2019 Legislative & Budget Priorites
Priorities – Caucus member authored legislation or budget asks. These are considered as top priority for the Caucus, including a support letter, Caucus staff involvement, and Caucus member engagement. All budget asks are considered solely for priority in the package.
Budget Requests
AB 493 (Gloria) Funding
AB 493 will create a more supportive and safe learning environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students by requiring schools to provide information to teachers on resources available to support LGBTQ students both at school and in their local community. There is a funding mechanism attached to this program requesting $6.5 million in Proposition 98 General Fund dollars.
23rd International AIDS Conference
San Francisco, in partnership with Oakland, has been selected by the International AIDS Society (IAS) to host the 23rd International AIDS Conference, known as “AIDS 2020,” July 5-10, 2020. California was selected to host the conference after a competitive bidding process involving 12 cities around the world. It is anticipated that AIDS 2020 will generate $59.9 million in economic impact, $2.7 million in tax revenue, and support to 9,205 jobs for the State of California. The conference is requesting $2million in General Fund dollars.
National LGBTQ Center for the Arts
This historic facility would be a first-of-its-kind world-class arts center and public space for people from throughout the nation to experience. The center would provide groundbreaking music programs, internships, and trainings for arts leaders in the LGBTQ community. They are asking for $500,000 in General Fund dollars.
Statewide LGBTQ Historical Archives
LGBTQ historical sites across are state are in dire need of funding. We are asking an allocation of $500,000 in General Fund dollars be set aside for identified LGBTQ historical sites. Sites identified so far: ONE Foundation Archives (Los Angeles), GLBT Historical Society (San Francisco), and Lambda Archives of San Diego (San Diego).
Legislation
AB 493 (Gloria)
AB 493 will create a more supportive and safe learning environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students by requiring schools to provide information to teachers on resources available to support LGBTQ students both at school and in their local community.
AB 650 (Low)
AB 650 will establish training to teach coroners and medical examiners best practices for inquiring the sexual orientation of decedents. Coroners and medical examiners will be required to record this information in their coroner reports in instances of suicide and homicide.
SB 132 (Wiener)
SB 132 seeks to address the vulnerability and abuse of transgender inmates when they are housed in facilities, as well as being addressed with pronouns and honorifics, not consistent with their gender identity.
SB 145 (Wiener)
SB 145 ends blatant discrimination against young people engaged in voluntary sexual activity by treating all sex acts (oral, anal, penetration and penile-vaginal sex) equally under the law and overturning the Johnson decision. To be clear, this bill does not apply if the minor is under 14 years old. This bill also does not apply if the sex acts were unwanted, forceful, or violent. It does not decriminalize any of the abovementioned acts or change their penalties.
SB 159 (Wiener)
SB 159 would increase access to PrEP and PEP, two powerful HIV preventative medications, and help reduce new HIV infections within California. The population most at risk for new HIV infections are gay and bisexual Black and Latino men.
SB 201 (Wiener)
SB 201 will ensure that intersex minors are able to give informed consent before any medical treatments or interventions are performed on their sex characteristics, excluding cases of medical necessity. This important measure will guarantee that intersex individuals will not have important choices about sex and gender identity made for them in infancy by parents and doctors, but will rather be able to make those potentially life-altering decisions themselves.
Endorsed – Caucus or allied member authored legislation and resolutions. These are considered to have the Caucus’ endorsement including Caucus staff engagement and positive Caucus member support.
Legislation
AB 711 (David Chiu)
AB 711 would ensure that local educational agencies -- school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education -- update the educational records of former students, particularly those who identify as transgender or nonbinary, to reflect their name and gender identity. Though state law requires schools to recognize a current transgender or nonbinary student's name or gender change court order, schools have been reluctant to amend the educational records of former students, who may have transitioned or come out after leaving school. This bill seeks to close this gap and make certain that transgender and nonbinary Californians have their name and gender accurately reflected on critical documents like diplomas and school transcripts.
AB 758 (Carrillo)
AB 758 will strengthen the California Fair Pay Act by ensuring employees of all genders are paid equitably to their coworkers who do substantially similar work. This bill will address unlawful workplace pay differentials for employees who do not conform to the gender binary. AB 758 amends Labor Code Section 1197.5 to remove the gender binary terminology under the Equal Pay Act and conform the definition of “sex” to include “gender,” “gender identity” and “gender expression” thus incorporating nonbinary people into these protections and highlighting that fact that transgender individuals have been and will continue to be protected under the Equal Pay Act.
ACA 8 (Low)
ACA 8 would change the voting age within the California Constitution from 17 to 18. Laws and policies written by politicians who willingly ignore LGBTQ voices can adversely affect LGBTQ youth. By giving youth the ballot box while they are still in high school, we help them form a lifelong habit of voting, civic engagement, and teach them the tools to hold their elected officials accountable to the voices and concerns of the LGBTQ community.
ACR 1 (Bonta)
ACR 1 would condemn the public charge expansion proposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is a direct attack on anyone who uses, or has used, public benefits programs and services. Therefore, it directly impacts people from all communities of color, race, or gender identify that have even attempted to use the very social programs that were implemented to help the neediest of families uplift themselves from their current circumstances.
SB 495 (Durazo)
SB 485 ensures that child custody decisions are made free from bias on the basis of sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.