Courage California applauds the efforts of California’s Legislative Courageous all-stars, and looks to the Governor to sign bold legislation – for ALL Californians
Los Angeles — In response to the bills passed during the 2022 legislative session, Courage California applauds the courageous members of The California State Legislature who worked to pass bold legislation that will, upon the Governor’s signature, expand access and protections to historically underrepresented Californians.
Courage California urges Gov. Newsom to sign priority legislation that will help advance our goals of equity, justice, and accountability.
The California State Legislature passed 15 of Courage California’s priority bills:
- AB 256, Kalra: Would make the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 retroactive, ensuring that people now in prison and jail can challenge racial bias in their convictions and trials.
- AB 257, Holden, Carrillo, Rivas, Low: Would enact the FAST Recovery Act to improve standards for workers in the Fast Food Industry. This act would bring together workers, industry and government to help solve systematic problems like low wages, sexual harassment, and violence on the job.
- SB 1382, Gonzalez, Becker: Would reduce financial barriers to purchasing new and used zero-emission vehicles and hybrid vehicles through the Clean Cars for All program by exempting these vehicles from the state’s sales tax.
- AB 2183, Stone: Would allow farmworkers to vote using a representation ballot card.
- SB 972, Gonzalez: Would make health permits more accessible for street vendors.
- AB 1766, Stone: Would expand access to IDs to all Californians regardless of immigration status.
- AB 2091, Bonta: Would enhance privacy protections for medical records related to abortion and pregnancy.
- AB 2134, Weber: Would establish a gap coverage program to provide coverage to Californians lacking coverage for abortion and abortion-related care, including those who are uninsured and underinsured.
- AB 2167, Karla: Would require courts to consider alternatives to incarceration such as diversion programs, restorative justice, and probation, in sentencing decisions.
- AB 2223, Wicks: Would ensure that no one in the State of California will be investigated, prosecuted, or incarcerated for ending a pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss.
- AB 2626, L. Calderon: Would support the ability for abortion providers to obtain professional liability coverage.
- SB 107, Wiener: Would prohibit California from complying with out-of-state subpoenas for medical information related to efforts to criminalize individuals or remove children from their homes for having received gender-affirming care.
- SB 923, Wiener: Would improve access to gender affirming care for transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGI) people by mandating health plans to require TGI cultural competency training for contracted providers, their staff, and the staff of health plans.
- SB 1162, Limon: Would require companies to disclose salary ranges, make any internal promotions available to all employees, and make it so pay data reported to the state becomes public over time.
- SB 1375, Atkins: Would review competency requirements for abortion training for nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physicians assistants.
Courage California advocated for several of these bills as a member of the California Dream Alliance, a broad coalition of over 70 progressive organizations that have joined together to collectively lobby for priority bills, including 30 bills in 2022.
Irene Kao, Executive Director of Courage California, issued the following statement:
“The bills passed this week by the California Legislature will provide critical and tangible protections for Californians and people who come to our state for the care and support they deserve,” said Irene Kao, Executive Director of Courage California. “California’s legislative priorities are a display of our values and priorities as a state — and the values of our elected leaders. Which is why it is imperative that Governor Newsom does what is right for ALL Californians by signing Courage California’s priority legislation.
“Our champions in the legislature worked courageously to pass bills that support and invest in the advancement of equity, justice, and accountability in our state. It is now the governor’s turn to represent the interest of Californians. We urge Gov. Newsom to lead with courage and sign the impactful and progressive legislation that now sits on his desk – so we can continue to work towards equity and justice for all.” said Kao.
It is also worth noting that the California State Legislature failed to pass several of Courage California’s priority bills – including legislation that would have eliminated indentured servitude, divested state retirement funds from the fossil fuel industry, and stopped non-citizens from being transferred to immigration authorities after serving their prison and jail sentences – demonstrating the significant progress and accountability that is still needed to ensure our state elected officials deliver for our communities.
Californians must never accept that there isn’t a means or money for solutions and real change. It is up to all Californians to demand that energy, resources, and funding is invested into our people and communities. To ensure that all Californians have the information they need to hold their elected officials accountable, Courage California’s annual Courage Score will be released in Spring 2023 to provide a comprehensive and transparent account of each legislator’s votes during the 2022 legislative year.
With Courage, we will actively hold our representatives accountable and vote for the changes we need to see in our communities.