Lieu Delivers $1 Million Fed Check for Torrance Public Safety Tech Upgrade
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica) delivered more than $1 million in federal funding to the City of Torrance this week for a major public safety digital infrastructure expansion, joining city officials and police department leadership at a ceremonial check presentation.
The $1,031,000 in federal funding will support the installation of new Citizen Broadband Radio System (CBRS) sites throughout Torrance, expanding wireless network coverage to support emergency response, investigations, and critical public safety operations citywide. The investment will also strengthen the Torrance Police Department’s Real Time Response Center.
“I am pleased to have secured over $1 million to support the Torrance Police Department’s Real Time Response Center,” Lieu said. “This funding will help local law enforcement further modernize their public safety operations and ensure police are able to be responsive to community needs.”
Torrance Mayor George K. Chen welcomed Lieu at the event, saying the funding represents more than technology. “It represents preparedness, resilience, and most importantly our shared commitment to protecting the people who live, work, and visit Torrance,” Chen said.
Harabedian Mental Health Bill Ending ‘Step Therapy’ Clears Appropriations
Assemblymember John Harabedian (D, Pasadena) scored a key legislative victory this week when his Assembly Bill 1970 passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, moving the measure one step closer to the Assembly Floor.
AB 1970 would prohibit health insurance plans from requiring patients with serious mental illness or substance use disorders to first fail on cheaper or less effective medications before receiving treatments their doctors actually recommend — a practice known as step therapy. The requirement can force patients in crisis to wait weeks or months while navigating insurance bureaucracy, rather than receiving care.
“Mental health care should not come with unnecessary barriers,” said Harabedian. “When someone is experiencing a mental health or substance crisis, every day matters. Patients deserve timely access to the medications their doctors believe will help them stabilize and recover.”
Advocates say step therapy delays can worsen mental health conditions, increase the risk of hospitalization, and create additional financial and emotional stress for families already struggling to access care.
The bill’s prohibition would apply to health care service plans and insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.
AB 1970 now heads to the full Assembly for a vote.
Kamlager-Dove’s African Leaders Bill Wins Bipartisan Committee Vote
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Culver City, Los Angeles, West Hollywood) celebrated the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passage this week of her bipartisan Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Act, co-authored with Rep. Young Kim (R-CA).
YALI was launched in 2010 under the Obama administration to support emerging leaders across sub-Saharan Africa through fellowship programs, training, and exchange opportunities.
The YALI Act would codify the program into law — giving it a statutory foundation that would make it harder for future administrations to cancel or defund it.
“YALI recognizes the unique role that Africa’s young people will play in shaping the future of the continent, and by extension the world, as the fastest-growing population on the planet,” said Kamlager-Dove. “After the Office of Management and Budget’s interference canceled the 2026 cohort of YALI fellows, providing this program with statutory authority is more important than ever.”
Companion legislation in the Senate is co-led by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).
Valladares Fights Fed Tax Hike Tied to State COVID Unemployment Debt
Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R – Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale) is pushing back against a looming federal tax increase that she says would force California employers to pay for what she calls the state’s financial mismanagement of pandemic-era unemployment funds.
Valladares co-authored Senate Joint Resolution 15, urging Congress to shield California businesses from federal tax hikes triggered by the state’s failure to repay its COVID-era unemployment insurance debt.
Without congressional action, California employers face a 5.2% payroll tax — nearly nine times the rate paid by businesses in debt-free states, according to the California Business Roundtable. The burden would fall hardest on small businesses, which make up 99.8% of all California businesses and support 7.6 million jobs statewide.
“California businesses survived shutdowns, protected jobs, and held their communities together — and this is how Sacramento repays them,” said Valladares. “Our state leaders failed on fraud, failed on fiscal responsibility, and now they want employers to clean up the mess.”
The debt traces to the pandemic, when California’s Employment Development Department paid out an estimated $20 to $32 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims.
Valladares said she warned about the growing debt in 2022 while serving on a budget subcommittee in the Assembly. All ten members of the California Senate Republican Caucus have signed on in support of SJR 15.
