Photo of Cristina Garcia
D California Assembly · District 58

Asm. Cristina Garcia

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Total votes
16,426
all sessions
Attendance
92%
1,128 missed
Near the chamber average
With party
99%
of cast votes
Higher than 79% of chamber peers
Bipartisan score
0%
crosses aisle rarely
Lower than 84% of chamber peers
Sponsored
1,693
bills & resolutions
Higher than 98% of chamber peers
Committees
0
assignments
1,693 bills and resolutions

Sponsored bills

Total
1,693
Primary
143
Co-sponsor
1,550
This page
1,693
matching current filters
Co-sponsor AB 1817
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Product safety: textile articles: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Existing law prohibits, beginning January 1, 2023, any person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale in the state any food packaging that contains regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, as defined, and requires a manufacturer to use the least toxic alternative when replacing regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS in food packaging to comply with this requirement. Existing law similarly prohibits, beginning July 1, 2023, a person from selling or distributing in commerce in this state any new, not previously owned, juvenile product, as defined, that contains regulated PFAS chemicals. This bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2025, any person from manufacturing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale in the state any new, not previously owned, textile articles that contain regulated PFAS, except as specified, and requires a manufacturer to use the least toxic alternative when removing regulated PFAS in textile articles to comply with these provisions. The bill would require a manufacturer of a textile article to provide persons that offer the product for sale or distribution in the state with a certificate of compliance stating that the textile article is in compliance with these provisions and does not contain any regulated PFAS.

Signed into law Sep 29, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 923
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
Gender-affirming care.

(1) Existing law establishes the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, administered by the Office of Health Equity within the State Department of Public Health, for the purpose of grant funding focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services through various health care delivery systems, including managed care. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes the California Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE program) to provide community-based, long-term care services for older individuals under the Medi-Cal State Plan. Under existing law, certain entities that exclusively serve PACE participants are exempt from licensure by the State Department of Public Health and are subject to oversight and regulation as PACE organizations by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. This bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care plan, a PACE organization, a health care service plan, or a health insurer, and delegated entities, as specified, to require its staff to complete evidence-based cultural competency training for the purpose of providing trans-inclusive health care, as defined, for individuals who identify as transgender, gender diverse, or intersex (TGI) . The bill would specify the required components of the training and would make use of any training curricula subject to approval by the respective departments. The bill would require an individual to complete a refresher course if a complaint has been filed, and a decision has been made in favor of the complainant, against that individual for not providing trans-inclusive health care, or on a more frequent basis if deemed necessary. The bill would require the respective departments to develop and implement procedures, and would authorize them to impose sanctions, to ensure compliance with the above-described provisions. The bill would also require the departments to track and monitor complaints received by the departments related to trans-inclusive health care and to publicly report this data, as specified. Because a violation of these new requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the respective departments to implement these provisions without taking any regulatory action, and would require them to adopt regulations by July 1, 2027 providing semiannual status reports to the Legislature until regulations are adopted. (2) Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. Under the act, a physician and surgeon is required to demonstrate satisfaction of continuing education requirements, including cultural and linguistic competency in the practice of medicine, as specified. This bill would expand cultural competency training to include, as appropriate, information and evidence-based cultural competency training pertinent to the treatment of, and provision of care to, individuals who identify as queer, questioning, asexual, or gender diverse, and the processes specific to those seeking gender-affirming care services. The bill would provide specific components, including health inequities within the TGI community, that would be suitable for evidence-based cultural competency training pursuant to these provisions. (3) Existing law requires a health care service plan and specified health insurers to publish and maintain a provider directory or directories and to make them publicly available on the plan's or insurer's internet website. Existing law requires a full-service health care service plan and an insurer to include the area of specialty and other certain information in the provider directory or directories. This bill would require a full service health care service plan, an insurer, and a Medi-Cal managed care plan, no later than March 1, 2025, to include information, within or accessible from the plan's or insurer's provider directory, that identifies which of a plan's or insurer's in-network providers have affirmed that they offer and have provided gender-affirming services, as specified. Because a violation of these new requirements would be a crime under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes the State Department of Public Health, among other state departments charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services. This bill would require, no later than March 1, 2023, the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a working group that includes representatives from various departments, TGI-serving organizations, residents who identify as TGI, and health care providers to develop a quality standard for patient experience in order to measure cultural competency related to the TGI community and recommend training curriculum to provide trans-inclusive health care, as specified. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Signed into law Sep 29, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 2683
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Postsecondary education: sexual violence and harassment: training and resources.

Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, declares, among other things, that it is the policy of the State of California that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law requires the governing board or body of a postsecondary institution receiving state financial assistance to, among other things, adopt and publish on its internet website grievance procedures providing for the prompt and equitable resolution of sexual harassment complaints and publish on the institution's internet website the name, title, and contact information for the Title IX coordinator or other employee designated to coordinate the institution's efforts to comply with and carry out the responsibilities specified in this act and any individual official with the authority to investigate complaints or to institute corrective measures, as specified. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University, and requests the Regents of the University of California, to provide, as part of established campus orientations, certain educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students and to publish certain information on these topics on the institution's internet website, as specified. This bill would instead require each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and would request each campus of an independent institution of higher education, as defined, a private postsecondary educational institution, as defined, and the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet website, as specified. The bill would also revise and recast certain provisions related to this educational and preventive information to include both sexual violence and sexual harassment, as defined. This bill would, beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, require the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and would request the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment and cover certain topics, including, among other topics, the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity, as specified. The bill would, beginning September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, require students attending the California Community Colleges to complete their annual training within 6 months of the beginning of the academic year. By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Signed into law Sep 29, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Primary AB 1341
Vetoed · California Assembly · Lead sponsor
Dietary supplements for weight loss and over-the-counter diet pills.

Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, provides for the regulation of various subjects relating to the processing, labeling, advertising, and sale of food, drugs, and cosmetics, including dietary supplements, under the administration and enforcement of the State Department of Public Health. A violation of those provisions is a crime. Under existing law, it is a misdemeanor for any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person to sell, transfer, or otherwise furnish a dietary supplement containing ephedrine group alkaloids or other specified substances to a person under 18 years of age, and a seller is required to request a valid identification of prospective purchasers who reasonably appear to be under 18 years of age. This bill would prohibit a retail establishment from selling, transferring, or otherwise furnishing dietary supplements for weight loss or over-the-counter (OTC) diet pills, as defined, to any person under 18 years of age without a prescription, by requiring the retail establishment to follow a specified identification check. The bill would, to the extent not in conflict with federal law, require the department to develop a notice stating that certain dietary supplements for weight loss or OTC diet pills may contribute to specified health conditions or death. The bill would require a retail establishment that sells those products to post that notice. The bill would require the department, in consultation with certain entities, to determine which dietary supplements for weight loss and OTC diet pills would be subject to these provisions, in a manner consistent with specified criteria. The bill would make a person who violates these provisions liable for a civil penalty of no more than $1,000 for each violation, as specified. The bill would exempt a retail clerk from any civil penalties, or disciplinary action or discharge by the retail establishment, for a violation of these provisions, except as specified. Under the bill, the above-described criminal penalty would not apply to a violation of these provisions. The bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2023, and would make the provisions severable.

Vetoed Sep 29, 2022 0 co-sponsors
Co-sponsor AB 988
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Mental health: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

(1) Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires every local public agency, as defined, to have an emergency communication system and requires the digits "911" to be the primary emergency telephone number within the system. Existing law specifies provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for the mentally disordered in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs. Existing law specifies that county mental health services should be organized to provide immediate response to individuals in precrisis and crisis and to members of the individual's support system on a 24-hour, 7-day-per-week basis and authorizes provision of crisis services offsite as mobile services. Existing federal law, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, designates the 3-digit telephone number "988" as the universal number within the United States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline maintained by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse and the Veterans Crisis Line maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. This bill would enact the Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to verify, no later than July 16, 2022, that technology that allows for transfers between 988 centers as well as between 988 centers and 911 public safety answering points, is available to 988 centers and 911 public safety answering points throughout the state. The bill would require, no later than 90 days after passage of the act, the office to appoint a 988 system director, among other things. The bill would require, no later than July 1, 2024, the office to verify interoperability between and across 911 and 988. The bill would require the office to consult with specified entities on any technology requirements for 988 centers. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to create, no later than December 31, 2023, a set of recommendations to support a 5-year implementation plan for a comprehensive 988 system. The bill would require that agency to convene a state 988 advisory group, as described, for purposes of advising the agency on the set of recommendations. The bill would require the agency to report annually, on or before December 31, beginning December 31, 2024, and until December 31, 2029, to the Legislature on the status of 988 implementation in the state, as described. The Administrative Procedure Act generally governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. The bill would provide that regulations and other similar instruments made pursuant to these provisions by the Office of Emergency Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency are not subject to the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. (2) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, as defined, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions. This bill would require health care service plans and insurers to cover medically necessary treatment of a mental health or substance use disorder, including behavioral health crisis services, provided by a 988 center or mobile crisis team, regardless of whether the service is provided by an in-network or out-of-network provider, at the in-network cost-sharing amount, as defined. By creating a new crime under the Knox-Keene Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law, the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharges Act, generally imposes a surcharge on each access line for each month or part thereof for which a service user subscribes with a service supplier, at an amount no greater than $0.80, based on the Office of Emergency Services' estimate of the number of access lines to which the surcharge will be applied per month for a calendar year period that it estimates, pursuant to a specified formula, will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year's 911 costs. Existing law imposes a surcharge on the purchase of prepaid mobile telephony services at the time of each retail transaction in this state, at the rate equal to the monthly surcharge amount per access line, to be paid by prepaid consumers and collected by sellers, as defined. Existing law exempts certain lines from the surcharge, including lines supplying lifeline service. Existing law requires the surcharge to be remitted to, and administered by, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, in accordance with specified provisions. Existing law makes certain violations of the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act a crime. Existing law requires amounts to be paid to the state pursuant to the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act to be deposited into the State Emergency Telephone Number Account and that the amounts deposited, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be spent solely for specified purposes, including payment for the installation of, and ongoing expenses for, a basic system. This bill would create a separate surcharge, beginning January 1, 2023, on each access line for each month or part thereof for which a service user subscribes with a service supplier. The bill would set the 988 surcharge for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years at $0.08 per access line per month and, for years beginning January 1, 2025, at an amount based on a specified formula, but no greater than $0.30 per access line per month. This bill would make applicable relevant provisions of the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act to the 988 surcharge, as provided, including existing surcharge exemptions. The bill would authorize the 911 and 988 surcharges to be combined into a single-line item, as described. The bill would provide for specified costs to be paid by the fees prior to distribution to the Office of Emergency Services. The bill would make conforming changes in regard to the 988 surcharge. This bill would create the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund and would require the fees to be deposited along with other specified moneys into the fund. The bill would provide that the funds be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes and in accordance with specified priorities. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to require an entity seeking moneys available through the fund to annually file an expenditure and outcomes report containing specified information. (4) This bill would appropriate $300,000 from the General Fund to the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund for expenditure by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration in the 2022–23 fiscal year for purposes of implementing the amendments to the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 41100 of the Revenue and Taxation Code proposed by SB 1496 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1496 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (6) By expanding the scope of crimes imposed by the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (7) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Signed into law Sep 29, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 2596
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Lunar New Year holiday.

Existing law designates specific days as holidays in this state. Existing law requires the Governor annually to proclaim the date corresponding with the second new moon following the winter solstice, or the third new moon following the winter solstice should an intercalary month intervene, as the "Lunar New Year." Existing law entitles state employees, with specified exceptions, to elect to receive 8 hours of holiday credit for "Native American Day," in lieu of receiving 8 hours of personal holiday credit, and to elect to use 8 hours of vacation, annual leave, or compensating time off, consistent with departmental operational needs and collective bargaining agreements, for "Native American Day," as specified. This bill would repeal provisions requiring the Governor to annually proclaim the "Lunar New Year," and would instead recognize the "Lunar New Year" as a state holiday. The bill would authorize state employees, with specified exceptions, to elect to receive 8 hours of holiday credit for the "Lunar New Year" in lieu of receiving 8 hours of personal holiday credit, and to elect to use 8 hours of vacation, annual leave, or compensating time off, consistent with departmental operational needs and collective bargaining agreements, for "Lunar New Year," as specified. Existing law designates specific days designated as holidays in this state, every Saturday and the day after Thanksgiving Day as judicial holidays, except "Admission Day," "Columbus Day," and any other day appointed by the President, but not by the Governor, for a public fast, thanksgiving, or holiday. This bill would additionally exclude "Lunar New Year" from designation as a judicial holiday. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by AB 1801 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1801 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 6700, 19853, and 19853.1 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1655 and AB 1801 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1655, AB 1801, or both are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Signed into law Sep 29, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 2183
Signed into law · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Agricultural labor relations: elections.

Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law creates the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and prescribes its composition, duties, and powers. Existing law authorizes the board to hold hearings and conduct investigations and requires that certain procedures be the exclusive method of redressing unfair labor practices. Under existing law, any person who willfully resists, prevents, or interferes with a member of the board or its agents or agencies in the performance of their duties is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the election by secret ballot process as a polling place election. The bill would establish alternative procedures to the polling place election and authorize a labor organization to be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit through either a labor peace election or a non-labor peace election, as prescribed, dependent on whether an employer enrolls and agrees to a labor peace election for labor organization representation campaigns. The bill would provide that a labor peace election or a non-labor peace election permits a bargaining unit to summarily select a labor organization as its representative for collective bargaining purposes without using the existing polling place process. Under the bill, a labor peace election would be a mail ballot election and a non-labor peace election would establish a process for the submission of a petition with proof of majority support, subject to certification by the board. Among other provisions, the bill would require for both alternative procedures that an employer respond to the board with regard to a petition, including providing a specified list of employees to the board. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would establish a schedule for agricultural employers to indicate to the board whether they agree to a labor peace compact, defined to mean an agreement by the employer to, among other things, make no statements for or against union representation to its employees or publicly, in any written or oral form, at any time during employee hire, rehire, or orientation, or after certain documents regarding organization are filed with the board. The bill would prohibit a labor peace compact from prohibiting an employer from communicating truthful statements to employees regarding workplace policies or benefits, as specified. The bill would require the board to develop an online web-based labor peace election process that will allow employers to indicate their labor peace choice online, and that will allow labor organizations to see whether a specific agricultural employer has agreed to a labor peace election campaign. This bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would prescribe civil penalties to be imposed upon an agricultural employer who commits an unfair labor practice in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, and would increase that sum to an amount not to exceed $25,000 for specified violations. The bill would require the board to consider specified factors in determining the amount of a civil penalty pursuant to these provisions. The bill would also authorize the board to impose personal liability for these penalties upon a director or officer of an employer in certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Signed into law Sep 28, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 932
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
General plans: circulation element: bicycle and pedestrian plans and traffic calming plans.

Existing law states the Legislature's intention that a county or city general plan and the elements and parts of that general plan comprise an integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the adopting agency. This bill would emphasize the intent of the Legislature to support and encourage communities in reaching environmental and climate change objectives with these provisions. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires the legislative body of a city or county to adopt a comprehensive general plan that includes various elements, including a circulation element. Existing law requires the circulation element to consist of the general location and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports, and other local public utilities and facilities. Existing law requires the legislative body, upon any substantive revision of the circulation element, to modify the circulation element to plan for a balanced, multimodal transportation network that meets the needs of all users of streets, roads, and highways for safe and convenient travel in a manner that is suitable to the rural, suburban, or urban context of the general plan. Existing law defines "users of streets, roads, and highways" to mean bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities, motorists, movers of commercial goods, pedestrians, users of public transportation, and seniors. This bill would require the legislative body, upon any substantive revision of the circulation element, on or after January 1, 2025, to incorporate the principles of the Federal Highway Administration's Safe System Approach and to develop bicycle plans, pedestrian plans, and traffic calming plans based on the policies and goals in the circulation element that, among other things, sets goals for initiation and completion of all actions identified in the plans within 25 years of the date of adoption of the modified circulation element, as specified. By adding to the duties of county and city officials in the administration of their land use planning duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a county or city to begin implementation of the plan within 2 years of the date of adoption of the plan, to regularly review its progress towards completing implementation of the modified circulation element, and to consider revising the circulation element if it determines it will not reach the goals of the bicycle, pedestrian, or traffic calming plans within 25 years of the date of adoption of the modified circulation element. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that cities and counties use existing transportation funding to achieve the goals of these provisions. The bill would define various terms for its purposes. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Signed into law Sep 28, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor SB 914
Signed into law · California Senate · Co-sponsor
HELP Act.

(1) Existing law requires the Governor to create a California Interagency Council on Homelessness for specified purposes, including to create partnerships among various entities, like participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care Program, and to identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. This bill would enact the HELP (Homeless Equity for Left Behind Populations) Act. The bill would require cities, counties, and continuums of care receiving state funding to address homelessness, on or after January 1, 2024, to include families, people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, and unaccompanied women within the vulnerable populations for whom specific system supports are developed to maintain homeless services and housing delivery. The bill would also impose other homelessness planning and data analysis requirements on these cities, counties, and continuums of care. The bill would prohibit victim service providers, as defined, from being required or expected to enter client-level data into specified homeless data systems and would permit any funding provided to cities, counties, and continuums of care, consistent with authorized program uses and limitations, to be used to support the development and the maintenance of comparable databases, as specified. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, as described. The bill would require initial goals to be established by January 1, 2025, and those goals to be evaluated at least every 2 years to determine whether updated goals are needed. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Signed into law Sep 28, 2022 1 co-sponsor
Co-sponsor AB 2847
Vetoed · California Assembly · Co-sponsor
Unemployment: Excluded Workers Pilot Program.

(1) Existing law authorizes the payment of unemployment compensation benefits and requires that they be made in accordance with regulations of the Director of Employment Development. Existing law generally requires the Employment Development Department to promptly pay benefits if claimants are eligible or to promptly deny benefits if they are ineligible. Existing law prohibits payment of unemployment compensation benefits for services performed by a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States, unless that person is an individual who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time the services were performed, was lawfully present for purposes of performing the services, or was permanently residing in the United States under color of law at the time the services were performed, as specified. This bill would establish, until January 1, 2026, the Excluded Workers Pilot Program, to be administered by the Employment Development Department upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of providing income assistance to excluded workers who are ineligible for the existing state or federal benefits administered by the department and who are unemployed. The bill would make individuals eligible to receive $300 per week for each week of unemployment, if the Director of Employment Development makes certain findings, as defined and specified. The bill would require the department to promulgate regulations to implement the program, including regulations providing for an application process, as specified. The bill would prohibit the department from requesting or compelling certain information from individuals in connection with administering the program and would prohibit the department from retaining specified documents for longer than necessary to administer benefits. The bill would also prohibit, except as specified, disclosures of personal information, as defined. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2025, to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature that makes recommendations for establishing a permanent unemployment insurance benefit program for workers excluded from the unemployment insurance system based on their immigration status, as specified. (2) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Vetoed Sep 28, 2022 1 co-sponsor
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