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Articles by Bob Hertzberg
Bob Hertzberg: Prop 37 unlocks homeownership for middle class Californians
For decades, I’ve sat on the dais in hearing rooms, listening to what Californians need and hearing about the obstacles that stand in their way. Over and over again, the conversation centered around a common theme: Californians cannot afford to buy homes. Inflated pricing coupled with the rising cost of living have made it nearly impossible for nurses, teachers, veterans and small business owners to buy a home.
Bob Hertzberg: Prop 37 unlocks homeownership for middle class Californians
For decades, I’ve sat on the dais in hearing rooms, listening to what Californians need and hearing about the obstacles that stand in their way. Over and over again, the conversation centered around a common theme: Californians cannot afford to buy homes. Inflated pricing coupled with the rising cost of living have made it nearly impossible for nurses, teachers, veterans and small business owners to buy a home.
Want Your Kids to Be Able to Buy a House in the Valley
From Bob Hertzberg Who can come up with $160,000 for a down payment on an $800,000 three-bedroom after paying everyday bills? Our educated kids—nurses at Kaiser, teachers at Grant High, engineers at SpaceX—earn solid wages but can’t scrape together that 20% down payment. Under my new plan, which will require voter approval on the 2026 November ballot, qualified Californians put down just 3% cash, $24,000 of that $160,000, borrow the rest at fixed low interest rates, and build equity from day one.
How California can take the lead on preventing AI harms - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email OPINION – The potential transformative impact of recent advances in AI technology, such as San Francisco-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT-4, has been compared to the personal computer, the internet, and the industrial revolution. We are just starting to grapple with the implications of a society where everyone can chat with a digital oracle equipped with the entirety of human knowledge immediately, at zero cost.
Government must seek partners to house Californians with disabilities - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email OPINION – There is nothing more frightening for a parent than not having the resources to care for a child. Yet, this is the reality for far too many Californians who have children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). I became intimately familiar with this crisis during my tenure as Speaker of the State Assembly and majority leader of the California State Senate.
BOB HERTZBERG: Experience matters more than ever on Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles county is not your typical local government. By population, the county is larger than the entire state of Michigan. There are 88 cities, 86 school districts, more than 500 subdivisions of government, and a $44-billion dollar plus budget. The Board of Supervisors oversees all of it. The Board is made up of five incredibly powerful individuals who function as both the executive and legislative branches of county government.
'Greening’ schoolyards must be a state investment priority - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email From San Diego to Sacramento, the threat of rising temperatures to our youth continues to worsen. And as six million California public school students return to class this month, they’ll be walking onto schoolyards covered with asphalt – prison-like, unhealthy environments that are detrimental to a kid’s physical, mental and educational health.
DailyJournal
If you thought you recently felt two seismic earthquakes, it wasn’t your imagination. Thanks largely to three trumped-up appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court, a shocking pair of ground-shaking changes to American equality took place last week that will literally prove to be deadly. Unless you’ve been lucky enough to be in a sound-proofed cocoon: The first Supreme Court action repealed New York’s concealed-carry law.
Opinion: California needs to update water conservation standards
With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order calling on local water systems to start conserving more water, we find ourselves in an all-too familiar cycle. When signs of drought abound, we hope for miraculous storms to parch the land’s thirst. Hope starts to fade, and our agencies pivot into crisis mode, cutting water use in ways that likely won’t impact daily life but will ensure our faucets keep flowing. But what happens if the faucets stop flowing?
California is fighting a two-front war: climate change and climate already changed Original
It’s been 15 years since California passed a historic, first-in-the-nation law to cut back greenhouse gas emissions. In 2006, we thought of climate change as a threat in the distant future. But we’re no longer waiting for our climate to change. The stark reality we face today is a climate that has already changed. As we write this, our forests are burning. Our neighborhoods are experiencing extreme heat. Our wells are running dry.
California must invest in new homeownership: Bob Hertzberg
Think California has a housing crisis? Here’s what the real thing looks like: 16 million people, all suddenly out of work, all needing places to stay and ways to gain a foothold in the American economy. This was the situation in 1944 and it was a crisis. The millions were the men and women serving in World War II.
Give consumers back their power over data breaches: Bob Hertzberg Original
In a time of global pandemic, living life online seems like the best way to keep our families healthy and safe. But just as we can’t see the tiny droplets that carry the coronavirus, doing more online carries hidden risks as well, whether we’re Zooming with coworkers, helping our kids with school, or shopping for supplies we can’t find at the neighborhood market. The downside to the convenience online technology offers comes from information we share.
We need a smarter approach to post-prison reentry: Bob Hertzberg
During this unprecedented national reckoning, it is up to us now to seize this moment, at the very time we are in the midst of a world pandemic, to make real and meaningful improvements for communities that have been severely neglected for far too long. This is why I introduced Senate Bill 369 to establish the California Reentry Commission. “Reentry,” as it is called, is really just the process of our law enforcement system releasing those who have paid their debts to society.
Hertzberg’s Heroes: Vol. I, Issue IX
Welcome to Hertzberg’s Heroes! Every month, Team Hertzberg will highlight an organization or individual who exemplifies heroism through their dedication to making life better for the San Fernando Valley. Have a Hero to suggest? Submit your idea to Senator.Hertzberg@sen.ca.gov! On a bustling quad in between classes, Kenny Uong sits outside his favorite campus coffee spot.
California needs to continue to set ambitious climate change goals. But let’s do our homework, too
The future is important to Californians. Join experts and leaders for the California Influencers Series The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future. By Up Next The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future.
California needs to continue to set ambitious climate change goals. But let’s do our homework, too
The future is important to Californians. Join experts and leaders for the California Influencers Series The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future. By Up Next The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future.
California needs to continue to set ambitious climate change goals. But let’s do our homework, too
The future is important to Californians. Join experts and leaders for the California Influencers Series The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future. By Up Next The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future.
California needs to continue to set ambitious climate change goals. But let’s do our homework, too
The future is important to Californians. Join experts and leaders for the California Influencers Series The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future. By Up Next The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sun-Star will focus on the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future.
Bank cannabis for a safer, more responsible Los Angeles
California voters — probably the least receptive in the nation to policy edicts from the Donald Trump administration — got an unusual and unexpected bit of good news last week, when the president announced that he “probably will end up supporting” legislation to let states set their own cannabis policy. We’ll take it, but we’re not holding our breath.
Bank cannabis for a safer, more responsible Los Angeles
California voters — probably the least receptive in the nation to policy edicts from the Donald Trump administration — got an unusual and unexpected bit of good news last week, when the president announced that he “probably will end up supporting” legislation to let states set their own cannabis policy. We’ll take it, but we’re not holding our breath.
Bank cannabis for a safer, more responsible Los Angeles
California voters — probably the least receptive in the nation to policy edicts from the Donald Trump administration — got an unusual and unexpected bit of good news last week, when the president announced that he “probably will end up supporting” legislation to let states set their own cannabis policy. We’ll take it, but we’re not holding our breath.
How to combat the Trump tax
Sweeping legislation with arcane and opaque provisions that is barely deliberated always ends badly for the public. When it is agreed solely on a partisan basis favoring the special interests of the ruling party, and aimed at punishing states dominated by voters from the opposition party, it is a mockery of democracy.
Pacoima must transform itself once again
Long before Los Angeles had the Dodgers, the film industry or even before “The Pobladores”, Native Americans settled along the now Los Angeles River in a place called Pacoinga. Centuries passed until the arrival of the Spanish and the establishment of the mission in San Fernando. By the late 1800s, Pacoinga became Pacoima and a destination for minority groups to call home.
Bail system will be fairer if California passes this bill
The foundation of the American justice system, we are taught in school, is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. But every day, thousands of Californians who have been arrested — and are presumed innocent — are stuck in jail only because they can’t afford bail.
Bail system will be fairer if California passes this bill: Guest commentary
The foundation of the American justice system, we are taught in school, is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. But every day, thousands of Californians who have been arrested — and are presumed innocent — are stuck in jail only because they can’t afford bail.
Capturing stormwater a necessity
California is in a fix. The climate is changing, the state’s spring water supply — its snowpack — is gradually declining over time and we’ve entered a new era of endless cycles of drought. That is the reality in April 2017, even after an especially wet winter that saw flooding and infrastructure failures around the state. California’s water supply will be strained in coming decades, and we need to take action right now to plan for that.
Capturing stormwater and planning for California’s future: Bob Hertzberg
California is in a fix. The climate is changing, the state’s spring water supply — its snowpack — is gradually declining over time and we’ve entered a new era of endless cycles of drought. That is the reality in April 2017, even after an especially wet winter that saw flooding and infrastructure failures around the state. California’s water supply will be strained in coming decades, and we need to take action right now to plan for that.
CSUN can’t be ignored in Los Angeles County transit plan: Guest commentary
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is charting the future, with a bold plan to put a permanent sales-tax extension and increase on the November ballot and tie the revenue to a list of major transportation improvements to be made over the next 50 years. Metro’s $120 billion plan is the product of a lot of hard work and thoughtfulness, and I applaud that. But it has one glaring omission that needs to be addressed: California State University, Northridge.
Cal-Access proved in three hours why it needs immediate upgrades
Californians face a presidential election year with a ballot full of important decisions to make. Timely information and transparency will be essential to making good decisions, but one key tool, the state’s official website responsible for tracking campaign contributions, is outdated and starting to break down just as we enter our election season.
Jerry Hill, Bob Hertzberg and Adam Gray: California needs earthquake warning system
To live in California is to live in earthquake country. It is also to live in one of the most modern economies in the world - a place where advancing science and innovation are breeding technological wonders of all kind, from self-driving automobiles to the next generation of spacecraft. So it makes no sense that California is behind the curve in developing an early warning system for earthquakes that is already used in other countries, such as Japan.
Jerry Hill, Bob Hertzberg and Adam Gray: California needs earthquake warning system
To live in California is to live in earthquake country. It is also to live in one of the most modern economies in the world - a place where advancing science and innovation are breeding technological wonders of all kind, from self-driving automobiles to the next generation of spacecraft. So it makes no sense that California is behind the curve in developing an early warning system for earthquakes that is already used in other countries, such as Japan.
Jerry Hill, Bob Hertzberg and Adam Gray: California needs earthquake warning system
To live in California is to live in earthquake country. It is also to live in one of the most modern economies in the world - a place where advancing science and innovation are breeding technological wonders of all kind, from self-driving automobiles to the next generation of spacecraft. So it makes no sense that California is behind the curve in developing an early warning system for earthquakes that is already used in other countries, such as Japan.
Jerry Hill, Bob Hertzberg and Adam Gray: California needs earthquake warning system
To live in California is to live in earthquake country. It is also to live in one of the most modern economies in the world - a place where advancing science and innovation are breeding technological wonders of all kind, from self-driving automobiles to the next generation of spacecraft. So it makes no sense that California is behind the curve in developing an early warning system for earthquakes that is already used in other countries, such as Japan.
Traffic fines fund the courts, prey on poor
Whether it’s a broken taillight or late car registration, we all know the deal: pay up. Monetary penalties are embedded in our system of justice. But we’re not telling the truth about fines and penalties. In California, Ferguson, Mo., and across America, penalties are no longer deterrents, but a primary source of government funding. The justice system is heavily reliant on fees, penalties and assessments, levied primarily on the poor – the very people who can least afford it.
California needs a comprehensive tax system overhaul: Bob Hertzberg
As the new Legislature settles in after the election and Gov. Brown prepares his State-of-the-State address, students are protesting over tuition increases while the state faces yet another funding crisis for higher education. This has set lawmakers in Sacramento abuzz with debate about what tax plan should replace Brown’s temporary increase that will soon begin to wind down — and which he vows not to renew.
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