A pair of powerful California lawmakers is teaming up to pass legislation that would require device manufacturers to ascertain the age of users, with the goal of providing kids with age-appropriate online experiences. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Tom Umberg (D) and Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair Buffy Wicks (D) announced Tuesday that they will work together to advance the Digital Age Assurance Act. 

Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) announced that earlier today his measure to implement treatment courts as demanded by California’s Proposition 36 passed its first key hurdle. 

The firing of top military lawyers by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, seen as an attack on the rule of law, signals a dangerous shift towards authoritarianism, undermining the legal and ethical safeguards that protect democracy and prevent the abuse of military power.

(Sacramento, CA) – Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), Chair of the California Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the statement below in response to today’s State of the Judiciary.

(Sacramento, CA) – Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) announced today that he is re-introducing legislation to enhance substance use disorder treatment facilities’ accountability and service quality across California. Senator Umberg’s Senate Bill 35 focuses on reinforcing the regulations surrounding the operation of sober living homes and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities. It is a reintroduction of last year’s Senate Bill 913, which died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

A bill in the California Legislature could change the way public officers and candidates raise money for their campaigns by allowing them to use public funds, with some rules in place. 

If you agreed to a mind-meld with Spock, you wouldn’t expect the Vulcan to share all of your deepest thoughts with the entirety of the United Federation of Planets, would you? That’s exactly what Sen. Tom Umberg’s newest bill would prevent in the real world, where brain-computer interfaces are becoming more of a reality rather than a phenomenon from “Star Trek.”

(Sacramento, CA)— Earlier today, Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced his introduction of Senate Bill 44, the Neural Data Protection Act.