With today being the deadline for bills to clear their house of origin, this week saw major movement on several bills that the California Catholic Conference (CCC) is tracking. Thank you for the thousands of emails you sent this week to ask lawmakers to measure their impact on life and dignity as they voted on these bills.
Last minute votes include some very troubling bills:
AB 1396, dubbed The Uniform Parentage Act (Burke, D-Inglewood) cleared the Assembly floor on Thursday. The CCC is strongly opposing this bill because it revokes all connections between a surrogate and the child she bears – lawfully making a child’s biological mother “irrelevant.” Watch for Action Alerts in the weeks ahead so you can inform Senators, who will now take up this bill, of its detrimental effects. (See how your Assembly Member voted here.)
AB 569 (Gonzalez-Fletcher, D- San Diego), which targets religious employers who expect faithful public and workplace conduct by their employees, also passed the Assembly. Although supporters of the bill try to suggest that this bill is necessary to address some type of widespread problem, there are actually NO substantiated claims of discrimination in the workforce that reflect the “problem.” (View the vote here.) Action Alerts will also be released as this bill enters the State Senate.
On the plus side, the CCC is pleased to report that SB 304 (Portantino, D-LaCanada Flintridge) passed the Senate on Wednesday and will now head to the Assembly. This bill allows students to get transferable credit for the time spent attending court schools. A bill to require California colleges to offer abortion-inducing medication (SB 320 (Leyva, D-Chino) faced major opposition, stalled in committee and is inactive for the year. Both these bills were featured during Catholic Advocacy Day.
As changes continue to take place at a frantic rate, visit the CCC’s Facebook page for the latest news and ways to help advocate on these and other important bills. You can also visit the CCC Catholic Advocacy Day page for the latest on those bills.