Senate District 33

Senator Lena Gonzalez

Welcome! I’m Senator Lena Gonzalez and I represent the 33rd District. The 33rd District represents nearly 1 million residents of Los Angeles County, including Long Beach, and the Southeast Los Angeles cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lakewood, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, Signal Hill, South Gate, and part of Los Angeles.

I’m honored to represent the working people of the 33rd District who drive California’s economy, from the Port of Long Beach to the transportation corridor that links California to the rest of the country. Please do not hesitate to contact my capitol or district office for assistance with state agencies or to voice your opinion about matters facing the legislature.

Sincerely,
State Senator Lena A. Gonzalez

Latest News & Videos

Sen. Lena Gonzalez Becomes First Latina to Be Appointed Chair of the California State Senate Transportation Committee in Over 50 years

December 15, 2020

Sacramento, Calif. – On Monday December 14th, 2020 Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D- Long Beach) was appointed Chair of the California State Senate Transportation Committee by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), becoming the first Latina in over 50 years to be appointed to this role in the California Senate. The Committee is comprised of 17 members and has jurisdiction over the California High-Speed Rail Authority, California Highway Patrol, California Transportation Commission, Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation (Caltrans), driver’s licenses, freight, regional transportation agencies, transit authorities, intercity rail, mobile sources of air pollution, fuels, rules of the road, state highways, local streets and roads, vehicles, aircraft, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and vessels.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: California Legislation to Make Significant Investments in Public Broadband

December 08, 2020

BY ERNESTO FALCON
The California Legislature finished the 2020 session without doing anything to address broadband access in response to the pandemic. While the California Senate sent much-needed legislation to the Assembly, it was not allowed to move forward from there. That meant no help for the more than 1 million students lacking sufficient Internet access to engage in remote education, or for the countless other Californians relying on their home access to engage in remote work. This year, Senator Lena Gonzalez, the original author of EFF’s sponsored legislation S.B. 1130 to convert the California Internet infrastructure program, is back with a new bill to take action this year, after close work with many of her colleagues.

Sen. Gonzalez Introduces Broadband for All Act to Bridge the Digital Divide and Address Inequity Underlined by COVID-19: CA Low Income, Rural, Urban Families and Minorities Face Greater Challenges Accessing Education and Healthcare due to Lack of Internet

December 07, 2020

Sacramento, Calif. – Today, Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D- Long Beach) introduced Senate Bill 4, the Broadband for All Act to help bridge the digital divide that has long resulted in deep inequity for California low income, rural, urban families and minorities throughout the state. With students learning remotely and medically fragile patients in need of telehealth, lack of adequate internet service is an urgent matter of education and healthcare equity that necessitates bold legislative action.

Gazette Newspapers: Long Beach's Lena Gonzalez Authors Bill To Help Bring High-Speed Internet To All

December 06, 2020

Harry Saltzgaver, Executive Editor

State Sen. Lena Gonzalez will introduce a bill Monday in the California Senate to create a way local governments can finance high-speed broadband connectivity to areas where it doesn't exist now.

"The COVID-19 Pandemic has exacerbated the deeply entrenched digital divide, which has left many lower income, Latino, African American, and rural communities without access to high-speed broadband services," said Gonzalez, a Democrat representing the greater Long Beach area, in her fact sheet about the bill.

Broadband for All Press Conference

December 03, 2020

Sen. Gonzalez Holds Press Conference on Broadband for All Bill that Will Help Generate Upwards of $1 Billion in Funds to Deploy High-Tech Broadband Infrastructure to Bridge the Digital Divide

December 03, 2020

Sacramento, Calif. – Today, Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D- Long Beach) will hold a virtual press conference at 10:00 a.m. to highlight “Broadband for All”, a bold legislative proposal she will be introducing on Monday, December 7th for the new 2020-2021 legislative session. Senator Gonzalez’s “Broadband for All” bill will generate upwards of $1 billion in funds needed to deploy high quality broadband infrastructure to end the inequity California low income, rural, urban families and minorities face in work, education and healthcare due to lack of internet access.

State Senate Holds Joint Oversight Hearing on COVID-19 in California State Prisons and ICE Transfers

November 19, 2020

Sacramento, Calif. - The Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response and Senate Committee on Public Safety will hold a joint oversight hearing today Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. to further examine the state’s response to COVID-19 in state prisons. This oversight hearing will look into the healthcare operations and precautionary measures that have been implemented inside state prisons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The protocols currently in place for the transfer of state prisoners to immigration detention centers will also be explored.

dPrimeramano: Sen. Gonzalez and Sen. Connie M. Leyva Co-chair Joint Oversight Hearing on K-12 Distance Learning: How Students Across the State Are Being Served and Are Accessing Online Learning

October 27, 2020

Sacramento, Calif. – Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D- Long Beach) chair of the Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response and Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) chair of the Senate Education Committee will co-chair a joint oversight hearing on Monday, October 26, 2020 at 1:00pm. This oversight hearing will examine the level and quality of access that students in California have had to distance learning instruction, as well as whether they have had access to fast and reliable internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Testimony and information on these subjects will be provided by education leaders, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the California Public Utilities Commission and telecommunications stakeholders. Knowledge obtained through this joint oversight hearing will help guide the development of new measures to address internet connectivity and remote instruction inadequacies impacting students all around the state.