The California Catholic Conference is excited to report that the Legislature’s Appropriations Committees took action on several key bills this week, killing those that would harm pregnancy crisis centers and advancing others that support education and safety.
AB 315 and AB 710, both of which targeted pregnancy crisis centers, died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, a hopeful first for abortion-related bills in California since the Governor’s commitment to make California a beacon for expanding abortion after the fall of Roe last year.
AB 315 would have allowed lawsuits against a pregnancy center for undefined speech “considered false or misleading advertising” about the provision of abortion. AB 710 would have created a statewide “public awareness campaign” to single out pregnancy crisis centers that do not offer abortions as such.
“This is a victory for the state of California,” said CCC Associate Director for Healthy Families Molly Sheahan. “Our state has 87 centers medically licensed by the State of California and 64 pregnancy resource centers offering the referrals and support our most vulnerable families need. These wonderful nonprofit centers and clinics do incredible work for women, children, and families and should be praised, not slandered.”
The Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB 238, which would award grants to teacher credential candidates to compensate the candidates while they perform their required student teaching. This is vital to address the current teacher shortage and provide and support the recruitment and retention of qualified and dynamic educators by compensating them while they complete their required 600 clinical hours.
The CCC is pleased that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed SB 4, which will make building affordable housing easier, faster, and cheaper on land owned by faith-based institutions and nonprofit colleges. This bill will allow places of worship to build 100% affordable housing projects, creating a valuable option amid the state’s housing and homelessness crisis.
Senate Appropriations also cleared SB 2, which concealed carry in sensitive spaces, including schools, houses of worship, parks, and stadiums. It would also update licensing criteria for concealed carry, raise an applicant’s age to 21, and impose new training and gun storage regulations.