In 1978, Leno started Budget Signs as owner and operator. The business incorporated in 1982. Working with his life partner, Douglas Jackson, the business continued to grow and their involvement in community affairs steadily expanded. Jackson died from complications related to AIDS in 1990.[3][4]
Leno introduced legislation to allow tenants to replace a roommate without losing their lease, measures to aid those with HIV/AIDS, and a measure to promote the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to help low income residents.[5] He authored legislation to ban mercury thermometers, one of the first such proposals in the country. In 2000, as a supervisor, he supported Proposition L, the slow-growth measure and authored legislation to protect neighborhood business districts from big box retail.[clarification needed] He was a statewide spokesman for the No on Proposition 22 campaign.[6]
In 2001, Leno successfully introduced an ordinance providing equal access to the city's health plan for transgender employees of San Francisco.[7]
State Assembly
Leno at the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2010
Leno was elected to the California State Assembly in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004 and 2006. He was the chair of the Assembly's Appropriations Committee, as well as the Select Committee on Childhood Obesity & Related Diabetes.
In 2005, Leno authored AB 849, a bill legalizing same-sex marriages that became the first bill of its kind to pass a legislative body in the United States. The bill passed both the Assembly and the State Senate[3] but was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In 2007, Leno introduced AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, that would have allowed for same-sex marriage.[3] This bill passed the Assembly and Senate but was again vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Same-sex marriage was legalized by the California Supreme Court in a May 2008 decision, becoming effective June 16, 2008.
In 2006, Leno and Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore co-authored a bill that would legalize the cultivation of non-psychoactivehemp. The bill does not conflict with the federal Controlled Substances Act and would mandate that hemp be tested to ensure it is non-psychoactive.[8] He authored California Assembly Bill Number AB 1668, on February 23, 2007 — a bill encouraging Open Document Formats ODF in California.[9]
In Leno's first two terms in the Assembly, 58 of his bills were signed into law. He co-authored AB 32 to cap greenhouse emissions. He authored AB 706 to prohibit the use of fire retardants in upholstered furniture. He authored AB 2573 to allow San Francisco public utilities to install solar panels on public infrastructure. He also authored Assembly Bill 1358, the California Complete Streets Act, to require cities and counties to consider including walking and bicycling in their general plans. He coauthored the AB 583, California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, to bring public financing to political campaigns.
State Senate
In 2008, he won the Democratic Party nomination for California's 3rd Senate district with 43.8 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Senator Carole Migden, who had 28.6 percent of the vote, and former Assemblyman Joe Nation, who had 27.6 percent of the vote. Leno was a principal co-author of SB 840, the Single-Payer Universal Health Care Act, which would have provided health care coverage for all Californians and would have replaced hundreds of health insurance companies with state-provided coverage.[10]
During his 14-year term in the State Legislature, Leno authored numerous bills[11] including:
SB 810, the California Universal Health Care Act.
The Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. The bill requires airlines to provide basic needs for passengers, such as water, snacks, fresh air, sanitary restrooms, and lights if a plane is delayed on a tarmac at a California airport.[12]
A state constitutional amendment regarding the Public Records Act. The amendment clarifies that local governments must comply with requests for publicly available documents, and requires local governments to pay in full the costs of those requests. The amendment was approved by voters in the November 2014 election as Proposition 42.[13]
The Fair Education Act, which ensures LGBT and disabled people are included in social science history curriculum.[14]
Legislation to require disclosure of the use or absence of flame retardant chemicals on existing furniture labels.[15]
A smartphone "kill switch bill", requiring phones sold in the state to include an anti-theft technology.[16]
Legislation to establish Harvey Milk Day in California, making California the first state in the nation to officially honor the civil rights activist.[17]
SB 178, the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act which strengthened the digital privacy rights of California citizens.[18]
The state's minimum wage increase to $15 per hour in 2022.[19]
Legislation to limit and restrict the use of solitary confinement in juvenile facilities.[20]
Legislation to add electronic cigarettes to the state's existing smoke-free laws and require the packaging to be child-resistant.[21]
California's first major reform of the state's public utilities commission.[22]
Legislation to exempt Single Room Occupancy units from the Ellis Act.[23]
The California Community Corrections Performance Incentive Act of 2009, which helps reduce California's prison admissions.[24]
Awards and honors
Leno has been recognized by LGBT organizations,[25] civil rights advocacy groups, and non-profits[26] throughout his tenure for his commitment to public service and for authoring legislation to combat discrimination,[27] protect the rights of all Californians,[18] and lift millions out of poverty.[28]
In 2005, he was honored by the California Attorneys For Criminal Justice with their Scales of Justice Award in recognition to his fair and balanced approach in chairing the Assembly Public Safety Committee.[3] He received the "Lifetime Friend and Champion" award from the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club and was chosen by OUT Magazine as one of 2005's "Most Intriguing Gay Men."[3] In 2006, he was honored by the Stonewall Democratic Club in Los Angeles with their Sheila Kuehl Trail Blazer Award, the Lazarus Project's Lazarus Award for Marriage Equality, the California Young Democrats' Mentor of the Year, Partners Ending Domestic Abuse's Kamala Harris Leadership Award, and Temple Beth Chayim Chadashim's 2006 Herman Humanitarian Award.[3]
In 2011, the Consumer Attorneys of California presented him with the Leadership of the Year Award[31] and he received the Transgender Law Center's Community Ally Award in 2010.[32] He received the California Community Choice Aggregation Champion award in 2014 for his dedication to green energy by Marin Clean Energy.
In 2015, he received the leadership award from the Northern California Innocence Project for advancing legislation to prevent wrongful conviction[33] and the Women's Human Rights Award by Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women.[34]
In 2016, he was recognized by the Coachella Valley Harvey Milk Diversity Coalition for his leadership on LGBT issues,[35] the Mental Health Association of San Francisco for his work on mental health issues,[36] the Western Center on Law and Poverty for his dedication to public service,[37] and the Electronic Frontier Foundation for his work to protect digital privacy, among other recognitions.[26]
