The Assembly Committee on Appropriations today approved five bills by Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) and placed two others on suspense (a standard procedure for bills requiring appropriations of $150,000 or more).

The five Soto bills approved by the committee were:

• SB 441, which would require the Public Utilities Commission to study the effects of time-of-use metering on customers in hot climate zones;
• SB 477, which would better assist communities in recovering from disasters;
• SB 513, which would create a six-month deferral, on behalf of the surviving spouses of members of the California National Guard who are killed in the line of duty, of payment of interest accrued on financial obligations or liabilities;
• SB 584, which would make it a crime for people who intentionally avoid security screening areas in courthouses & other public buildings;
• SB 697, which would crack down on fraudulent applications for or receipt of CalPERS disability insurance benefits.

The two Soto bills placed on suspense were:

• SB 8, which would extend the “revolving prohibition” on lobbying by former elected state officials (and some designated state employees) to former city & county officials as well;
• SB 156, which would increase penalties for people convicted of crimes related to illegal cockfighting, including bird owners & trainers.