December 16, 2022

This is our final What’s Next of 2022,

And what a year it has been! The NGP team is thankful for a year full of legislative victories, successful collaborations with partners, new programmatic activities, and continued support from Californians such as yourself who have been with us every step of the way. Enjoy the final What’s Next of 2022 which features a recap of upcoming legislative happenings, news about our recent efforts to protect student borrowers, more opportunities for you to get involved in our work, and a few things for you to keep on your radar as we head into 2023. Please take a look:

★ [NEW] Oil Price Gouging Penalty: California is taking actions to hold big oil accountable for their price gouging! The December 5th special legislative session called by Governor Newsom is bringing State Legislators together to discuss the regulation of oil and gas prices in California with one goal in mind – to ensure we continue to put people over profits!  As part of the special session, the Governor announced his new price gouging fee which penalizes oil companies for hiking prices to pad their pockets and helps keep prices at the pump down.

★ [NEW] SB 25 (Skinner): Earlier this month, Senator Nancy Skinner introduced SB 25 which protects student borrowers in California from having to pay state taxes on federal student loan debt relief programs. As proud student borrower advocates, the NGP team applauds Governor Newsom and our Legislative Leaders for taking this early legislative action. We also thank Senator Skinner and Assemblymember Ting, who is authoring a companion bill, AB 35, for standing with student borrowers.

We’ve teamed up with Compton College to publish the Students’ Basic Needs Policy Brief, a framework that will help ensure that all higher education institutions in California allocate their resources in programs that meet the housing, food, transportation, emergency aid, and other needs of their students.

Read the Policy Brief

★ Did You Know?: It’s not too late to apply for health coverage through Covered California or during the Medi-Cal Open enrollment period – until January 31st. Don’t wait and risk missing out! You can check out if you qualify for coverage online and also apply online for coverage!

★ Member Spotlight: NPG extends a warm welcome to Senator Aisha Wahab, who represents Senate District 10 in the State Legislature. We look forward to working with her next year to build a more prosperous and equitable California for all. Be sure to follow and welcome Senator Wahab on Twitter!

★ What’s Next: That’s a wrap for 2022! Keep an eye out for our end-of-year wrap-up email featuring closing remarks from our Executive Director, Arnie Sowell, and a brief Climate 100 Recap email from our Senior Policy Advisor Dave Weiskopf. Have a Happy Holiday Season!

NextGen Policy fights for progressive policy change to address environmental, social, racial, and economic inequities through justice-centered legislative advocacy, grassroots partnerships, and democratic civic engagement.