With little opposition, the measure sailed through the Assembly on a 64-4 vote, and it gets its first hearing in the Senate on Tuesday before the Judiciary Committee. His SawStop is the only product currently on the market that is likely to meet the bill’s requirements. He’s pushing legislation that would require all new table saws sold in the state to be equipped with so-called injury mitigation technology. The machine, known as the SawStop, has been hailed by some woodworkers as a godsend to prevent injuries and amputations that cost their industry and hobbyists billions of dollars a year.īut Gass also is a patent attorney who stands to gain from tough new safety standards proposed in California. The Oregon inventor has developed a table saw that can stop a whirling blade almost the instant it comes into contact with human flesh. SACRAMENTO - Stephen Gass is either a savior of fingers or a greedy monopolist, depending on who’s describing a controversial bill making its way through the California Legislature.

Sawstop table saw