2024 Priority Legislation

Courage California’s 2024 priority legislation includes the following bills:

Climate Justice

Bill	Author	Description	Status
SB 867	Allen	$10B climate bond to fund safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparedness, and clean air.	Qualified for the November 2024 ballot. Vote YES.

Public Safety and Justice

Bill	Author	Description	Status
ACA 8	Wilson	If approved by voters, would remove language allowing for involuntary servitude (slavery) in the California state constitution.	Qualified for the November 2024 ballot. Vote YES on Prop 6.

Health Equity

Bill	Author	Description	Status
AB 2319	Wilson, Weber	Reducing Black Maternal Mortality through Implicit Bias Training would reduce the disproportionate maternal mortality rate of Black women and other pregnant persons of color by ensuring successful implementation of the California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act of 2019 (SB 464 (Mitchell) by clarifying which facilities are mandated to administer anti-bias trainings, confers enforcement powers to CDPH and the Attorney General, establishes administrative penalties for noncompliant facilities and requires compliance data to be posted online.	Signed into law. Goes into effect January 1, 2025.
AB 3161	Bonta	The Equity in Health Care Act would begin to address racial and implicit bias in health care, more specifically in hospitals and long-term care facilities, and provide pathways for justice for community members who experience trauma from racial discrimination in their health care.	Signed into law. Goes into effect January 1, 2025.

Labor and Worker Rights

Bill	Author	Description	Status
SB 1089	Smallwood-Cuevas	To minimize the impact that grocery store and pharmacy closures have on communities and workers, which harms disadvantaged communities the most, this bill will require a 90-day advanced notice to workers and the community of a planned closure.	Signed into law. Goes into effect January 1, 2025.

Housing and Homelessness

Bill	Author	Description	Status
AB 1878	Garcia	Would improve tribal housing programs by making changes to the existing state housing funds program to ensure the program meets their needs, including by requiring that the Department of Housing and Community Development provide outreach, education, and comprehensive technical assistance to tribes.	Signed into law. Goes into effect January 1, 2025.

Economic Justice

Bill	Author	Description	Status
SB 1061	Limón	Remove Medical Debt from Credit Reports would prohibit credit reporting agencies from placing medical debt on credit reports. Taking medical debt off credit reports will increase Californians’ access to credit and remove a barrier to accessing needed health care.	Signed into law. Goes into effect January 1, 2025.

LGBTQ+ Rights

Bill	Author	Description	Status
AB 1955	Ward	The Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY Act) prohibits school districts from adopting policies that forcibly out LGBTQ+ students.	Signed into law July 2024

Inactive bills that will not advance in 2024

Bill	Author	Description	Status
ACA 10	Haney	If approved by voters, would amend the state constitution to recognize that (a) adequate housing is a fundamental human right in CA and (b) state and local governments have an obligation to “respect, protect, and fulfill” this right through progressively implemented measures, to the maximum of available resources.	Gutted and amended.
ACA 16	Bryan	Protecting Medi-Cal Coverage for Californians would allow people to keep their Medi-Cal coverage for a full 12 months, regardless of changes in their income, and would direct California to seek federal approval, when necessary, to make permanent the federal Medi-Cal flexibilities to reduce and remedy procedural terminations, simplify income verification requirements, increase automatic Medi-Cal renewals, and improve program outreach and customer service.	Held by author for 2025.
AB 4	Arambula	Would make undocumented immigrants eligible to sign up for Covered California.	Passed by Assembly in 2023. Held in suspense in Senate Appropriations in 2024.
AB 280	Holden	Would limit the use of solitary confinement in jails and prisons, including private immigration facilities.	Passed by Assembly and Senate in 2023. Pulled by author due to lack of support from Governor.
AB 1657	Wicks	The 2024 Affordable Housing Bond Act would have placed a $10 billion affordable housing bond on the November 2024 ballot to fund affordable housing development for the following four years.	Passed by Assembly in 2023. Held in Senate Appropriations.
AB 2160	McKinnor	The California Women’s Care Act would address adverse maternal health outcomes for systems involved pregnant people (in jails and prisons), by delaying or diverting confinement during pregnancy through the postpartum period.	Held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 2200	Kalra	Guaranteed Health Care for All would set up a universal single-payer healthcare system for all residents of California.	Held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 2263	Friedman	The California Guaranteed Income Study and Funding Act proposes a study to assess departmental infrastructure, funding strategies, and target populations for a statewide Guaranteed Income program. The study will be led by a newly formed Coordinating Council.	Vetoed by Governor due to budget deficit.
AB 2415	J. Carrillo, Santiago	Would offer around $1,500 per month to undocumented individuals who are blind, disabled or older than 65.	Held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 2584	Lee	Would bar corporations from buying single-family homes.	Passed by Assembly in 2024. Held by author.
AB 2881	Lee	The Social Housing Act would establish the California Housing Authority to produce mixed-income housing that is affordable and financially self-sustaining.	Held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 2956	Boerner	Protecting Medi-Cal Coverage for Californians would allow people to keep their Medi-Cal coverage for a full 12 months, regardless of changes in their income and would direct California to seek federal approval, when necessary, to make permanent the federal Medi-Cal flexibilities to reduce and remedy procedural terminations, simplify income verification requirements, increase automatic Medi-Cal renewals, and improve program outreach and customer service.	Held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 3260	Pellerin	Would empower patients seeking mental health care to fight for their rights and win grievances when their health plan denies them appropriate care.	Passed in Assembly in 2024. Held in suspense in Senate Appropriations.
SB 50	Bradford	Would prohibit a peace officer from stopping or detaining the operator of a motor vehicle or bicycle for a low-level infraction, as defined, unless a separate, independent basis for a stop exists.	Passed by Senate in 2023. Pulled by author due to lack of support from Governor.
SB 94	Cortese	Would allow courts to review very old cases where a person was sentenced to life without parole, to make sure that the cases are just in light of changes in law and evidence of rehabilitation.	Passed by Senate in 2023. Pulled by author due to lack of support from Assembly leadership.
SB 227	Durazo	Would provide workers unemployment and cost of living assistance relief who are ineligible for the existing state or federal benefits assistance, regardless of immigration status.	Vetoed by Governor due to budget deficit.
SB 252	Gonzalez	Would require CalPERS (the state public retirement systems) to divest from fossil fuels.	Pulled by author after amendments.
SB 1116	Portantino, Durazo	Would make workers on strike eligible for unemployment benefits.	Passed by Senate in 2024. Failed in Assembly Insurance Committee.
SB 1497	Menjivar	The Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024 would require the largest fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage their products have inflicted upon our communities, environment, and economy in California.	Not enough votes to bring it to a floor vote — moved to inactive file.