The California Legislature returns from its extended recess today, and we want to use this week to flood our legislators with calls to support key bills addressing racial justice and health equity in our California communities!

Earlier this year, we developed a policy platform with a group of advocacy partners, calling for policymakers to look beyond immediate COVID-19 recovery and instead consider how we can help make California a more just and equitable state. That policy platform guided the bills we’re currently advancing, in housing, criminal justice, emergency response, and community resources.

Click through to our website for contact information and scripts you can use to call or write to your policymakers.

Keep Californians Housed: Ensure that everyone has a roof over their head

• AB 3300, The California Access to Housing and Services Fund, allocates $2 billion to the fund for a range of efforts to reduce homelessness, including shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing. It has passed through the Assembly and into the Senate.
   
• AB 1436, COVID-19 Eviction Protection and Housing Stability, extends eviction protections into 2021, and gives tenants 12 months to pay back rent. In the case of an eviction, it shifts the burden onto landlords to prove that the tenant is not covered by AB 1436, and gives tenants 30 days, instead of the usual 5 days, to file their response to an eviction. It has passed through the Assembly and into the Senate.

We Care for Us: Give communities power to prevent harm and address crises

• AB 1007, the Promoting Reinvestment & Oversight Measures for Individual Success and Empowerment (P.R.O.M.I.S.E.) Act, is a reform bill that would ensure that 95% of Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act grant funds are distributed to community-based organizations and/or non-law enforcement public agencies that provide youth development, prevention, and intervention, as the act was initially intended to do. It has passed through the Assembly and into the Senate.

• AB 2054, the C.R.I.S.E.S (Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems) Act Grant Pilot Program (C.R.I.S.E.S.) would fund community-based organizations to address violence and trauma in their communities, thus providing a police alternative in emergencies, preventing further emergencies, and promoting healing. It has passed through the Assembly and into the Senate.

Schools and Communities First: Close the property tax loophole

• Prop 15, or the Schools and Communities First ballot initiative, would close the corporate property tax loophole and restore $12 billion in annual funding to California schools, parks, libraries, and other community resources. Prop 15 protects homeowners, renters, agriculture, and small businesses, while requiring large corporations to pay their fair share. Vote YES on Prop 15 this November, and encourage your friends and families to do the same!

Health4AllSeniors: Give all seniors access to care

• Governor Newsom’s proposed January budget and SB 29 would expand full-scope Medi-Cal to all seniors. In the final budget, however, Health4AllSeniors was removed and delayed indefinitely.