SACRAMENTO, CA – California State Senator Melissa Hurtado, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a champion of Valley Values, today applauded the launch of the National Farm Security Action Plan by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and the bipartisan push in Congress to stop foreign governments from acquiring U.S. farmland.
BAKERSFIELD, CA — As tensions rise overseas and cyber threats against U.S. infrastructure intensify, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-16) today renewed her call for Governor Gavin Newsom to provide a cybersecurity briefing to the Legislature. Hurtado emphasized that foreign adversaries are actively probing critical infrastructure, including California’s electric grid, during global conflicts like the ongoing Iran-Israel crisis, as national security officials have warned.
BAKERSFIELD, CA – Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) touted the economic benefits for Kern County residents of a bill making its way thru the California legislature during a press conference at Meadows Field Airport alongside Bakersfield Mayor Karen K. Goh, Kern County Supervisor Philip Peters, Local Labor Leaders, and County Airport officials.
SACRAMENTO – In a year when California faces multiyear deficits and budget cuts, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D–Bakersfield) helped secure millions in critical investments for the Central Valley, particularly Kern, Kings, Tulare, and Fresno Counties. These wins directly advance her 2025 Common Sense Plan: putting people first, driving down costs, and holding the powerful accountable.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Melissa Hurtado (D–Bakersfield) is celebrating the passage of the majority of her Common Sense Plan by a full Senate vote as the bills are now eligible for voting, and passage, by the California Assembly.
The bills passed by the Senate were:
SACRAMENTO, CA – Following major disease outbreaks that exposed dangerous gaps in California’s public health infrastructure, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D–Bakersfield) is calling for urgent action to modernize the state’s disease surveillance systems and protect frontline communities. As Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and architect of California’s One Health Framework, Hurtado is backing budget proposals she helped shape—proposals that reflect years of work to shift the state from reactive crisis management to proactive public safety.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) announced that several major bills from her Common Sense Plan have passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, clearing a critical hurdle and moving one step closer to delivering real results for working families across California—and especially the Central Valley.
The bills advance a focused agenda: putting people first, driving down costs, and holding the powerful accountable.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) has called on the California Department of General Services (DGS) to immediately review the state’s contract with the data broker hired by the Employment Development Department (EDD) to verify the identities of Californians applying for unemployment and disability benefits.
In a letter to DGS Procurement Division Deputy Director Angela Shell, Senator Hurtado raised serious concerns about the company’s performance.