LEGISLATIVE ENDORSEMENTS


Heart of LA is not accepting Legislative endorsement requests at this time.

HLA Dems Legislative Endorsements for 2022
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Heart of LA Democratic Club has endorsed or taken a position on the following bills and ballot measures in 2022 and in support, we joined coalitions, submitted formal positions of support, provided public testimony, rallied on social media and issued/engaged in calls to action.

State Ballot Measures (appearing on the November ballot)

  • Proposition 1 SCA 10
    (Resolution Chapter 97, Statutes Of 2022) Atkins. Reproductive Freedom. Prohibits the state from denying or interfering with an individual's reproductive freedom. Recommendation: Support

  • Proposition 26 
    Authorizes new types of gambling. Initiative Constitutional and Statutory Amendment. Recommendation: Neutral

  • Proposition 27 
    Allows online and mobile sports wagering. Initiative Constitutional amendment and statute. Recommendation: Oppose

  • Proposition 28 
    Provides additional funding for arts and music education in public schools. Initiative statute. Recommendation: Support

  • Proposition 29 
    Requires on-site licensed medical professionals at kidney dialysis clinics and establishes other state requirements. Initiative statute. Recommendation: Support

  • Proposition 30 
    Provides funding for programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing tax on personal income over $2 million. Initiative statute. Recommendation: Support

  • Proposition 31 
    Upholds the ban on flavored tobacco sales Recommendation: Support


Los Angeles Ballot Measures (appearing on the November ballot) 

  • United to House LA (Yes on Measure ULA)
    Los Angeles City measure that would tax real estate that sells for more than $5 million in the City of Los Angeles, which would generate funding to reduce homelessness and provide housing for people living on the streets, protect low-income seniors and provide legal aid to renters.  Recommendation: Support

  • Measure A for Sheriff Accountability (Yes on Measure A)
    Los Angeles County measure that would grant the LA County Board of Supervisors authority to remove an elected Sheriff from office for cause, including violation of law related to a Sheriff's duties, flagrant or repeated neglect of duties, misappropriation of funds, willful falsification of documents, or obstructing an investigation. Recommendation: Support
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STATE LEGISLATION

Climate Change/Environment
  • SB 260 Climate Corporate Accountability Act (Wiener/Stern) - will enact the first law in the country to require U.S.-based companies doing business in California and generating over $1 billion in gross annual revenue to disclose all of their greenhouse gas emissions to the Secretary of State’s office. SB 260

 Criminal Justice Reform
  • AB 1706 Cannabis crimes: resentencing (Bonta) - will expedite the clearing of past marijuana convictions and ensure Californians receive record relief as entitled under the law.  AB 1706

Hate Crimes/Public Safety/Gun Violence
  • AB 1664 Nonprofit security grants (Gabriel)- will extend/strengthen California’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds critical security enhancement at religious institutions, LGBTQI community centers, reproductive health facilities, and other nonprofits deemed to be at risk from violent extremism. AB 1664
  • AB 587 Social Media Transparency and Accountability Act (Gabriel) - will require social media platforms to publicly disclose their corporate policies and their enforcement, regarding online hate/racism, disinformation, extremism, foreign interference, and harassment. AB 587
  • SB 915 Firearms: state property (Min) - will prohibit the sale of firearms or ammunition on state property, effectively ending gun shows on all public properties, including 73 state fairgrounds. SB 915
 
Healthcare/Public Health
  • SB 871 Keep Schools Open and Safe Act (Pan) - will add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required school vaccines, eliminating personal or religious exemptions for the immunization. SB 871
 
Housing/Homelessness
  • SB 914 Homeless domestic violence survivors (Susan Rubio) - will require California’s state and local homelessness plans to address how they will help domestic violence survivors and unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. SB 914
  • SB 843 Taxation: Renters’ Credit (Glazer) - will increase the California renter’s tax credit for the first time in more than 40 years and would represent significant help to renters. SB 843
  • AB 1816: Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program (Bryan)- will create a competitive Reentry Housing & Workforce Development Grant Program to fund evidence-based housing, support services, and workforce development programs for people who were formerly incarcerated and are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. AB 1816
  • AB 2547 Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Act (Nazarian)- offers stable housing for older Californians and people with disabilities facing or experiencing homelessness by creating a state grant program to fund programs that provide rental subsidies and services to those that are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. AB 2547
 
Jobs/Pay Equity/Economic Relief
  •  SB 1162: Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act (Limon)- would build upon SB 973, which requires employers of 100 or more employees to submit pay data reports to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, with their aggregate pay data broken down by sex, race, and ethnicity in specified job categories - data is key to closing the gender and racial wage gap.  SB 1162

Reproductive Justice
  • AB 1666 Abortion: civil actions (Bauer-Kahan) - will protect any California-based provider, individual or organization sued for providing, receiving, or helping someone get abortion care, from civil liability. AB 1666
  • SB 1142 Expanding Access to Abortions in CA (Skinner/Caballero)- will establish a first-of-its-kind fund that would significantly increase funding for abortion services for low-income Californians and for out-of-state residents who may come here for an abortion.  SB 1142
  • SB 1375: Nursing; nurse practitioners (Atkins)- will allow independent nurse practitioners to perform abortions without doctor supervision, which will improve access to the procedure in rural areas with few doctors.  SB 1375

Sexual Assault/Sexual Violence
  • AB 1636 Physician’s and surgeon’s certificate: registered sex offenders (Weber/Muratsuchi) - ensures that physicians and surgeons who have committed sexual misconduct with a patient or client are prohibited from acquiring or reinstating their license. AB 1636
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State Observances
  • AB 1655 State holidays: Juneteenth (Jones-Sawyer/Bonta/Weber) - will add June 19, known as “Juneteenth,” to the list of state holidays. AB 1655
 
Transportation
  • AB 1778 State transportation funding: freeway widening, poverty, and pollution  (Cristina Garcia)- will prohibit the State of California from funding or permitting transportation projects of freeway expansions/widening in Environmental Justice Communities adversely affected by vehicle emissions and/or in areas with a higher rate of population below the poverty line. AB 1778
  • SB 878 Road to Success (Skinner/Leyva) - will ensure that all public school children in grades TK-12 be offered free transportation to and from their neighborhood school each day, provided that the state pays for all the costs of the program. SB 878
 
Voting Rights/Election Reform
  • SB 1131: Election workers/reproductive health care providers; confidentiality (Newman) - designed to reduce acts of harassment towards election workers by providing them with the option of keeping their home addresses confidential and enrolling in the State’s protection programs. SB 1131
  • SCA 6 – Constitutional Amendment on Recall Reform (Newman)– will ensure that statewide and legislative recalls in California are democratic, fair and not subject to political manipulation. (Requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature and, if passed, would have to be approved by California voters).  SCA 6
HLA Dems Legislative Endorsements for 2021
Heart of LA Democratic Club endorsed the following bills in 2021 and in support, we joined coalitions, submitted formal positions of support, provided public testimony, rallied on social media and issued/engaged in calls to action. State bills that were signed by Governor Newsom in 2021 and enacted into law in 2022 are denoted with an asterisk* and appear in BOLD.

STATE LEGISLATION  

CA Legislative Women’s Caucus policy priorities
  • AB 865  Child Care Services: Alternative Payment Programs (Quirk-Silva) - lessen the financial hardships imposed on California’s family child care providers. AB865
  • AB 1287  Eliminate the Pink Tax (Garcia/Burke/Gonzales/Bauer-Kahan) -prohibits the practice of applying higher prices on goods marketed to women. AB1287
  • *SB 4 The Broadband for All Act (Gonzalez/Aguiar-Curry) - close the digital divide & ensure that we meet the internet connectivity needs of all Californians. SB4 

Criminal Justice Reform
  • *AB118 Emergency Services: Community response/CRISES Act (Kamlager) - create a pilot grant program for community-based responses to local emergencies, including public health and mental health crises, unhoused people in crisis, people exposed to intimate partner or community violence, with a substance use disorder or impacted by natural or climate disasters. AB118 

Hate Crimes 
  • AB 57 Law enforcement: hate crimes (Gabriel/Chiu/Min) - increase training for law enforcement & data collection for hate crimes AB57 
  • AB 1440 Civil rights crimes (Bauer-Kahan) - allow district attorneys to charge terrorist threats as a misdemeanor or felony AB1440
  • *AB 1126 Commission on the state of hate (Bloom) - establish a permanent statewide commission AB1126 
  • SB 764 Domestic terrorism (Umberg/Stern/Min) - establish a statewide domestic terrorism task force at the state’s Dept. of Justice SB764

​Healthcare
  • AB 32 Telehealth (Aguiar-Curry/R. Rivas) – will ensure that telehealth and telephonic care is available to Medi-Cal patients beyond the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, which expires December 2021.  AB32

Housing/Homelessness
  • AB 369 - The Street Medicine Act (Kamlager) – extend full Medi-Cal benefits to persons experiencing homelessness, and allow providers to bill Medi-Cal for services offered to persons experiencing homelessness outside of a traditional medical facility.  AB 369
  • AB71 Bring California Home (Rivas) - secure guaranteed annual funding to address homelessness AB71
  • AB1487 Legal Services Trust Fund Commission: Homelessness Prevention Fund (Gabriel/Chiu/Santiago) - fund a guaranteed right to counsel program for renters statewide to prevent evictions AB1487 
  • AB 1401 Residential and commercial development: parking requirements (Friedman/Abundant Housing) - eliminate local parking requirements for homes & businesses within a half-mile of transit. AB 1401 
  • SB 234 SUPPORT Act (Supporting Underserved Young People for Positive Resets and Transitions)/Transition Aged Youth Housing (Wiener) – creates a $100 million forgivable loan program to fund new housing or acquire existing housing for transition age youth between ages 16 and 26. SB234

Hunger/Food Insecurity
  • SB 364 Free School Meals for All (Skinner) - establish a statewide Universal Meal Plan starting in the 2022-2023 school year & guarantee free breakfast and lunch for all California students. SB 364  **due to inclusion in the Governor’s May Revise and the state Senate’s Build Back Boldly Budget plan, SB 364 will now be a two-year bill

Jobs/Economic Relief
  • SB 628 California Creative Workforce Act (Allen) - establish creative arts workforce development as a state priority & promote employment and “earn and learn" job training opportunities for creative workers. SB 628
  • SB 805 Performing Arts Relief Act (Rubio/Allen) - enact legislation that would permit small nonprofit performing arts organizations to pay production artists as independent contractors under certain circumstances, while still providing workers compensation insurance. SB 805  ​
  • SB 691 Personal Income Tax Law: Earned Income Tax Credit: Young Child Tax Credit (Rubio) –will permanently increase the California EITC for workers excluded from the federal EITC based on their income or lack of eligible dependents and will expand eligibility for the Young Child Tax Credit. SB691
  • AB92 Family Fee Pandemic Relief Bill/preschool, childcare and development services (Reyes) - will eliminate state-mandated family fees for childcare through October 2022. AB92 


Port Workers Support
  • SB338 Health and safety violations (Gonzalez) - add trucking companies to an existing Division of Labor Standards Enforcement “bad actor” list if those companies do not provide required health and safety protections & benefits. SB 338 
  • AB794 Air pollution: purchase of vehicles and vehicle technology/labor (Carrillo) - ensure that public funding to manufacture & purchase cleaner vehicles is tied to labor standards. AB 794
  • SB700 Employment Development Department (Durazo) - ensure that misclassified workers are able to access Unemployment Insurance benefits SB700

Reproductive Justice
  • SB 245 Abortion Accessibility Act (Gonzalez) - increases abortion access by prohibiting California-licensed health plans and insurers from applying patient cost-sharing to abortion and abortion-related services SB245 
  • SB 523 Contraceptive Equity Act (Leyva) - modernize birth control access in California, and ensure greater contraceptive equity statewide, regardless of an individual’s gender or insurance coverage status SB523 
  • *AB 1356 Reproductive health care services (Bauer-Kahan) - protects reproductive health care employees, providers, volunteers and patients.  AB1356 
  • *SB 65 California Momnibus Bill (Skinner) - address maternal and infant mortality disparities, provide additional health care via extended Medi-Cal eligibility for postpartum people, doula care, investment in the midwife workforce, and cash assistance for people with very low incomes. SB65 
  • *AB 367 Menstrual Equity for All Act – will require public schools, maintaining classes from
    grades 6 to 12, to stock restrooms with free menstrual products in all women’s restrooms
    and all-gender restrooms, and in at least one men’s restroom, at all times.

Sexual Assault/Sexual Violence 
  • *AB 1171 – End Spousal Rape Exception (Garcia/Low) - ensure that all rape is treated equally under the law, regardless of any relationship between the survivor and the perpetrator. AB 1171
  • *AB 453 - Sexual battery: nonconsensual condom removal - will classify nonconsensual
    condom removal as sexual battery; will be the first in the nation to define “stealthing” as
    a crime.
 

FEDERAL LEGISLATION
  • Women’s Health Protection Act WHPA
  • HR1/S1 For the People Act of 2021  HR1/S1
  • HR 4 John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act HR 4
  • HR 5 Equality Act HR 5
  • HR 1319 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 HR 1319  **signed into law
  • HR 7120 George Floyd Justice in Policing Act HR 7120
  • HR8 Bipartisan Background Checks Act  HR 8
  • HR 151 Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19 HR 151
  • HR 1919 Enhanced Access to SNAP Act HR 1919​

INTERNATIONAL MEASURES
  • U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) CEDAW
  • U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child ChildRights

HLA Dems Legislative Endorsements for the November 3, 2020 General Elections: 

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STATE BALLOT MEASURES
Prop 14 - Borrowing for STEM Cell Research: SUPPORT
Prop 15 - Schools and Communities First: SUPPORT   
Prop 16 - Repeals Proposition 209, ending the ban on affirmative action: SUPPORT
Prop 17 - Free the Vote, grants right to vote to people on parole: SUPPORT
Prop 18 - Allows 17-years to vote, if they turn 18 by the general election: SUPPORT
Prop 19 – Property tax breaks and wildfire fund: NO POSITION
Prop 20 - Tougher on parole, property owners: OPPOSE
Prop 21 - Expands local governments' authority to enact rent control: SUPPORT
Prop 22 - Repeals AB5, classifies ride-hail, other app-drivers as self-employed: OPPOSE
Prop 23 - Regulates dialysis clinics, requires doctors on-site at clinics: NO POSITION
Prop 24 - Stronger consumer privacy laws: NO POSITION
Prop 25 - End cash bail: SUPPORT
 
LOS ANGELES COUNTY BALLOT MEASURE
Measure J - Community Investment and Alternatives to Incarceration Minimum County Budget Allocation (Re-Imagine LA): SUPPORT 
 
LOCAL JURISDICTION BALLOT MEASURES
 HLA Dems took NO POSITION on these 55 local measures
 June 17, 2020

SB1237 - Expand Access to Maternal Healthcare
​AB2054 - The C.R.I.S.E.S. (Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems)
ACA5 - repeal of Proposition 209 - Reinstate Affirmative Action

SB1237 -Expand Access to Maternal Healthcare
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The Board of HLA has voted to endorse SB1237.
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This bill would remove the requirement of physician supervision from the practice of nurse-midwifery in California so that every person can receive critical access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion care and high-quality, high-value maternity care. 

We encourage you to send a note to your legislators through this form provided by our friends at NARAL.
AB2054 The CRISES Act. 
Too often, the only response available for people in need of support is the police, which can escalate a crisis and increase the risk of harm for everyone. It is the time for California to lead the country and invest in public safety responses that are rooted in community. Every day, community-based organizations are successfully responding to emergency situations and they have the expertise, relationships and networks to meet the needs of their communities.

The C.R.I.S.E.S. (Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems) - Act AB 2054 – authored by Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove - will create a 3-year pilot grant program for community-based response to local emergency calls including public health, mental health and substance abuse crises, unhoused people in crisis, people exposed to intimate partner or community violence and people impacted by natural or climate disaster.

When we invest in organizations rooted in community, we improve our resiliency, relationships, and strengthen connections--all of which are critical during this public health crisis.

You can help push for investments in community by emailing Governor Gavin Newsom, Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins Toni Atkins, Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Senator Holly Mitchell and the Budget Chair Assemblymember Ting to ask them to support The CRISES Act, AB 2054.
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Please register your strong support to ensure that the CRISES Act is not just passed, but fully funded so that California can once more lead the nation in bringing more justice and safety to every community.
*TAKE ACTION NOW. SUBMIT YOUR SUPPORT HERE -- https://allianceforbmoc.org/crises-act
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ACA 5 - repeal of Proposition 209 on California’s November 2020 ballot ​

Let’s repeal a past that divide us. Support ACA5. HLA endorses ACA 5.
The California State Assembly has the power to reinstate affirmative action and create a more just, fair and equitable California with the California Assembly Constitutional Amendment – ACA 5. Passage of ACA 5 would place a repeal of Proposition 209 on California’s November 2020 ballot – and it need your voice to make that a reality.

ACA 5 is about equal opportunity for all and investment in our communities. Together, we can stand up for our values and help end gender and racial discrimination in California. This is a historic moment in our country and in California. We have the chance to champion our progressive values and repudiate the racism of the Trump administration by voting to pass ACA 5.

It’s on all us to dismantle structural racism. Clearly, it’s past time to upend a system that denies women and people of color an equal shot at success and gives the rich and powerful an unfair advantage over everyone else. It’s time to build a stronger California by building a state that works for and protects everyone.

ACA 5 is a bold solution to level the playing field. It has the unanimous legislative support from the California Legislative Black Caucus, and support from the leadership of the California Legislative Latino and Women’s Caucuses, and last week passed the State Assembly. It’s now up to the Senate. TAKE ACTION.
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Past Legislative Endorsements 2017-2019

Legislative Sexual Harassment Retaliation Prevention Act
Bill #: SB-419
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Portantino and Leyva
Date: 07/05/18
Status: From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on RLS. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (July 3).
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill): Protects employees of the legislature from retaliation for making sexual harrassment complaints.
Endorsements: Consumer Attorneys of California, the California Employment Lawyers Association, Equal Rights Advocates
Relevance to HLA mission: Preventing sexual harrassment and appropriately reddressing offenders is essential to women's equitable participation in the workforce and in public leadership.
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Sexual assault: investigations
Bill #: SB 3118
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Chiu
Date: 07/05/18
Status: Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill): This bill would require all law enforcement agencies, medical facilities, crime laboratories, and any other facilities that receive, maintain, store, or preserve sexual assault evidence kits to conduct an audit of all untested sexual assault evidence kits in their possession and report certain data to the Department of Justice by no later than July 1, 2019.
Endorsements: Stonewall Democratic Club
Relevance to HLA mission: Provides justice to victims of rape, 95% of whom are women.

Rape kits: testing
Bill #: SB 1449
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Leyva
Date: 07/05/18
Status: Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill):Requires testing of rape kits (existing law encourages rather than requires testing) 
Endorsements: Stonewall Democratic Club
Relevance to HLA mission: Provides justice to victims of rape, 95% of whom are women.


Firearms: multiburst trigger activators.
Bill #: SB 1346
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Jackson
Date: 06/13/18
Status: Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill): Bans bump stocks
Endorsements: American Academy of Pediatrics, Women Against Gun Violence
Relevance to HLA mission: Promotes well-being of children in schools along with teachers who are predominantly female, promotes safety of women who may be targeted by shooters.


Student services: lactation accommodations
Bill #: AB 2785
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Rubio
Date: 06/13/18
Status: Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. 
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill): Requires public universities/colleges to provide lactation rooms for breastfeeding students.
Endorsements: California Breastfeeding Coalition, California Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics.
Relevance to HLA mission: Promotes equitable access to education for mothers by providing a supportive environment.


CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: exemption.
Bill #: AB 2326
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Rubio
Date: 06/13/18
Status: From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill): Exempts families with infants from welfare-to-work laws.
Endorsements: California Alternative Payment Program Association, California Food Policy Advocates, Western Center on Law and Poverty.
Relevance to HLA mission: Protects highly vulnerable individuals, promotes family and child well-being, protects mothers.


Peace officers: release of records.
Bill #: SB 1421
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Skinner/Lara
Date: 06/26/18 
Status: From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. 
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct exerpt from bill): Gives the public access to the findings of police investigations and the right to know the discipline meted out in cases relating to “deadly and serious uses of force,” sexual assault against a civilian, and proven dishonesty in an investigation such as perjury and planting or destroying evidence.
Endorsements: American Civil Liberties Union, Black Lives Matter, California Faculty Association.
Relevance to HLA mission: Stonewall Democratic ClubProtects highly vulnerable individuals, promotes civil rights and social justice mission.

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Law enforcement agencies: military equipment: funding, acquisition, and use.
Bill #: AB 3131
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Gloria
Date: 07/03/18
Status: Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct excerpt from bill): Requires police and sheriffs to hold open public hearings and transparency reporting when acquiring military-grade equipment.
Endorsements: Indivisible CA, ACLU, American Friends Service Committee, California State Strong.
Relevance to HLA mission: Promotes justice and accountability in policing, promotes civil rights of marginalized communities that are often most impacted by policing and overuse of force.


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State lands: leasing: oil and gas.
Bill #: SB 834 / AB 1775
Region: CA
Bill Introduced by: Jackson / Muratsuchi
Date: 06/25/18 
Status: From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 3.)Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
​Description (italics are summaries, regular text is direct excerpt from bill): Prohibits the development of new oil pipelines and other infrastructure in coastal waters controlled by the California State Lands Commission.
Endorsements: League of California Cities, SEIU, Unite Here, Environmental Defense Center, California Coastkeeper Alliance.
Relevance to HLA mission: Environmental protection is essential to the well-being of families and communities on coastal CA.

SB183
(Lara, Chiu, Fletcher)
State buildings: federal immigration agents.

SB 837
(Dodd)
Transitional kindergarten: enrollment for 4-year-olds.

AB1870 
(Friedman, Reyes, Waldron)
Employment discrimination: unlawful employment practices.

AB1921 
(Maienschein, Santiago)
CalWORKs: housing assistance.

SB-982 
(Mitchell)
Ending CalWORKs Deep Poverty

AB 1883 
(Weber)
Child care and development services: military families: alternative payment programs.

SB320
(Leyva)
Public health: public post-secondary education: on-campus student health centers: abortion by medication techniques.
*depicts incumbent

​AB 992 (Arambula)
CalWORKs Baby Wellness and Family Support Home Visiting    
This bill would establish the Baby Wellness and Family Support Home Visiting Program that would require the State Department of Social Services to allocate funds to provide voluntary home visiting programs for families and children up to three years of age. The bill was co-sponsored by important child and family advocacy organizations such as the Children's Defense Fund California, Children Now, Western Center on Law and Poverty.

The Heart of LA Democratic club is committed to promoting equitable opportunities for all Angelenos and we stand with the co-sponsors of this bill in improving the livelihood of children in California.  Research has shown that these services improve parenting, reduce child maltreatment, increase family self sufficiency, and produce positive societal benefits at much greater value than the program costs.We endorse AB 992 because it will allow the CalWORKS program to better support the needs of new families and provides support to families at a critical time, and is an important long-term investment in family wellbeing. 

AB 2289 (Weber)
Young Parents' Right to Education Act    
AB 2289 establishes a consistent family and sick leave policy across the state to support students in public schools to parent their child without sacrificing their education. AB 2289 would be an important complement to Title IX, which protects the rights of all students to receive equal educational opportunities regardless of their gender. School district policies for student family leave are inconsistent in complying with Title IX rules related to pregnant and parenting students, who often struggle to continue their education. 

AB 2289 will mandate leave for pregnant or parenting students and will provide guidelines for make-up plans or work study to ensure students can return to their school and classes. Under AB 2289, students must be allowed 6 weeks of leave if they are the birthing parent, with an extra two weeks for complications or a cesarean, and 4 weeks of leave if they are the parenting partner. The bill was co-sponsored by Act Women and Girls, Access Women’s Health Justice, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, and has also been endorsed by Black Women's Wellness. 

Heart of LA endorses AB 2289 because it promotes educational attainment for young women, providing more hopeful futures for their children as well. Education is an essential key to lifelong stability and economic opportunities for young people. Currently, only 38% of students who become mothers before age eighteen graduate high school. AB 2289 better addresses the needs of pregnant and parenting students than the protections formerly offered under Title IX. 


AB 2601 (Weber)
The California Healthy Youth Act in Charter Schools    
AB 329 would ensure that students in public charter schools are provided with comprehensive sexual health and STD prevention education, just like their peers in traditional public schools as required by the California Healthy Youth Act of 2015. 

The California Healthy Youth Act does not currently apply to charter schools, even though California has the highest number of students enrolled in charter schools in the United States. AB 2601 would rectify this by extending the requirements of the California Healthy Youth Act to charter schools. The bill was co-sponsored by ACLU of California and has also been endorsed by Black Women's Wellness  and the American Pediatric Association. 

Heart of LA endorses AB 2601 because we are committed to promoting the health and wellbeing of young people of all genders and sexual identities. We believe that education is important for all young people in order to foster healthy relationships, reduce risky sexual activity, and promote inclusion of LGBTQ individuals. Furthermore, evidence on comprehensive sex education has shown it to delay sexual activity and increase condom and contraceptive use amongst youth who are sexually active. Since the California Healthy Youth Act was enacted, the percentage of sexually active California students who use birth control has increased, and the percentage of students who had multiple sexual partners decreased. By expanding this requirement to charter schools, more students will benefit. 

AB 2775 (Kalra)
Professional Cosmetic Ingredient Disclosure    
This bill requires manufacturers to list all ingredients on the labels of professional cosmetic products. The bill would establish labeling parity with retail cosmetic products to provide the same level of ingredient disclosure to professional salon workers that as to retail consumers. The bill was co-sponsored by Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Women’s Voices of the Earth, and California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and has also been endorsed by Black Women's Wellness.

Heart of LA endorses AB 2775 because it ensures that salon workers and owners can make safer product choices and take steps to protect themselves and their customers against harmful exposures. Consumers, manicurists, hair stylists, and other salon professionals all have the right to know what chemicals they are exposed to regularly. Additionally, the health risks from many of these salon products including dyes, hair relaxer, and nail polish, disproportionately impact women of color. For example,  between 59 to 80 percent of nail salon workers in California are Vietnamese immigrants. We endorse this bill in support of the health and safety of those who are most vulnerable to chemical exposure. 

S. 2699 (Booker, Durbin, Krishnamoorthi)
Help Students Vote Act    
The Help Students Vote Act (HSVA) would ensure that college students nationwide get the information they need to register to vote and become active participants in our democracy, regardless of party affiliation. The HSVA builds on the provision of the Higher Education Act that requires colleges and universities to make a “good-faith effort” to distribute voter registration forms, and it provides much-needed clarification and support around campus voter registration.This would help students at colleges and universities navigate the voter registration process and ensure they don't miss any deadlines.The bill was co-sponsored by Students Learn, Students Vote and Young Invincibles.    

Heart of LA endorses S 2699 because our democracy works best with engaged citizens.  Many young people become eligible to vote for the first time while attending college. By helping students navigate the unique barriers they face with both voter registration and casting a ballot, the HSVA would empower the next generation of voters to become active participants in our democracy.

SB 1343 (Mitchell, Yee)
Employers: Sexual Harassment Training: Requirements    
The act requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide at least 2 hours of prescribed training and education regarding sexual harassment, abusive conduct, and harassment based upon gender, as specified, to all supervisory employees within 6 months of their assumption of a supervisory position and once every 2 years.

Heart of LA Democratic Club endorses SB 1343 as an important measure to create a safe work environment which is free from discrimination or harassment. We are heartened that the Legislature is taking steps to address this form of behavior, and proud to see female legislators taking on the leadership needed to strengthen protections in the workplace. In the wake of the Me Too movement, prevention of harassment in the workplace must be strengthened in order to remediate the lasting negative effects this behavior has on victims’ well-being.​