This year’s Catholic Advocacy Day at the California State Capitol will take place on Tuesday, April 24, and the list of bills that participants will discuss with lawmakers showcases the vital importance that this day exists.
Bills that will be discussed with lawmakers that day include:
- SB 320 (Leyva, D-Chino) would require on-campus health centers of public universities to offer abortion-inducing drugs like RU-486.
- AB 2269 (Lackey, R-Palmdale), which extends the age to 19 for youth that are eligible for CalWORKs assistance.
- AB 2701 (Rubio, D-Baldwin Park) would require the Trauma Recovery Center Board (TRC) to administer a program to evaluate applications and grants for school-based trauma recovery centers.
- SB 1214 (Portantino, D-La-Canada) – would allow teachers with preliminary credentials to a $2500 tax deduction for fees incurred toward the completion of an Induction Program approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
- SB 1391 (Lara, D-Bell Gardens) – amends Prop. 57 by repealing the authority of a district attorney to make a motion to transfer a minor from a juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction in a case where a minor is alleged to have committed a serious offense when he or she was 14 or 15 years of age.
- AB 1862 (Santiago, D-Los Angeles) – would appropriate $10 million from the General Fund to the Department of Social Services for immigration services funding to be available for payment to existing entities under contract for the work on behalf of clients who are current or former recipients of the federal temporary protection status (TPS) program.
Participants may also advocate on other bills of local significance as determined by their dioceses. More information will be available in the weeks ahead.