The California Legislature is back in session and 29 newly elected senators and assembly members kicked off their term with a special session focused on bolstering California legal resources to protect civil rights, immigrant families and reproductive freedom.

On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae sits down with Sen. Josh Becker, who was reelected in November and currently chairs the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy.

He discussed legislation surrounding neural data and artificial intelligence that was signed into law this year. SB 1223 established a first-in-the-nation right to privacy for an individual’s neural data, information collected from the nervous and peripheral nervous systems.

“There are 30 plus devices on the market right now that monitor brain data and record it for purposes of meditation, other things, good causes essentially. But not privacy policies in terms of protecting that information,” Becker said.

The senator recently hosted a town hall with First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Sen. Henry Stern about the latest research and best practices on existing school cellphones policies. California has a new law that now requires schools to develop policies that limit or restrict cellphones use in public schools. 

Becker also discussed the state’s homelessness crisis.

“We have a goal of functional zero in San Mateo County. We’re building a lot of interim housing,” Becker said.

SB 1395 fast tracks the building of tiny homes across California by cutting red rape and expediting approvals.

“We need to get people off the streets," said Becker. "We’ve seen that people are living and dying on the streets in greater and greater numbers, and that’s not humane in any way."

Send us your thoughts to InFocusSoCal@charter.com and watch at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. on Sundays.