Over the past five years, teams of Women's Policy Institute Fellows have developed bill ideas, worked with other advocates, and supported or shepherded numerous bills that were introduced into the State Assembly and Senate. Success for WPI Fellows is measured less by the fate of these policy projects than by the invaluable experiences gained from navigating the complex legislative process and building enduring relationships with elected and appointed officials.
Wins
SB 1569 - Human Services Eligibility (Kuehl)
SIGNED into law on September 29, 2006.
Extends eligibility for certain state and local benefits, including refugee cash assistance, Medi-Cal, and employment social services to qualified noncitizen victims of trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious crimes.
AB 2695 - Domestic Violence (Goldberg)
SIGNED into law on September 26, 2006.
Enhances workplace safety by permitting employers to obtain protective orders for the entire worksite when an employee or employees experience violence or a credible threat of violence in the workplace.
SB 484 - Safe Cosmetics (Migden)
SIGNED into law on October 7, 2005.
This bill establishes the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 and requires cosmetics manufacturers to disclose to the Department of Health Services (DHS) a list of ingredients in their products that are chemicals that have been identified to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
AB 450 (Changed to AB 1179) - Violent Video Games (Yee)
SIGNED into law on October 7, 2005.
Prohibits the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.
SB 148 - Acoholic Beverages Licenses (Scott)
SIGNED into Law on September 29, 2006.
Increasing local control over liquor store licensing.
AB 1796 - Food Stamp Eligibility (Leno)
SIGNED into law on September 29, 2004.
This bill provides that a convicted drug felon, with certain exceptions, shall be eligible for aid under the Food Stamp Program. The bill will require these Food Stamp Program applicants to have proof of completion or other affiliation with a government-recognized drug treatment program, or other evidence that the illegal use of controlled substances has ceased.
SB 1441 - Domestic Violence Victims Services (Kuehl)
SIGNED into law on July 15, 2004.
This bill provides that a victim of domestic violence or abuse has the right to have a domestic violence counselor and a support person of his or her choosing present at any interview by law enforcement authorities, district attorneys or defense attorneys, as specified, and shall be notified orally or in writing by the attending law enforcement authority or district attorney of that right prior to the commencement of an initial interview.
SB 1639 - Education Works! (Alarcón)
SIGNED into law on September 22, 2004.
This bill improves access to education to community college for CalWORKs students whose primary language is not English and increases access to higher education for foster care youth by requiring that they receive information about educational opportunities. The bill also establishes the intent of the Legislature to enable residents to reach self-sufficiency, to develop a Student Parent Scholar grant program to assist low-income parents with postsecondary education, increase access to higher education for foster care youth and ensure that programs operated with federal TANF funds promote education and training for jobs that offer self-sufficient wages.
Valiant Efforts
SB 1712 - Lead in Cosmetics (Migden)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Health Committee on June 24, 2008.
Would prohibit the sale of lipstick contaminated with lead, a potent neurotoxin linked to a variety of health and reproductive issues including learning, language, and behavioral problems, infertility and miscarriage.
AB 2694 - Lead in Children's Products (Ma)
HELD WITHOUT VOTE in Senate Health Committee on June 25, 2008.
Would ban the manufacture or sale of any children’s product containing lead including toys, foods, clothing or any other product intended for children under 12 years old.
AB 22 - CalWORKs Benefits (Lieber)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Appropriations Committee on February 1, 2008.
Would repeal the Family Cap in CalWORKs, which currently prohibits additional benefits to a child born while the mother was already enrolled in CalWORKs.
AB 589 - Teen Dating Violence (Levine)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Appropriations Committee on February 1, 2008.
Would address teen dating violence in the public schools, requiring training for school professionals and providing protections and resource referrals to victims.
SB 48 - Healthy Food Choices (Alquist)
HELD WITHOUT VOTE in Assembly Appropriations Committee on December 4, 2007.
Would provide incentives and grants for small businesses to offer affordable healthy foods in low-income and rural communities that currently have limited access to these foods.
AB 1538 - Foreclosure Relief (Lieu)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Appropriations Committee on February 2, 2008.
Would create a loan assistance program through the California Housing Finance Agency to help lower-income homeowners avoid foreclosure.
AB 2917 - Corrections and Rehabilitation (Goldberg and Liu)
VETOED by governor on September 29, 2006.
Would codify a Gender Responsive Strategies Commission (GRSC) within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The GRSC, composed of a diverse group of stakeholders, will evaluate and make recommendations to the CDCR on strategies designed to reduce recidivism within California's female prison population.
SB 1471 - Sex Education Programs (Kuehl)
VETOED by governor on September 29, 2006.
Sex education is a critical factor in preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted disease among those aged 13 -20. This bill would require that any state operated or state-funded program that provides education to prevent adolescent or unintended pregnancy or to prevent sexually transmitted disease infection must be medically accurate, current and objective. The bill further stipulates that the program cannot promote or teach religious doctrine and must be culturally and linguistically appropriate for the target audience and anyone administering the program must be appropriately trained.
AB 855 - CalWORKs Eligibility (Bass)
VETOED by governor on October 7, 2005.
Opts California out of the lifetime prohibition on receipt of benefits funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant and establishes CalWORKs eligibility for otherwise ineligible persons convicted of a drug-related felony subject to specified conditions, except for persons convicted of unlawfully transporting, importing, selling, furnishing, possessing for sale, manufacturing, cultivating or committing similar acts related to controlled substances.
AB 788 - Licensed Day Care Providers (Montañez)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Appropriations on May 25, 2005.
Requires that the State Department of Education (SDE) administer a three-year pilot project to provide continuing education and training for licensed family day care providers and requires SDE to submit an evaluation to the Legislature within six months of the project's completion. Requires the pilot to be conducted in a minimum of three community college districts, one of which must be Los Angeles and another of which must be in a rural area. Authorizes a participating community college to a) Offer classes targeted to family day care providers, b) Offer evening and weekend classes and classes at alternative locations, c) Offer classes targeted to limited English speakers and d) Coordinate with other quality improvement programs that provide early education services to underrepresented groups.
AB 908 - Safe Cosmetics (Chu)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Health Committee on April 19, 2005.
Prohibits the manufacture, sale or distribution of any cosmetic that contains dibutyl phthalate (DBP) or di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and provides that any cosmetic is misbranded if it is sold by an Internet web site where the list of ingredients in the cosmetic is not easily and readily available to be viewed by the prospective purchaser before the purchase is completed.
SB 24 - (Two-year bill) Hospital Charity Care (Ortiz)
FAILED PASSAGE in Senate Health Committee on January 31, 2006.
Requires hospitals to implement a charity-care and reduced-payments policy.
SB 870 (Two-year bill) Penalties for Air Quality Violations (Escutia)
HELD in Senate Appropriations by Author on May 26, 2005.
Among other things, SB 870 would require that air quality violations within 1,500 feet of a school be subject to triple the minimum civil penalties and would require the district to mail notices to every parent teacher and school administrator at the school within one month of the occurrence of the violation, as well as the ultimate disposition of the notice of violation. Costs to the air districts would be significant.
SB 1525 - Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Speier)
VETOED by governor on Sept 29, 2004.
This bill would have required that the Family PACT Program within the Office of Family Planning administer an early detection program for breast cancer and cervical cancer. This bill would have also renamed the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) Waiver Program as the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) Program. The primary benefits of this bill would have been increased access for low income women and the beginning of seamless health care, increased ease in enrollment for women and billing for healthcare practitioners and additional federal match dollars for the State.
SB 1275 - Maternity Services (Ortiz)
FAILED PASSAGE in Assembly Health Committee on June 22, 2004.
This bill would have restricted marketing by corporations of baby formula to mothers immediately after giving birth.
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