Refugio oil spill. They require more frequent oil pipeline inspections and improved oil spill response. In addition, the governor has just signed a third Jackson bill dealing with environmental issues, SB 379, which would require cities and counties to plan for how they will adapt to the impacts of climate change—such as sea-level rise, fires, flood, and drought—in their general plans beginning in 2017.
Jackson said, “These two key oil spill bills arose out of the devastation caused by the Refugio oil spill this year in my community and the very serious threat it posed to our wildlife and economy. I do believe that if the pipeline that ruptured and caused the spill had been inspected annually, the corrosion would have been detected and we would have been able to prevent this spill. This legislation represents a very important step forward for our environment and our beautiful and economically vital coastline.”
On Oct. 6, Brown signed yet another bill by Jackson that will ensure that women are paid equally for work that’s substantially similar to the work of their male colleagues, without facing retailiation if they discuss or ask how much their male colleagues are paid. The bill will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016.
“This is a momentous day for California, and it is long overdue. I want to thank the governor for his support and for signing this bill into law. Equal pay isn’t just the right thing for women, it’s the right thing for our economy and for California. Families rely on women’s income more than ever before. Because of the wage gap, our state and families are missing out on $33.6 billion a year,” Jackson said. “That money could be flowing into families’ pocketbooks, into our businesses and our economy. After years of dealing with a persistent wage gap, and an equal pay law that has been on the books since 1949 but that is not as strong as it should be, the time has come for women’s paychecks to finally reflect their hard work and true value. Today, California leads the nation in showing how it can be done.”
In 2013, a woman in California working full time made a median 84 cents to every dollar a man earned, according to the Equal Rights Advocates. The gap is significantly greater for women of color. Latinas in California make only 44 cents for every dollar a white man makes, the most significant Latina wage gap in the nation. African-American women are only paid 64 cents on the dollar. As a group, women who are employed full time in California lose approximately $33.6 billion every year due to the wage gap.
This article appears in Oct 15-22, 2015.