Author: Savannah Jorgensen

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AiQ Children's Issues Enviroment Homelessness & Housing State

AIQ News: 3/13/24

Many bills have recently been added to our 2024 bill tracker. Check them out here: Bill Trackers

Our official LOPPCA budget letter has been completed and turned in to the legislature in response to the Governor’s 2024 proposed budget. You can read that letter and see what other bills and budget letters we’ve been signing onto so far this year on our Sign On Letters page. We express our concerns over funding delays and cuts to critical programs and services in Human Services, Housing & Homelessness, and Climate/Environment.

Committee hearings are ramping up! That means we’ll need your voice contacting your legislators about bills we’re tracking!

  • For next week: call your legislators telling them to support AB 1851 (Holden) – clean drinking water in schools. It is being heard in the Assembly Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee on Tuesday, March 19th! Your calls are especially important if your member is on that committee. You can see ES&TM members here.
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AiQ UN/National Updates

AIQ News 3/6/24

While we didn’t meet for AIQ today, there are still advocacy actions you can take this week!

  • Check out the news release of the ELCA Conference of Bishops calling for a permanent bilateral ceasefire in Gaza. Call/email/write to your representatives to call for a permanent ceasefire.
  • Continue to sign up for Lobby Day on May 15th! We currently have 19 legislative meetings scheduled, and more are to come!

Join us again next week at AIQ as we discuss more bills and prepare you for advocacy steps as bills start to go to their first policy committee hearings.

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AiQ

No AIQ on 3/6

AIQ is cancelled for Wednesday, March 6th due to conflicting budget hearing schedules. Join us again on the 13th!

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AiQ Federal Legislation State

AIQ News: 2/21/24

Budget subcommittee hearings ramp up beginning the week of February 26th in both houses of the state legislature. LOPP will be attending hearings throughout the legislative session. Key ones to pay attention to next week include:

  • Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health – Monday, Feb. 26th, 4 pm
  • Senate Budget Subcommittee #2 on Resources, Enviro. Protection, & Energy – Thursday, Feb. 29th, 9:30 am
  • Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health & Human Services – Thursday, Feb. 29th, 9:30 am

You can find upcoming legislative hearings at the following pages:

Remember to register for Lobby Day 2024! The first 15 people under the age of 25 who register will have their hotel and transportation fees covered by LOPP. Check out our Lobby Day website page for more information!

Federal: Complete the federal ELCA advocacy Action Alert to urge Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit.

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AiQ

AIQ News: 2/14/24

We are continuing to monitor legislation being introduced. The deadline for bills to be introduced in the 2024 session is this Friday. We will start to know more about what bills exist from our coalition partners following this week as well.

Follow along with LOPP as we track various legislation this year in our 2024 bill tracker.

News and notes: Registration is open for Lutheran Lobby Day 2024! Sign up at the link on our website page, which can be found here.

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California Ballot Measures State

March 5 Voter Guide

Are you confused or want to know more about the March 5th California ballot proposition? Do you want to hear about the proposition from a faith perspective? If so, check out the recording of the discussion we had at St. John’s Lutheran Church Sacramento on Sunday, February 11th!

You can find that video on our YouTube channel. Linked here.

Additionally, a PDF document can be found below outlining LOPP’s official position on the proposition along with our rationale for that position, what the proposition wording is on the ballot, and additional resources you can reference when deciding how you would like to vote on the proposition. LOPP is not telling you how to vote, rather we are providing you resources to help you discern how to vote and to explain our position following consultation with ELCA social teachings and our theological grounding.

LOPP-March-5-Ballot-Proposition-Voter-GuideDownload
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California Ballot Measures Events

March 5 Ballot Prop. Talk

Upcoming event: Join Regina and Savannah in-person at St. John’s Lutheran Church Sacramento and on Zoom for a discussion on the March 5th California ballot proposition from a faith perspective. We will also preview the current measures approved for the November ballot.

Where? St. John’s Lutheran Church Sacramento; online via Zoom

When? 10:15 am

You can find the Zoom meeting information on St. John’s event page.

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AiQ Federal Legislation State

AIQ News: 2/7/24

All 2023 bills have been acted on or died for this 2-year legislative session as of last week. Some, like SB 85 (Wiener) – case management services for refugees, passed out of their house of origin last week and are therefore still moving this session. Others, like AB 259 (Lee) – wealth tax on extremely wealthy Californians, died in committee and failed to pass out of their house of origin.

The deadline for bills to be introduced in 2024 is next Friday, February 16th. We will have a better idea of what bills exist after that point.

Advocacy actions:

  • Complete the federal advocacy Action Alert on immigration.
  • Thank your legislator for signing the CalEITC Coalition Pledge for Prosperity! If your legislator hasn’t yet signed the pledge, encourage them to do so. Those who have signed the pledge so far include, Senator Wiener, Assemblymembers Santiago, Stephanie Nguyen, and Luz Rivas.

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AiQ State

AiQ News: 1/31/24

As more bills get introduced in the legislature, LOPP tracks critical bills that affect justice efforts in the state. You can follow along with what we’re tracking by checking out our bill tracker at our Resources page, ‘Bill Trackers’.

Connected to that call to do justice is CalEITC Awareness Week. The California Earned Income Tax Credit fights poverty and builds equity for low-income families by putting cash directly back into their hands. Join us in amplifying the CalEITC Awareness Week and calls to strengthen this and the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC).

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Enviroment UN/National Updates

COP28

From November 30th-December 12th, Regina Banks and Savannah Jorgensen participated in the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in person in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and virtually, respectively.

COP is an annual conference that brings together civil society and world governments to discuss and make agreements on and around the climate crisis. It is an important arena of engagement on the world stage. Learn more about our COP28 experiences and those of our colleagues at the Voices of Faith in Climate Action webinar on Wednesday, January 24th at 12 pm PT.

Register for the webinar here!

Pictured below are some images captured at COP28 in Dubai by Regina Banks.