Sally Lieber

During her first term she served as Assistant Speaker pro Tempore. During this term she was the only woman to serve as an officer of the Assembly. She took the oath of office for Speaker pro Tempore on October 24, 2006, becoming the third woman to serve in this role since 1849. She also served on the Assembly's Committee on Insurance, Committee on Judiciary, Committee on Local Government, Committee on Health and as the Chair of the Assembly's Select Committee on Mobilehomes. She previously served as the Assembly Chair of the legislature's Joint Committee on Ending Poverty in California.

Sally Lieber's main legislative priorities include: increased educational and economic opportunities for all citizens of California, protection for the environment, improvements to public health, and increased social justice.

Lieber authored legislation to increase the state's minimum wage, co-authored a greenhouse gas reduction bill, and joint-author of a bill to legalize gay marriage (though that bill was later vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger). Lieber was one of only a few heterosexual legislators to joint-author Mark Leno's marriage equality bill. She has authored legislation that includes efforts increasing pupil immunizations, creating an independent sentencing commission, and improving the living conditions of inmates in California's overcrowded prisons.

Lieber has authored legislation providing for a death penalty moratorium, advocating for the rights of pregnant inmates in state prison (allowing them to have prenatal vitamins, providing larger clothes as they got larger with pregnancy, anti-shackling during childbirth), fighting for victims of human trafficking and battling toxic-dumping corporations. Most recently, she advocated a mandatory vaccine against HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer.

In April 2006, Lieber spent several days living as if she were homeless in Santa Clara Valley, in an attempt to understand the problems the homeless face, and how the legislature can help them. She begged for money, and collected cans and bottles, in order to buy food on the streets of Mountain View and San Jose.[5] Lieber used the experience to encourage the Governor to keep cold weather shelters open for the homeless.

In 2004, Lieber introduced extremely controversial legislation regarding the State vehicle Emission test cycle, which was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bi-ennial test previously exempted vehicles over 30 years old, while Lieber's legislation fixed the cutoff date at 1976 in perpetuity. Historical vehicles are not exempt. Car collectors, including Jay Leno, noted that this legislation imposed severe penalties for negligible benefit.[8]

Lieber was in the press in January 2007 by announcing she was planning on introducing a bill that will make it illegal in California to spank a child three years-old or younger. She may have been inspired by the law in Canada which prohibits spanking children under the age of 2 years or over the age of 11 years, which was passed in 2004. The proposed bill has since been opposed by some on the basis of the practical aspects of enforcing it, though there are those who support it as well (early polling suggests that it is supported by 23% of Californians).[9]

In 2019 Lieber accepted the endorsement of the DSA.[10] Lieber has been rated at 100% by the Sierra Club California, the California National Organization for Women, California League of Conservation Voters, California School Employees Association, the California Alliance for Retired Americans, and the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO. She has received low ratings from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the California Chamber of Commerce.