Policy Priorities

Our 2023 legislative and budgetary priorities will be reflected on this page in the months to come. In the meantime, be sure to catch up and learn more about on our big legislative wins from 2022.

2022 Legislative Wins

Racial Equity
AB 1655 – Juneteenth State Holiday (Jones-Sayer)
Declares June 19th, commonly referred to as Juneteenth, as a paid state holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
Veterans Rights
Veterans’ Military Discharge Upgrade Grant Program (Irwin)
Establishes a program to support veterans seeking to upgrade their other-than-honorable discharge status due to mental illness or sexual orientation.
Broadband for All
AB 2750 – State Digital Equity Plan (Bonta)
Requires the California Department of Technology (CDT) to draft a state digital equity plan to access billions in federal Inflation Recovery Act funding and increase access to high-speed and affordable internet service.
Broadband for All
AB 2752 – Broadband Infrastructure Mapping (Wood)
Improves transparency and accountability by requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide additional information to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to help them develop the publicly available maps of the state’s broadband network.
Broadband for All
HR 125 – Airways for Equity (Reyes)
Declares the CA Assembly’s support for the federal Airways to Equity initiative which will provide additional funding for digital literacy and inclusion.
Climate
AB 1279 – The CA Climate Crisis Act: Carbon Neutrality (Muratsuchi)
Codifies the state’s existing goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
Climate
SB 1137 – Protect Communities Against Oil Drilling (Gonzalez)
Requires a buffer zone setback around new oil and gas wells to protect vulnerable Californians.
Climate
AB 2097 – Clean Transportation and Reduced Housing Costs (Friedman)
Eliminates parking minimums near existing public transportation.
Climate
SB 1020 – 100% Clean Electric Grid (Laird)
Sets interim targets on the road to meet the state’s 2045 goals to generate 100% clean energy.
Climate
AB 30 – Access to Nature (Kalra)
Creates the Equitable Outdoor Access Act by requiring certain state agencies to incorporate outdoor access policies in future planning processes.
Criminal Legal Reform
AB 256 – Racial Justice Act Expansion (Kalra)
Provides a mechanism for legal relief to assist those whose prior convictions or sentences were based on racial, ethnic, or other forms of bias.
Criminal Legal Reform
AB 2657 – Incarcerated Person’s Competence (Stone)
Modernizes the state’s process for identifying people who have been sentenced to death but should be deemed permanently incompetent and therefore not eligible for execution.
Education Equity
HR 118 (Bonta) & SR 96 (Limón) - Student Loan Debt Awareness Month
Declared August 2022 Student Loan Awareness Month and called for public employers to outreach to their employees about the various student loan repayment options.
Education Equity
AB 288 – CA Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act (Calderon/Bonta)
Prevents colleges and universities from reducing the financial aid package of a student who also receives a private scholarship.
Education Equity
AB 2004 – Strengthening the CA DREAM Loan Program (C. Garcia)
Requires universities in the DREAM Loan Program to further support AB 540 students by offering similar loan relief options as federal student loans and meeting specified annual reporting requirements.
Food Insecurity
SB 907 – Local Equitable Access to Food (LEAF) (Pan)
Creates a new California Department Food and Agriculture (CDFA) grant program to increase the number of farmers’ markets across CA and expand EBT access for low-income shoppers at farmers’ markets.
Gender Equity
SB 1162 – Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act (Limón)
Requires certain private employers to provide additional pay data to the Civil Rights Department to increase transparency and help narrow gender and racial wealth gaps.
Healthcare Reform
SB 838 – Affordable Prescription Drugs (Pan)
Requires the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA) to provide new pathways to help increase patient access to affordable life-saving drugs, like insulin.
Racial Equity
AB 1655 – Juneteenth State Holiday (Jones-Sayer)
Declares June 19th, commonly referred to as Juneteenth, as a paid state holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
Veterans Rights
Veterans’ Military Discharge Upgrade Grant Program (Irwin)
Establishes a program to support veterans seeking to upgrade their other-than-honorable discharge status due to mental illness or sexual orientation.
Broadband for All
AB 2750 – State Digital Equity Plan (Bonta)
Requires the California Department of Technology (CDT) to draft a state digital equity plan to access billions in federal Inflation Recovery Act funding and increase access to high-speed and affordable internet service.
Broadband for All
AB 2752 – Broadband Infrastructure Mapping (Wood)
Improves transparency and accountability by requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide additional information to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to help them develop the publicly available maps of the state’s broadband network.
Broadband for All
HR 125 – Airways for Equity (Reyes)
Declares the CA Assembly’s support for the federal Airways to Equity initiative which will provide additional funding for digital literacy and inclusion.
Climate
AB 1279 – The CA Climate Crisis Act: Carbon Neutrality (Muratsuchi)
Codifies the state’s existing goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.

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