Tag: economic justice

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Press Release

With 10 Bills Becoming Law in 2024, Progressive Coalition Pushed State to Protect Vulnerable Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 2, 2024

Contact: Maya Polon, maya@paschalroth.com

Sacramento, CA – The Building the California Dream Alliance today announced that the coalition of more than 60 progressive organizations succeeded in rebalancing California’s priorities this year by holding fast to a unified policy agenda aimed at lifting up California’s vulnerable communities. Nine significant policy changes backed by the coalition were signed into law by Governor Newsom, and another, ACA 8, moved forward for voters to decide on the November ballot (Proposition 6).

“Standing strongly together, across more than 60 diverse organizations, we’ve made real progress this year on ensuring the California Dream is attainable by everyone in California, no matter their background. We thank Governor Newsom and legislators for standing with the Building the California Dream Alliance to support policies that build a stronger economy and more equitable state,” said Jassy Grewal, Legislative Director with UFCW Western States Council . 

“Our organizations stood together to fight for racial justice, economic opportunity, and health care access among other issues that are critical to historically disadvantaged communities. Although we were up against monied interests, we’ve proven that standing together we are strong enough to win for our communities. We are proud that our work leaves the state in a better place to serve ALL of its residents, and we’ll build on this success as we continue to empower and lift up all Californians,” added Carmen-Nicole Cox, Director of Government Affairs at ACLU California Action. 

The Building the California Dream Alliance was founded in 2015 to further a progressive, positive vision for California, offering a sharp contrast to the Chamber of Commerce’s cynical, anti-worker, anti-environment agenda. Each year the coalition outlines an ambitious agenda to uplift families, empower workers and communities, and expand opportunities for all Californians to take part in the California Dream. This year’s enacted priorities include the following:

Civil Rights (Disability Rights)

SB 1103 (Menjivar) – The Commercial Tenant Protection Act of 2024 supports diverse small business owners striving for the California dream by helping commercial tenants remain in place – including increased notice periods, and ensuring lease agreements are written in the same language in which they are negotiated.

Gender Equity

SB 1137 (Smallwood-Cuevas) – Amends California’s anti-discrimination laws to clarify that these laws protect against discrimination based not just on one protected characteristic, but also because of the intersection or combination of two or more protected characteristics (e.g., gender and race). 

Healthcare and Long-Term Care Access for All

AB 3161 (Bonta) – The Equity in Health Care Act, requires the collection of demographic data from hospitals and long-term care facilities to track trends of biased behavior in care. This new law will also provide pathways to civil rights for those who experience trauma from racial discrimination and ultimately should improve patient trust in the healthcare system.

Immigrant and Refugee Justice and Integration

SB 1132 (Durazo) – Clarifies that county health officers have the authority to inspect private detention facilities as deemed necessary, including those used to detain immigrants in our state. This bill will also  ensure that public health regulations and standards are upheld in private detention facilities for the health and safety of people detained and working in these facilities.

Income and Food Security

SB 1089 (Smallwood-Cuevas) – Mitigates the harms of abrupt disruptions in access to food and prescription medication, especially in underserved communities. It also requires 45-day advance notifications, for establishments not covered under the  Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, to affected communities, employees, and other stakeholders, before the closure of a grocery store or pharmacy. Lastly, it implements the Reparations Task Force Report recommendations to address food injustice.

LGBTQ Equality and Rights

SB 729 (Menjivar) – Advances reproductive freedom in California by requiring large group health plans to provide coverage for fertility and infertility care, including IVF. The bill will also update the definition of “infertility” to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ family planning experiences and help to ensure that anyone seeking to build a family has equitable access to infertility treatment and care.

Racial Justice

ACA 8 (Wilson) – The End Slavery in California Act empowers voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude in all forms. ACA 8, on the November ballot as Proposition 6, makes communities safer by prioritizing rehabilitation. 

Financial Security (Retirement, Taxation)

SB 1090 (Durazo) – Allows workers to apply for Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance before their leave begins, so they can get confirmation that they will receive benefits before they miss out on necessary income and receive benefits sooner.

SB 1061 (Limón) – Prohibits credit reporting agencies (CRAs) from placing medical debt on credit reports, and prevents medical debt information from being shared with CRAs. This bill will remove barriers to health care access and increase access to credit, housing and employment.

Worker Rights 

AB 2499 (Schiavo) – Moves protections for survivors of violence into the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), improves access to reasonable accommodations, and adds protections for family members of survivors.

# # #

ABOUT THE BUILDING THE CALIFORNIA DREAM ALLIANCE:

We are united in our commitment to the equal worth and dignity of every Californian, inclusive of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, health status, or age.

Together, we will fight for our communities – for broadly shared prosperity and economic security, educational and job opportunities, a clean environment and a healthy planet, quality and comprehensive healthcare for all, reproductive rights, responsive and democratic government, a strong safety net and justice for all.

California must do a better job of putting our communities and people first – ahead of profit or political gain, and we are working together in order to realize that goal.

THE BUILDING THE CA DREAM ALLIANCE INCLUDES:

 ACCE, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, ACLU California Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-CA, Black Women for Wellness Action Project , Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, California Attorneys For Criminal Justice (CACJ), California Calls, California Donor Table,  California Domestic Workers Coalition, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), California Environmental Justice Alliance, California Environmental Voters, California Food & Farming Network , Californians for Safety and Justice, California Labor Federation, California Immigrant Policy Center, California NOW, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Reinvestment Coalition, Catalyst California, Center for Responsible Lending, Child Care Law Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Consumer Attorneys of California, California Chapter (CAIR-CA), Courage California, Disability Rights California, Drug Policy Alliance, Earth Justice , Economic Security Project Action (ESPA), Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, End Poverty in California, Equality California, Equal Rights Advocates, Friends Committee on Legislation of California, GRACE/End Child Poverty CA, Harm Reduction Coalition,  Health Access, Housing California,  Housing Now!,  Latino Coalition For A Healthy California , Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the Bay Area, Legal Aid at Work,  Lutheran Office of Public Policy, NARAL Pro-Choice California, NextGen California , PICO California, PolicyLink, Public Advocates, SEIU California, Sierra Club California, Smart Justice,TechEquity Collaborative, The California Coalition for Worker Power,  UFCW, Voices for Progress, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Worker-Owned Recovery California Coalition.

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Categories
Press Release

Progressive Organizations Respond to Governor Newsom’s May Revision:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2024

Contact: Maya Polon, maya@paschalroth.com

Sacramento, CA – The Building the California Dream Alliance today responded to Governor’s May Revision budget proposal for FY 2024-25. The coalition of nearly 60 organizations represents a diverse group of California interests, united by a common goal: ensuring all of the state’s systems and investments focus on the needs of our state’s most vulnerable populations. 

David Green, Executive Board Member of SEIU California and President of SEIU Local 721 

“SEIU members commit to working with the Governor and the legislature to create a fair, balanced budget now, a budget that upholds our values, protects our communities, supports workers, and ensures a fair contribution from those who can most afford to pay. And, to ensure that we do not find ourselves fighting a more significant budget deficit in future years, we are committed to working with lawmakers, the Governor and our partners across labor and beyond to build a broad and powerful movement to defeat the corporate effort to rewrite our Constitution through the Taxpayer Deception Act.”

Contact: Maya Polon, maya@paschalroth.com

Regina Banks, Lutheran Office of Public Policy-California

“We offer our concerns in the spirit of audacious hope that our legislature can act to ensure the economic, environmental, and physical well-being of the most vulnerable Californians.”

Contact: Regina Banks, Lutheran Office of Public Policy-California, 916-208-5334

Angela Johnson Meszaros, Senior Attorney, Community Partnerships Program, Earthjustice

“The Governor must ensure that the state completes urgently needed rules meant to protect people from the cumulative impacts of pollution and from facilities that repeatedly violate hazardous waste laws,” said Angela Johnson Meszaros, senior attorney in the Community Partnerships Program at Earthjustice. “It is time to align promises to front line communities with action in the budget.” 

Contact: Angela Johnson Meszaros, Earthjustice, 213 766-1062

Sandra Fluke, President, Voices for Progress

“Voices for Progress members applaud the Governor’s action to include implementation funding for SB 253 (Wiener) the Climate Corporate Accountability Act and SB 261 (Becker) the Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Act in the May Revise. These laws, passed last year, are critical in combating the climate crisis. As business owners and employers, Voices for Progress members know these laws empower businesses to embrace sustainability, adapt to evolving norms, and drive innovation in a dynamic economic landscape influenced by climate change.”

Contact: Evan Minton, Voices for Progress, 925-872-2250

Mary Creasman, Chief Executive Officer, California Environmental Voters

“While we wait for more details next week on the revised state budget proposal, we thank the Governor for including funding for Senate Bills 253 and 261, as well as other new laws, in this outline. We won’t be able to protect communities now or in the future without sustainable and ongoing funding to transition to clean energy and create resilient communities and landscapes. The Governor and Legislature have a tough road ahead in the next month. Cutting corporate handouts and committing to a climate bond should be a given right now. We appreciate the thoughtfulness and diligence of our leaders during this time, and look forward to partnering with them to finalize a courageous budget and climate bond by the end of June.”

Contact: Erika Guzman Cornejo, erika@envirovoters.org, (310) 755-1615

Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Co-Director of Programs Emily Harris 

“Governor Newsom’s announcement of prison housing closures is good news — but it doesn’t go far enough in significantly reducing the budget deficit or our state’s investment in a punitive and racist carceral system. The Governor has often said that California is in the business of homecoming, yet his cuts to core lifelines for families and those reentering society say otherwise. Our lawmakers now have an important opportunity to prioritize vulnerable communities over incarceration, and we urge investments that directly support victim services, reentry, restorative justice, and education and job development for our young people.”
 
Contact: Joshua Stickney, joshua@ellabakercenter.org, 405-315-4151

Antoinette Ratcliffe, Executive Director, Initiate Justice 

“Initiate Justice shares in the frustrations among our communities as Governor Newsom proposes state budget cuts that further harm some of the state’s most vulnerable communities, including a proposed reduction to in-person visiting for our incarcerated loved ones across the state. The Governor’s proposal fails to prioritize investments in people and families, while the state continues to sustain funding for empty prison beds. Supporting healthy families for all California communities is best for our state, and that must include our families impacted by California’s costly prison system.” 

Contact: Michelle Cárdenas, Communications Manager, Michelle@InitiateJustice.org (818) 818-3654

Masih Fouladi, Executive Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center:

“While we are pleased that the governor is maintaining his commitment to Medi-Cal for undocumented Californians and proposing some support to organizations welcoming individuals and families seeking asylum at the border, this budget proposal falls short. Cutting or stalling funding for programs, such as food access and immigration legal services, does little to minimize the budget shortfall but would have a significant negative impact on immigrant communities. As the governor and the legislature work to reconcile the budget deficit, we call on them to prioritize the wellbeing of Californians and use every tool necessary to avoid cuts to core services that disproportionately and immediately impact immigrant Californians and communities of color.”

Contact: Edward Sifuentes, esifuentes@caimmigrant.org, (760) 936-2632

Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO of GRACE/End Child Poverty California

“This may not be the year to create new programs and close loopholes in our safety net, which is disappointing given the high levels of child poverty across California. But this is the year in which California can and must put our values to the test, prioritizing above all else the most vulnerable children and families. The budget released today would make deep cuts to the core safety net. We look forward to working with the Legislature and Governor to achieve a budget with no cuts to children and families experiencing poverty.”

Contact: Andrew Cheyne, Andrewcheyne@grace-inc.org 651.246.4738

NextGen California Executive Director, Arnold Sowell Jr

“Despite this negative fiscal outlook, NextGen California remains committed to our policy, program delivery, and advocacy work and will remain unwavering in our fight to address environmental, social, racial, gender, and economic inequities that impact California’s frontline communities. We look forward to making the most of this year’s tight budget and will proceed with our advocacy and programmatic work in partnership with the Legislature and the Newsom Administration in the months ahead.”

Contact: Tyler Bushnell, tyler.bushnell@nextgenpolicy.org

Catalyst California’s President and CEO, John Kim

“In times of economic trouble, California’s leaders have been quick to cut programs that would ensure communities of color thrive. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our choices have led us here, but we as a state can make different decisions so that we have access to a quality education, affordable housing, safer communities, and more so all Californians can thrive.“

Contact: Ronald Simms Jr, rsimms@catalystcalifornia.org

Linda Nguy, Associate Director of Policy Advocacy, Western Center on Law and Poverty 

“Western Center on Law and Poverty opposes the Governor’s approach to address the budget shortfall through cuts to critical safety net programs. Although we appreciate the Governor maintaining previous expansions and grants, his approach balances the budget on the backs of low-income Californians through over $3 billion in cuts. Instead of considering additional revenue solutions, the Governor proposes to cut In-Home Supportive Services for people who were previously excluded from Medi-Cal due to their immigration status, deeper CalWORKs cuts, and continued cuts to housing and homelessness prevention programs.”

Contact: Linda Nguy, lnguy@wclp.org, 916-833-5956

# # #

ABOUT THE BUILDING THE CALIFORNIA DREAM ALLIANCE:

We are united in our commitment to the equal worth and dignity of every Californian, inclusive of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, health status, or age.

Together, we will fight for our communities – for broadly shared prosperity and economic security, educational and job opportunities, a clean environment and a healthy planet, quality and comprehensive healthcare for all, reproductive rights, responsive and democratic government, a strong safety net and justice for all.

California must do a better job of putting our communities and people first – ahead of profit or political gain, and we are working together in order to realize that goal.

THE BUILDING THE CA DREAM ALLIANCE INCLUDES: 
The Building the California Dream Alliance includes: ACCE, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, ACLU California Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN),Black Women for Wellness Action Project , Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, California Attorneys For Criminal Justice (CACJ), California Calls,California Coalition for Worker Power, California Low-Income Consumer Coalition (CLICC),California Donor Table,  California Domestic Workers Coalition, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), California Environmental Justice Alliance, California Environmental Voters, California Food & Farming Network , Californians for Safety and Justice, California Labor Federation, California Immigrant Policy Center, California NOW, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Catalyst California, Center for Responsible Lending, Child Care Law Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Consumer Attorneys of California, California Chapter (CAIR-CA), Courage California, Disability Rights California, Drug Policy Alliance, Earthjustice , Economic Security Project Action (ESPA), Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, End Poverty in California, Equality California, Equal Rights Advocates, Fossil Free California,  Friends Committee on Legislation of California, GRACE/End Child Poverty CA, Harm Reduction Coalition,  Health Access, Housing California,  Housing Now!,Indivisible: State Strong,  Initiate Justice,  Latino Coalition For A Healthy California , Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the Bay Area, Legal Aid at Work,  Lutheran Office of Public Policy,NextGen California , PICO California, PolicyLink, Public Advocates, Reproductive Freedom for All California, Rise Economy, SEIU California, Sierra Club California, Smart Justice,TechEquity Collaborative, UFCW, UnCommon Law, Voices for Progress, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Worker-Owned Recovery California Coalition

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Categories
Press Release Uncategorized

Progressive Organizations 2024 Policy Agenda: Protect Vulnerable Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2024

Contact: Maya Polon, maya@paschalroth.com

Sacramento, CA – The Building the California Dream Alliance today announced a unified policy agenda that nearly 60 progressive organizations will stand behind in 2024. The sweeping package of legislation aims to rebalance California’s priorities at a time of expected budget shortfall, emphasizing the need to protect and invest in the state’s most vulnerable communities.

While corporations continue to see their power and profits increase, California’s most vulnerable communities are grappling with relentlessly rising costs for rent, utilities, and groceries; workers face a stark imbalance of power that leaves them vulnerable in most workplaces; and the systems that should support Californians’ needs too often perpetuate racism. 
 
“Our coalition of organizations represents a diverse group of California interests, united by a common goal: ensuring all of the state’s systems and investments focus on the needs of our  state’s most vulnerable populations,” said Julia Parish, with  Legal Aid at Work. “As the rights of workers in low-wage jobs, people who are disabled, and other marginalized Californians come under attack, we are charging ahead to right the wrongs written into current law and create a more just future for all Californians.”

“Budget uncertainty is no excuse to perpetuate an inequitable status quo, in fact it’s a sign that our most vulnerable communities will need more help than ever,” said Jyotswaroop Bawa, with Rise Economy “California can and must take action this year to improve community health and safety, address student debt, fight for a just climate future, and ensure that California’s laws fairly protect all  the people living in this state .”    

The Building the California Dream Alliance was founded in 2015 to further a progressive, positive vision for California, offering a sharp contrast to the Chamber of Commerce’s cynical, anti-worker, anti-environment agenda. Each year the coalition outlines an ambitious agenda to uplift families, empower workers and communities, and expand opportunities for all Californians to take part in the California Dream. This year’s agenda includes: 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE 
SB 1446 (Smallwood-Cuevas) – The automation of workers’ jobs and heavy reliance on self-checkout has led to unsafe staffing at retail stores that allow customers to more easily steal products. SB 1446 requires safe staffing levels, better supervision at self-checkout, and a requirement that retail stores provide impact assessments on new technology introduced in the workplace. By increasing staff and supervision at self-checkout, workplaces will be safer and opportunities for theft will be reduced.

AB 2160  (Mckinnor)  – This bill aims to foster parental and child health by allowing pregnant and postpartum people to request delay of sentencing; require that the bill’s presumption be applied when considering bail, diversion, or deferred entry of judgment, and ensure access to pregnancy tests for those eligible and protect confidentiality of those test results.

CIVIL RIGHTS (disability rights)
SB 1103 (Menjivar) – The Commercial Tenant Protection Act of 2024 will increase key protections that help commercial tenants remain in place, including reduced security deposit fees, increased notice periods, and ensuring lease agreements are written in the same language in which they are negotiated.

SB 912 (Wiener) – The Requiring Objective and Accurate Drug (ROAD) Testing Act prohibits law enforcement from using a colorimetric field drug test (a color test for a single drug ingredient) as probable cause for arrest or as the basis for a drug possession charge prior to a confirmatory test from a crime laboratory. Defendants who plead guilty to simple drug possession because of a colorimetric test that is later proven to be false will be entitled to withdraw their plea and move to dismiss their charges. 

EDUCATION
AB 1160 (Pacheco) – Although state and federal policymakers have taken action to support student loan borrowers, another type of education related debt has gone mostly unaddressed: institutional debt – debt owed directly to a higher education institution. Students with this kind of debt face harmful economic consequences and barriers to degree completion. This bill aims to protect students from the economic harms associated with institutional debt and extend critical consumer protections.

AB 2441 (Kalra) – This bill eliminates the unnecessary and harmful mandate on educators to notify law enforcement of certain student behaviors, and eliminates criminal penalties for students who are enrolled in the school district for “willful disturbance” of a public school or meeting. AB 2441 protects students from unnecessary contact with law enforcement, decreases school-related law enforcement referrals and arrests, and ultimately keeps students in school.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND JUSTICE
SB 1255 (Durazo) – This bill requires the State Water Board to determine, as part of its annual needs assessment, the total cost of providing affordability assistance to small water systems serving fewer than 3,000 households. Unlike large systems, which could fund their own affordability programs, small systems will need support to make water affordable for all households. The bill would provide actionable information to implement the Human Right to Water. 

AB 2870 (Muratsuchi) – This bill would require the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to correct its inaccurate characterization of factory farm gas as the lowest carbon fuel by requiring it to eliminate avoided methane emissions from livestock manure in its calculation of carbon intensity as part of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

GENDER EQUITY 
SB 1137 (Smallwood-Cuevas) – This bill will amend California’s anti-discrimination laws to clarify that these laws protect against discrimination based not just on one protected characteristic, but also because of the intersection or combination of two or more protected bases (e.g., gender and race). Intersectionality is an analytical framework which captures how different forms of discrimination operate together, exacerbate each other, and can result in amplified forms of prejudice and harm. 

AB 3127 (McKinnor) – This bill will modernize California’s medical mandated reporting law for adult violent injuries to better ensure safety and healthcare access for survivors of domestic, sexual, and interpersonal violence. AB 3127 will limit mandated reporting requirements to firearm and life-threatening injuries only, and also require health providers to offer patients experiencing all forms of domestic and sexual violence a connection to an advocacy organization.

HEALTHCARE AND LONG TERM CARE 
AB 3161 (Bonta)  –  The Equity in Health Care Act, would require the collection of demographic data from hospitals and long-term care to track trends of biased behavior in care. Racism and bias have no place in health care. This measure will provide pathways to support access to civil rights for those who experience trauma from racial discrimination and improve patient trust in the health care system.

AB 3170 (Ortega) – This bill would support patient privacy and protect families by clarifying that medical institutions shall not release a positive toxicology test of a pregnant or perinatal person for non-medical purposes. Seeking obstetric–gynecologic care and medical care for substance use disorder should not expose people to civil penalties, such as loss of custody of their children.

HOUSING HOMELESSNESS AND TENANT RIGHTS 
AB 1657 (Wicks) – The Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2024 would place a $10 billion bond on the November ballot to fund the state’s affordable housing programs. It will result in almost 30,000 new homes for very-low income, extremely-low income, & homeless families with set asides for farmworker and tribal housing. It will preserve and or rehabilitate nearly 100,000 new homes. Lastly, it will assist over 13,000  families to become homeowners, resulting in tens of thousands of construction jobs. 

SB 1201 (Durazo) – LLC Owner Transparency act requires the owners of businesses held in LLCs and similar corporate entities to disclose their names in their information filing with the State. This information is key to enforcing a wide range of existing laws designed to protect Californians. Currently, it can take years for justice departments, and other enforcement entities to connect the dots to show that a single person is responsible for repeated violations draining government resources.  

IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE JUSTICE AND INTEGRATION 
AB 2415 (Carillo) – This bill would allow for undocumented Californians to access the state funded Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) which is California’s version of federal supplemental security income (SSI). Currently, CAPI is only accessible to qualified immigrants, excluding undocumented Californians. This bill seeks to ensure undocumented seniors and folks with disabilities have access to the resources they need to age with dignity. 

SB 1132 (Durazo)  – This bill would  clarify that county health officers have authority to inspect private detention facilities as deemed necessary, including those used to detain immigrants in our state. Despite banning private prisons in 2019, California is still home to 6 private immigrant detention facilities. This bill ensures that public health regulations and standards are upheld in private detention facilities for the health and safety of people detained and working in these facilities.

INCOME AND FOOD SECURITY
SB 1089 (Smallwood-Cuevas) This bill would  mitigate the harms of abrupt disruptions in access to food and prescription medication, especially in underserved communities. SB 1089 requires 90-day advance notifications to the affected community, employees, and other stakeholders, before the closure of a grocery store or pharmacy. SB 1089 implements the Reparations Task Force Report recommendations to address food injustice and is a California Legislative Black Caucus priority bill.

SB 1220 (Limon) This bill would protect our vulnerable communities needing access to social services and public benefits and the workers who provide them by prohibiting state and local agencies from contracting out call centers that serve Californians to firms that utilize artificial intelligence instead of California workers. 

LGBTQ EQUALITY AND RIGHTS 
AB 518 (Wicks) – This bill would allow workers to access Paid Family Leave to care for seriously ill “chosen family.” Paid Family Leave is entirely funded by worker contributions, but not all families are recognized. It is vital to ensure equity and access to the existing program, especially for LGBTQ+ families and individuals. Chosen family is recognized in job-protected unpaid leave, but workers remain unable to access these vital paid benefits without an inclusive definition of family. 

SB 729 (Menjivar) This bill advances reproductive freedom in California by requiring large group health plans to provide coverage for fertility and infertility care, including IVF. The bill will also update the definition of “infertility” to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ family planning experiences and help to ensure that anyone seeking to build a family has equitable access to infertility treatment and care.

RACIAL JUSTICE
AB 2833 (McKinnor) – The Restorative Justice Integrity Act, will safeguard the integrity of Restorative Justice processes statewide. This legislation seeks to address critical gaps in the current legal framework by providing comprehensive admissibility protections for people who participate in Restorative Justice processes. Under AB 2833, communications made during  a Restorative Justice process would be inadmissible in other proceedings.

ACA 8 (Wilson) – Contrary to popular belief, slavery was not abolished by the 13th amendment. California’s constitution explicitly allows “involuntary servitude.” Involuntary servitude is slavery. Full stop. This is why prison officials can force as “many hours of faithful labor in each and every day,” as CDCR sees fit. ACA 8, The End Slavery in California Act, allows voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit all forms of slavery so incarcerated people can prioritize rehabilitation.

FINANCIAL SECURITY
SB 1090 (Durazo) – Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance provide workers with 60-70% (as of 2025, up to 90%) of their income when they cannot work due to their health, caring for an ill family, or bonding with a new child. However, workers cannot apply until they have begun unpaid leave. SB 1090 would allow workers to apply before their leave begins, so they can get confirmation that they will receive benefits before they miss out on necessary income and receive benefits sooner.

SB 1061 (Limón) – This bill would prohibit credit reporting agencies (CRAs) from placing medical debt on credit reports, and prevent medical debt information from being shared with CRAs. Credit reporting of medical debt depresses credit scores and can compromise a family’s long-term financial stability. This bill will both remove a barrier to Californians’ accessing health care and increase access to credit, housing, employment and more.

VOTING RIGHTS AND RESTORING OUR DEMOCRACY 
SB 1337 (Gonzalez) – This bill will continue to reform the referendum process to curb abuse from corporations by  requiring enhanced disclosure during the referendum signature gathering process, including the top three funders printed on each signature page.

SB 1047 (Wiener) – This bill would (1) establish a publicly owned and operated cloud computing cluster (“CalCompute”) to democratize access to the critical computing power necessary to develop AI in the public interest and provide a check on market concentration; (2) require common sense safety testing of the largest AI models to prevent severe harms to public safety; and (3) require fair, transparent and non discriminatory pricing of large models and computing clusters.

WORKERS RIGHTS 
AB 2499 (Schiavo) – This bill empowers survivors of violence to secure their safety without sacrificing their economic security.  It allows survivors to take leave from work for safety and recovery related reasons, allows their family members to take unpaid time off to support them and use their paid sick days for covered purposes, allows both to access safety-related accommodations at work, and streamlines access and enforcement of these critical rights.

SB 1345 (Smallwood-Cuevas) – This bill would strengthen the Fair Chance Act 2017 – employment protections for people with convictions by defending workers’ privacy interests in their criminal records and requiring employers to show business necessity to deny employment based on a conviction.

# # #

ABOUT THE BUILDING THE CALIFORNIA DREAM ALLIANCE:

We are united in our commitment to the equal worth and dignity of every Californian, inclusive of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, health status, or age.

Together, we will fight for our communities – for broadly shared prosperity and economic security, educational and job opportunities, a clean environment and a healthy planet, quality and comprehensive healthcare for all, reproductive rights, responsive and democratic government, a strong safety net and justice for all.California must do a better job of putting our communities and people first – ahead of profit or political gain, and we are working together in order to realize that goal.

THE BUILDING THE CALIFORNIA DREAM ALLIANCE INCLUDES:

ACCE, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, ACLU California Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California, Black Women for Wellness Action Project , Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, California Attorneys For Criminal Justice (CACJ), California Calls, California Donor Table,  California Domestic Workers Coalition, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), California Environmental Justice Alliance, California Environmental Voters, California Food & Farming Network , Californians for Safety and Justice, California Labor Federation, California Immigrant Policy Center, California NOW, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Reinvestment Coalition, Catalyst California, Center for Responsible Lending, Child Care Law Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Consumer Attorneys of California, California Chapter (CAIR-CA), Courage California, Disability Rights California, Drug Policy Alliance, Earthjustice , Economic Security Project Action (ESPA), Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, End Poverty in California, Equality California, Equal Rights Advocates, Fossil Free California,  Friends Committee on Legislation of California, GRACE/End Child Poverty CA, Harm Reduction Coalition,  Health Access, Housing California,  Housing Now!,Indivisible: State Strong,  Initiate Justice,  Latino Coalition For A Healthy California , Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the Bay Area, Legal Aid at Work,  Lutheran Office of Public Policy, NextGen California , PICO California, PolicyLink, Public Advocates, Reproductive Freedom for All California, SEIU California, Sierra Club California, Smart Justice,TechEquity Collaborative , The California Coalition for Worker Power,   UFCW, UnCommon Law, Voices for Progress, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Worker-Owned Recovery California Coalition

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Categories
Press Release

2019 Landmark Justice Victories

Progressive Organizations Deliver Landmark Housing, Civil Rights, and Economic Justice Victories in 2019

Sacramento, CA – The Building the California Dream Alliance – a broad coalition of progressive organizations – today announced that their unified efforts resulted in significant victories for housing, civil rights, economic opportunity and workers’ rights.  In total, the Alliance helped secure 18 key legislative victories. 

The Alliance was founded in 2015 to further a progressive, positive vision for California, offering a sharp contrast to the Chamber of Commerce’s cynical, anti-worker, anti-environment agenda. With housing and homelessness topping Californian’s list of concerns, the coalition united around tenant’s rights in 2019.  The coalition’s 2019 agenda also included crucial issues of racial and economic justice, as well as pocketbook issues facing Californians, including health care, child care, and higher education. 


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2018 
Contact: Nikki Paschal, 916.444.7178 

“Housing is a foundation for families to build their Dreams upon, so tackling unjust evictions and unfair rent increases was a must-win for the Building the California Dream Alliance this year,” said Christina Livingston of ACCE. “Passing AB 1482 to keep families home means fewer parents and children, seniors, and vulnerable Californians have to worry about being pushed onto the streets.  This victory is a major step toward a California where people don’t have to choose between paying the rent or taking their medicine, and where kids can go to school without worrying they won’t have a safe place to sleep at night.” 

“Reforming the uncontrolled use of police force against our brown and Black Californians is a significant civil rights victory and one that was possible only because members of the Building the California Dream Alliance stood united for justice,” said Kevin Baker, Director of Legislative Affairs, ACLU of California.  “Achieving AB 392 (Weber)’s landmark policing reform shows that we can better achieve justice, equity, and the California’s Dream for all when we work together and speak in unison.” 

Earlier this year, the Building the California Dream Alliance identified several legislative priorities in pursuit of a Golden State of unlimited opportunity, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, health status or age. Of these, 18 were signed into law: 

Tackling unjust evictions and unfair rent increases was a must-win for the Building the California Dream Alliance this year.

– Christina Livingston of ACCE.
Criminal Justice
  • SB 136 (Wiener) Fights mass incarceration by repealing an ineffective and unnecessary sentencing enhancement for people with a prior prison conviction.
Civil Rights
  • AB 1215 (Ting) Prohibits the dangerous and intrusive use of face surveillance or biometric data collection in police body cameras.
Early Care and Education through Higher Ed
  • SB 321 (Mitchell) Ensures that families would experience no break in child care services as they transition between the three CalWORKs child care stages. (IN BUDGET)
  • AB 378 (Limón) Gives family child care providers the right to collectively bargain with the state so they can negotiate for improvements that impact their work and the families they serve.
Environmental Quality and Justice
  • AB 508 (Chu) Improves the State Water Resource Control Board’s process for ordering drinking water consolidations and extensions of service to disadvantaged communities reliant on domestic wells.
Gender Equity
  • AB 749 (Stone) Prohibits the use of “no rehire” clauses in settlement agreements that penalize workers by broadly restricting future employment opportunities as a condition of settling their sexual harassment or other employment dispute.
Healthcare and Long-term Care
  • AB 824 (Wood) Prevents “pay for delay” drug company agreements to stop lower-cost medications.
  • AB 731 (Kalra) Helps workers and employers negotiate better health insurance rates, potentially saving billions, and identifying underlying cost drivers.
Housing and Homelessness
  • AB 1482 (Chiu) Will protect nearly 15 million Californians from large, unforeseen rent increases by creating price stability and certainty, enabling renters and families to be better able to plan for their future. Part of the Assembly renter stability package.
  • SB 329 (Mitchell) Bans discrimination against renters who receive housing assistance, increasing their ability to access units they can afford with their assistance in neighborhoods of opportunity. Currently, many families are forced to return their assistance unused because they can’t find a landlord willing to accept it or even let them apply, due to increasing blanket bans and refusal to consider housing assistance by landlords.
Income and Food Security
  • AB 91 (Burke, Quirk, Ting) expands California’s Earned Income Tax Credit
LGBTQ Equality and Rights
  • SB 159 (Wiener) will reduce barriers to accessing HIV preventative medications. This legislation will authorize pharmacists to furnish pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to patients without a prescription. Pharmacists are already authorized to furnish birth control pills without a prescription. The legislation will also prohibit insurance companies from requiring patients to obtain prior authorization before using their insurance benefits to obtain PrEP or PEP.
Racial Justice
  • AB 392 (Weber) Updates California law to make sure all California police officers de-escalate and use deadly force only when absolutely necessary to protect from immediate harm.
Financial Security (Retirement, taxation)
  • SB 639 (Mitchell) Increases protections for patients who obtain medical credit cards by limiting health care providers’ involvement in procuring credit for patients, as well as by improving disclosures to patients.
  • SB 616 (Wieckowski) Requires a debt collector to leave a person his or her last $1,724, so they can at least make emergency payments 
  • AB 857 (Chiu, Santiago ) Will allow local governments to apply for a banking license from the Department of Business 
Workers Rights
  • AB 5 (Gonzalez) Codifies into state law the Dynamex Operations West, Inc vs. the Superior Court of Los Angeles (2018) court decision to prevent misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
  • AB 51 (Gonzalez) Prevents employers from forcing employees to sign away their rights and forcing arbitration for cases of sexual harassment and other misconduct.

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The Building the California Dream Alliance includes: ACCE, Advancement Project, American Civil Liberties Union of CA, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Black Women for Wellness, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, California Attorneys For Criminal Justice (CACJ, California Calls, California Donor Table,  California Low Income Consumers Coalition, California Domestic Workers Coalition, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), California Environmental Justice Alliance, California Food & Farming Network , California Labor Federation, California Immigrant Policy Center, California League of Conservation Voters, California NOW, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Reinvestment Coalition, Child Care Law Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Consumer Attorneys of California, Council on American-Islamic Relations, California Chapter (CAIR-CA), Courage Campaign, Disability Rights California, Drug Policy Alliance, Earth Justice , Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Environment California, Equality California, Equal Rights Advocates, Friends Committee on Legislation of California , Health Access, Latino Coalition For A Healthy California , Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California, MALDEF, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote, Mujeres Unidas, NARAL California, NextGen America , PICO California, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of CA, PolicyLink, Public Advocates, SEIU California, Sierra Club California, Smart Justice, UFCW, Voices for Progress, Western Center on Law & Poverty