Secretary Padilla's Statement on
California Earthquake Early Warning System
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla issued the following statement on the launch of the state's early earthquake early warning system. In 2013, then State Senator Alex Padilla authored
Senate Bill 135
, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, which required the state to establish the nation's first statewide early warning system.
"Thirty years ago the Loma Prieta Earthquake shook the Bay Area, leading to 63 deaths and injuring thousands. Five years later, the Northridge Earthquake lead to 57 deaths, thousands of injuries, and over $20 billion in damage. Millions of Californians were hit without warning. There was no lead time for motorists to pull over, for infrastructure to safely shut down, for Californians to take cover."
"Technology has come a long way since then, but unfortunately the United States has lagged behind the rest of the world in deploying an early warning system, even though the technology was developed here in California. That changes with the implementation of this system."
"As a State Senator, I authored the law requiring an early warning system because it is not a matter of if, but when the next major earthquake hits California. Six long years after my bill was signed into law, the system is now being deployed, meeting our moral and economic need for an advanced warning system. The investment in deploying the early warning system is small compared to the countless lives and property that will be saved in the future."
"When the next big earthquake strikes, every second of advance notice will matter. Providing advanced warning could be the difference between life and death. I urge every Californian to download the California
Earthquake Early Warning System
app, MyShake, today."
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Secretary of State to Partner with Equality California to
Protect Voting Rights of Transgender Californians in 2020
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Secretary Padilla annou
nced at Equality California's (
EQCA
) annual "
Fair Share for Equality
" policy convening that he will partner with the civil rights organization to protect transgender and gender-nonconforming voters’ access to the ballot box and boost LGBTQ civic engagement in 2020. Equality California Institute is the educational arm of EQCA, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization.
“Every eligible voter has a right to cast a ballot free from any unnecessary burdens or intimidation,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “Elections officials have a duty to facilitate the participation of all eligible voters. By partnering with Equality California we can benefit from their expertise and experience to better train poll workers and ensure a welcoming voting environment for LGBTQ citizens. California is proud to be proactive in protecting the voting rights of LGBTQ voters and fostering an inclusive democracy.”
The Secretary also presented EQCA with copies of documents from the State Archives that highlighted their role as a key player in the fight for marriage equality. These framed documents included the cover page of EQCA's answer brief to the "
In re Marriage Cases" and the first page of the "In re Marriage Cases" Opinion.
Learn more about this partnership
here.
Notable Coverage:
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Three California Parties to Allow No Party Preference Voters to Participate in Presidential Primary
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The following parties have notified Secretary Padilla that they will allow
No Party Preference
voters to request their party’s presidential ballot in the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election:
- The American Independent Party
- The Democratic Party
- The Libertarian Party
The Green, Peace and Freedom, and Republican presidential primaries are open only to voters registered with their respective parties.
“As we enter the fifth election cycle under the ‘Top Two Primary’ system, California voters have become increasingly accustomed to voting for the candidates of their choice regardless of political party preference,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “The Presidential Primary, however, remains the exception. Voters registered as ‘No Party Preference’ have the option of requesting a ballot that includes presidential candidates of a political party that allows ‘cross-over’ voting. I urge every Californian to verify their voter registration today at
VoterStatus.sos.ca.gov
. If any voter wishes to change their political party, they can do so easily by re-registering at
RegisterToVote.ca.gov
.”
As of February 10, 2019, there were 5,645,665 voters in California registered with No Party Preference. This is an increase from 4,177,648 voters registered with No Party Preference ahead of the 2016 Presidential Primary Election.
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bizfile California Launches Online Trademark Modification Tool
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biz
file California has launched a new online tool
–
trademark modification
–
to make it easier to do business in California. Now, businesses can file trademark renewals, assignments (transfer of ownership), and name changes online.
In the 2018 – 2019 fiscal year, more than 1,000 of these modifications were filed with the Secretary of State’s office.
“The new online trademark modification tool will make the filing process more efficient for business owners and our staff,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “By moving filings online, we reduce processing time and minimize potential errors. This is our latest step in modernizing how business is done in California.”
Other tools available through
biz
file California include:
- LLC Statement of Information Online Submission Tool - Since the initial bizfile launch in June 2017, more than one million online LLC Statements of Information filings have been processed. In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, 453,254 submissions were processed online.
- California Business Search Tool - More than 14.7 million Corporation, LLC, and LP records are available for free download.
- How to Start a Business in California brochure and check list.
- Trademark Online Submission Tool - There have been more than 12,220 submissions since the tool was launched January 2018.
- LLC Formation Online Submission Tool - Launched in May 2018, the documents required to form an LLC can now be filed online. Since launch, we have processed 156,578 LLC Formation online submissions.
- Eureka Chatbot - Our new artificial intelligence search assistant—launched May 2018—helps customers easily navigate business resources on the Secretary of State’s website. Eureka has already answered more than 91,850 questions.
- LLC Terminations Online Submission Tool - Launched in December 2018, the documents required to terminate an LLC can now be filed online. Since launch, we have processed 19,736 LLC Terminations online submissions.
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Secretary Padilla Joins Central Valley Leaders to Prepare for
Statewide 2020 Census Efforts in Stockton
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As Chair of the
California Complete Count Committee, Secretary Padilla has participated in a series of regional convenings and Implementation Plan Workshops across the state in preparation for the 2020 Census.
This month, he met with local leaders in the northern Central Valley at an event in Stockton to discuss the effects of an under-count on California's fair share of federal funding and representation in Congress. Achieving a complete count will require dedicated outreach to hard-to-count communities. Twenty-five counties in California have been identified as hard-to-count, so the Secretary of State's office has compiled
Fact Sheets with county-specific information to help with census outreach efforts. You can find the fact sheet for San Joaquin County
here.
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Secretary Padilla and Telemundo Rally Students at
Helen Bernstein High School
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Secretary Padilla and Telemundo visited
Helen Bernstein High School this month to discuss the importance
of voting and the role young people can play in shaping the future through civic participation.
In preparation for the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary, Secretary Padilla encouraged all eligible 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. Once pre-registered, their registration will automatically activate when they turn 18. Secretary Padilla also highlighted the importance of ensuring California has an accurate count of its residents in the 2020 Census.
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Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Election Legislation
Supported by Secretary Padilla
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As part of his first year in office, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law that expanded conditional voter registration and created a framework for more effective outreach to increase student civic engagement. Secretary Padilla was supportive of both pieces of legislation.
Senate Bill 72, authored by Senator Tom Umberg, expands access to conditional voter registration—also known as Same-Day voter registration—to every polling location across California. Previously, conditional voter registration was only available at county elections offices, designated satellite locations, or vote centers (in counties that adopted the
Voter’s Choice Act
).
Assembly Bill 963, authored by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, creates the framework for more effective outreach to increase student civic engagement. The new Student Civic and Voter Empowerment Program will be conducted by the Secretary of State, in partnership with the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC).
The new Student Civic and Voter Empowerment Program will be overseen by the California Students Vote Project, which has established relationships with both public and private colleges and universities in the state.
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California Channel Archives Now Hosted by California State Archives
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The California Channel’s (Cal Channel) recordings from March 6, 2012 to September 13, 2019 are now hosted and available online through the California State Archives. After the Cal Channel ceased operations this fall, the State Archives, a division of the California Secretary of State, acquired the channel’s complete archives. Recordings from prior to March 6, 2012 were not digitized by Cal Channel, but are available by request from the State Archives.
The Cal Channel was a public service network television channel funded entirely by California’s cable television operators from 1993-2019. The network was a means to provide Californians with direct access to “gavel-to-gavel" proceedings of the California Legislature and other public policy forums, as well as a balanced presentation of viewpoints. In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 54, which requires the Senate and Assembly to live-stream and archive their meetings online. The cable television operators that funded Cal Channel voted earlier this year to cease operations, and the video files have been transferred to the California State Archives.
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Safe At Home's Program Director Margie Hieter Elected Secretary of the National Association of Confidential Address Programs
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Margie Hieter,
Safe at Home's Program Director, has been elected to serve as Secretary for the National Association of Confidential Address Programs (
NACAP). Margie has been with the Secretary of State's office since August 2018.
NACAP is a membership organization that represents the interests of state confidential address programs across the nation. California is a founding member of NACAP. Board elections were held at the annual conference in Seattle, Washington from September 21 – 23, 2019. Margie will serve a two-year term that runs from September 2019 through September 2021.
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