Latino Legislative Caucus identifies its priority legislation for 2022
The California Latino Legislative Caucus signaled it will focus on legislation to help food vendors, undocumented students and low-income families when members outlined their legislative priorities in a Wednesday press conference in Sacramento that was also livestreamed.
“This package of bills aims to address issues that our communities feel every day – economic inequity, environmental injustices, inadequate healthcare, and the rights to immigrants, to name a few,” said state Sen. María Elena Durazo, the caucus chair.
“Our mission is to put these inequities front and center and to fight for policies that will create better outcomes for all Californians.”
The caucus, which boasts 29 members (of which 17 are Latinas) in the state Senate and Assembly, identified 20 bills for this legislative session.
“Our priority legislation reaffirms our caucus’ commitment to challenging inequity and uplifting our most underserved,” said caucus vice-chair, Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Salinas. “While other states are making it harder for Latinos to vote, banning Latino and other history in schools, and demonizing our immigrant neighbors, our bills reflect California’s diversity and equity values.”
Durazo said Gov. Gavin Newsom will be notified of the caucus’ priority bills “so he knows what the Latino legislators in this state need for our community.”
The proposals range from helping street vendors to limiting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials when undocumented criminals are released.
Legislators explain their bills
AB 2750 by Assemblymember Nia Bonta, D-Oakland, would direct the state Department of Technology to “create a state digital equity plan to identify barriers to digital equity faced by covered populations; and, document and promote digital equity among covered populations.”
“This is no more felt than during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the need for closing the digital equity gap,” said Bonta, “because many students and people were unable to access their ongoing digital instruction or not able to access the health care they needed.”
SB 860 by state Sen. Susan Rubio would extend the Young Child Tax Credit eligibility to households with no earned income including unpaid caregivers with children 6 years and younger. The tax credit would be extended to those with no income and to undocoumented residents.
“I want to note that the undocumented population contributes approximately $3.2 billion annually in taxes, and they deserve to be taken care of,” said Rubio.
AB 288 by Assemblymember Lisa Calderón, D-Whittier, would prohibit colleges/universities from subtracting the amount of private scholarships from financial aid awards to students who are eligible for a federal Pell Grant and/or California Dream Act financial aid.
“Every single dollar” from private groups should go toward students,” said Bonta.
AB 1730 by Assemblymember James Ramos would encourage school districts, county offices of education and charter schools to form Indian Education Task Forces with local tribes.
“It would help us all in the state to avoid incidents similar to what happened in the city of Riverside with the school district where a teacher dressed up as an Indian with a headdress … which was very insulting,” said Ramos.
AB 1746 By Assemblymember José Medina would expand eligibility to the Cal Grant program, guarantee certain access awards, remove barriers for adult learners, and support students with dependent children.
Medina did not speak at the press conference.
AB 2004 by Assemblymember Cristina García, D-Bell Gardens, strengthens the state Dream Loan Program by requiring loan borrowers to get financial education, allowing loan forgiveness and discharge provisions similar to federal loan programs, and increasing the amount students can borrow for graduate programs.
“I graduated from high school in 1995, and I always remember my colleague Lilianna, who was with me in my calculus class, and we both did pretty well,” said García. “But she was smarter than me and had more talent.”
Lilianna, said García, was undocumented and couldn’t afford to go to college.
“It always broke my heart that someone that had more talent than me didn’t have opportunities because of their documentation status,” said García.
AB 2132 by Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, D-Stockton, would establish a pilot program to provide upfront funding for individuals underrepresented in medicine and who commit to practicing in rural or medically underserved areas.
Villapudua was not at the press conference.
AB 2266 by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, D-Los Ángeles, would expand the state’s College Promise program to allow all full-time community college students to receive two years of free tuition.
“When you take a look at the face of the community college student, let’s face it, it’s the face of a Latino/Latina,” said Santiago. “It’s the place where we get a second chance, where we get that opportunity to uplift ourselves and to get an education.”
AB 2489 by Assemblymember Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, would provide $50 million to supplement the pay of teachers who agree to live within the boundaries of the respective priority school they teach at for five years.
Salas was not at the press conference.
AB 2806 by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, would prohibit suspension and expulsion in state preschool and childcare programs, and would strengthen early childhood mental health consultations.
Rubio was not at the press conference.
AB 952 by state Sen. Monique Limón would make $15 million available over five years to 20 schools seeking to convert to dual language immersion programs.
“Research shows that students have high levels of linguistic competence in two languages,” said Limón. “They are more likely to experience cognitive, competitive, cultural and economic benefits with multiple languages.”
AB 2108 by Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, would require the State Water Resources Control Board and each of the nine Regional Water Boards to fill a seat with an environmental justice or tribal member.
The bill “seeks to remove barriers for underserved Californians to have their voices heard by reclassifying one of the existing seats on each of the water boards,” said Rivas.
AB 2238 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley, would develop a statewide heat-ranking process, based on their projected health impact and meteorological data.
“Latinos are most likely to to reside in areas of the state that are vulnerable to extreme heat events, such as areas that have large expanses of concrete and less greenery,” said Rivas.
AB 4 by Assemblymember Joaquín Arámbula, D-Fresno, would extend full scope Medi-Cal benefits to anyone regardless of age, or those whose immigration status would otherwise make them ineligible.
“We continue to have a legacy of leading and expanding health care coverage to those who are most vulnerable,” said Arámbula.
AB 2217 by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Rivas, D-Colton, would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to set higher per-unit and total project caps within the Cal Home program to promote affordable home construction in high-cost areas.
Gómez Rivas was not at the press conference.
AB 937 by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Ángeles, would prohibit law enforcement agencies from providing notification of the release of inmates to or facilitating inmate transfers with federal immigration authorities.
“All of these individuals, because they are non-citizens, are subject to a second punishment,” said Carrillo.
AB 163 by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, D-Corona, would require county registrars to assign polling place workers who speak languages other than English to specific precincts with certain thresholds of voters who speak that other language.
“In Corona, we observed many Spanish-speaking voters struggle to exercise their right to vote because no Spanish-speaking polling place workers were present at the time,” said Cervantes.
AB 2847 by Assemblymember Eduardo García, D-Coachella, would establish the Excluded Workers pilot program to provide undocumented workers with $300 per week (up to 20 weeks) for each week of unemployment between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023.
García was not at the press conference.
SB 961 by Durazo, D-Los Ángeles, would increase wage replacement rates for lower income workers to 90% of income for the first 12 weeks of state disability insurance and all eight weeks of paid family leave.
“Higher income workers regularly take the leaves because 60% of their wages is much closer to something that they need to be able to take the leave,” said Durazo. “But low wage workers cannot afford to take the leave if we’re only replacing 60% of their wages.”
SB 972 by state Sen. Lena González, D-Long Beach, would modernized the state retail food code to include sidewalk food vendors, and allow them to access the Microenterprise Home Kitchen and Cottage Food operations.
“This will bring thousands of micro-entrepreneurs into a more equitable and well-regulated food economy while enhancing critical health and food safety regulations,” said González.
Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 8 de abril de 2022, 4:07 p. m..