February 12, 2024

Hope you are well and enjoying the break in the rainy, winter weather! It’s time again for a new edition of What’s Next and in this issue we take a look at the current status of AB 1160 (Pacheco) – The Protecting Students from Creditor Colleges Act; share the latest about our work to fight climate change; provide information from our friends at the Milken Institute about their federal funding work; uplift an opportunity for women veterans to provide feedback about how to improve veteran support services; and lots more that you won’t want to miss!

Also, please make sure you’re keeping your eyes on our Twitter (X) page, where we are commemorating Black History Month by highlighting the importance of incorporating racial equity into state government policies and programs. The impact of this work will help to make California more socially and economically inclusive for all who call our state home.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at What’s Next at NextGen:

★ Our College Affordability Work: In mid-January, one of NextGen’s priority bills, AB 1160 (Pacheco) – The Protecting Students from Creditor Colleges Act – passed the Assembly Floor in bipartisan fashion! The NextGen team is very grateful to the members of the California State Assembly who gave the bill their support – their vote will help protect students from creditor colleges and harmful debt collection practices. AB 1160 now heads to the State Senate – stay tuned to monitor its progress.

★ Media Buzz About NGP Climate Activities: The NextGen team’s climate work has recently been featured in the media, specifically our policy and programmatic recommendations to help California achieve its climate goals! Below find a few of our recent press clips and also learn about the steps California can take to meet our climate goals:

• KQED – NextGen’s Senior Policy Advisor Dave Weiskopf discussed the current budget deficit California is facing, and why it’s so critical for the state to continue to prioritize climate funding, especially in challenging financial times.
• Streetsblog CAL – NextGen’s Policy Advisor Jamie Pew wrote an op-ed exclusively for Streetsblog CAL focusing on the need for state agencies such as the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to consider public health, fiscal responsibility, community impacts, and our state’s climate goals when making decisions about authorizing transportation projects.
• Heatmap News – Jamie also spoke with Heatmap News’ Emily Pontecorvo on why reducing traffic and long commute times is a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing the climate crisis. With emissions from the transportation sector rising, it’s time for transportation agencies to step firmly into their role as climate champions!

★ Learn About the Milken Institute’s Federal Funding Platform: Our friends at the nonpartisan Milken Institute advocate for practical, scalable solutions to global challenges with a focus on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health. The Milken Institute partnered with the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) to host the 2024 SGC Catalyst Conference, which offered a setting for community based organizations, business leaders, institutional funders, and government officials to learn about recent equity focused research and federal grant funding opportunities, receive technical assistance, as well as get information about how to develop transformative climate community projects. The Milken Institute also showcased a new software platform which enables entities to upload their project details and then be connected to federal grant dollar opportunities. Our Executive Director Arnold Sowell Jr. served as a member of the Steering Committee that worked with the SGC to develop the agenda, sessions, and panels for the very successful Catalyst Conference.

📣 Calling all women veterans! CalVet wants to hear from YOU! 🫵

If you are a veteran who identifies as a woman and lives in California, please consider taking a few minutes to fill out this important survey and provide your input to CalVet about needed support services. Your feedback will help the department find ways to improve support services for women veterans. If you’re not a veteran, but know someone who is, please share this link with them:

Make your voice heard!

★ Did You Know? In the Governor’s proposed January Budget, there is a major cut to the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP), which funds programs such as Market Match and provides funding incentives for California’s low-income families to purchase healthy and nutritious foods. While the state is facing a budget deficit, NextGen, and our coalition of partners, believe that keeping the CNIP program fully funded helps solve food insecurity and it must remain a top budget priority.

★ Member Spotlight: We’re shining a spotlight on the California State Senate’s new Pro Tem, Senator Mike McGuire! Congratulations to Senator McGuire, we look forward to your leadership and working with you to continue advancing justice and equity on behalf of all Californians. We also want to give a shout out to Senator Toni Atkins for her outstanding leadership as Senate Pro Tem for the last six years. Join us in congratulating both Senators by reposting and sharing with your networks!

★ Legislative Deadlines and Insights: This week the State Legislature will be bustling with activity as our elected State Senators and Assemblymembers hurry to finalize their legislative packages before the February 16th bill introduction deadline! The NextGen team expects to see a slew of “spot bills” that are introduced. Spot bills are placeholder bills that in their introduced form make insignificant changes to current law but are later amended with more substantive policy changes – basically, they provide legislative offices and advocates a little more time to figure out the finer details of their proposed policy changes. By the next issue of our What’s Next newsletter, many of these spot bills will have been significantly amended with their proposed changes to current law.

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

Thank you for being a part of our journey toward a more equitable California. As we continue to push for progressive policy change, we invite you to make a difference by donating to support our organization. Your contribution will directly impact our efforts to address environmental, social, and economic inequities throughout the state.

Thank you,

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