April 1, 2025

The NextGen team has a busy April ahead with policy, programmatic, budget, and legislative advocacy work. In this edition of our What’s Next newsletter, we’re excited to share an overview of key projects, including updates on AB 850 (Pacheco) and AB 1132 (Schiavo), our latest Let’s Talk blog on financial aid, and a reminder for California college students to apply for financial aid by tomorrow’s April 2nd deadline, along with other important updates!

Celebrating Cesar Chavez Day – March 31st. Cesar Chavez was a pivotal civil rights and labor leader in our nation’s history, particularly for those laboring in the agricultural fields across our country. His co-founding of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union in 1966 with Delores Huerta, launched a nationwide boycott of California grapes which helped achieve higher wages, medical and pension benefits, and safer working and living conditions for farmworkers.

“To celebrate and honor Cesar Chavez, I thought it would be fitting to share one of his quotes – which I found to be equal parts inspiring and timely, given the current division, uncertainty, and fear that is gripping our nation.

Cesar Chavez famously said: ‘We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community…Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.’

Cesar Chavez’s legacy and message resonate with me for a multitude of reasons. Above all, these words remind me of how necessary the justice-centered advocacy work undertaken by the NextGen team, our partners, and state leaders is to the future of both our state and our nation. There is a unifying power that grows exponentially when we boldly act on ideas rooted in equity and justice. Only by coming together for the common good, to help and uplift one another, can we truly make a difference and create a more equitable and prosperous future for us all.

Now, let’s take a look at What’s Next at NextGen!

★ AB 1132 Supports Climate Resilience in California: After several consecutive years of devastating wildfires and other extreme weather events, it’s clear that California state agencies like CalTrans need to improve their planning processes related to community resilience. By doing so, it will help to ensure that critical transportation infrastructure and evacuation corridors are safe and can be relied upon during and after climate disasters.

AB 1132 (Schiavo), the Roads to Resilience Act, aims to address this problem and support more climate resilient transportation systems by requiring agencies like Caltrans to better evaluate the accessibility, safety, and reliability of their transportation infrastructure to meet community needs during climate-related emergency situations. NextGen is proud to co-sponsor AB 1132 with our partners from the Greenlining Institute, and we thank Assemblymember Schiavo for authoring this bill to strengthen California’s transportation risk assessment process. Learn more about AB 1132 and how it will promote a more climate-resilient transportation system in California!

Hear from Kimberly Sanchez, NextGen’s Education Policy Associate, on what college students need to know about financial aid. Yes, financial aid for college is still available – the priority deadline to apply is tomorrow, April 2nd!

★ Did You Know? March is Women’s History Month and, for the last few weeks, NextGen has been uplifting helpful program information and policy resources for women as well as spotlighting influential leaders whose work advances social, gender, and economic progress throughout California. As we wrap up March, our team is taking time to reflect back on what a privilege it’s been to uplift these individuals and resources in honor of Women’s History Month – we encourage you to take a look at our full list of Women’s History Month honorees!

★ Member Spotlight: This week, NextGen is shining a spotlight on Assemblymember Liz Ortega, who represents California’s 20th Assembly District. Assemblymember Ortega is the author of AB 701, a bill that would bring increased transparency to solitary confinement practices in California jails, prisons, and immigrant detention centers. By clearly defining what constitutes solitary confinement and requiring more solitary confinement related data – numbers of individuals impacted, duration of time spent, justification, incidents of self-harm, use of force and cell conditions – AB 701 would produce a first of its kind report on the scope, scale, and reasoning for solitary confinement utilization in these detention facilities.

We believe that the use of solitary confinement, for prolonged periods of time and without clear justifications, is an archaic and inhumane practice that can have severe and life long impacts on a person’s mental and physical well being. NextGen is grateful for Assemblymember Ortega’s bold leadership on this issue and, along with the California Mandela Campaign (CMC), we are a proud co-sponsor of this bill. AB 701 just passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee and now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Make sure to follow Assemblymember Ortega on Facebook to stay up-to-date with her work!

★ Legislative Deadlines and Insights: Currently, the Capitol Community is super busy with both budget subcommittee and bill hearings. The Legislative Spring Recess is also right around the corner and begins – upon adjournment of Session on April 10th, the Legislature will be on a one week break and members will be returning back to their districts. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean vacation time for legislative staff, advocates and other stakeholders.

Spring Recess is a key time for legislative staff and Capitol Community stakeholders to work on bill amendments, prepare for upcoming hearings, convene strategy meetings, and write letters in support or opposition to bills as well as budget proposals. Lots of critical, behind the scenes work is done during this time period in anticipation of the Legislature’s return on April 21st.

★ Follow NextGen on Bluesky: NextGen is very active on Bluesky!  Check us out on Bluesky to receive the latest updates on bills and budget issues working their way through the California State Legislature, learn more about the NextGen team’s advocacy efforts, and discover opportunities on how you can take meaningful action to help build a more equitable, prosperous, and climate resilient California for all. We’ll see you over on Bluesky – follow us today!

★ Our Mission: NextGen California 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,

NextGen California