Lutheran Office of Public Policy - CaliforniaWe 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.
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:
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).
AiQ resumed for the new year today. Advocates heard updates about the 2024-25 proposed state budget as well as the legislative landscape in 2024.
Key notes:
Note: AiQ will NOT meet next Wednesday, January 24th. We encourage you to attend the ELCA webinar on COP28, the UN Climate Conference, happening at the same time. Register here. Join us for AiQ again on Wednesday, January 31st.
Welcome to the start of a new year and a new legislative session! Get ready to hit the ground running with us next week on Wednesday, January 17th at noon when AiQ starts again. We’ll cover the current legislative landscape in 2024, the Governor’s proposed budget, and initial legislation we’re watching this session.
Great news, advocates! SB 4 passed out of the legislature and is on its way to the Governor! This is the product of years of advocacy, and we cannot be more excited to get this important housing bill across the finish line. Please call, email, and tag the Governor’s office on social media to urge him to sign the bill.
AB 249 (Holden), another one of our Lobby Day priority bills, has just one more vote to go in the legislature before going to the Governor as well. That means 2 of the 4 Lobby Day bills have a great chance to become law! Thank you for your continued advocacy to get these and other important bills done this year.
Important dates:
AiQ has started again now that the legislature is back in session. Some key updates following the legislative recess include:
SB 4 (Wiener), the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act, needs our continued support as we approach a floor vote. Please reach out to your Assemblymembers to urge their support!
Other news: AiQ is cancelled next Wednesday, August 23rd. We look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday, August 30th!
SB 4 (Wiener): Affordable housing on faith-based lands – passed out of Assembly Natural Resources Committee with amendments on 7/10. It next heads to Appropriations.
SB 253 (Wiener): Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act – passed out of Assembly Natural Resources Committee with amendments on 7/10: It next heads to Appropriations.
**Any bills still active as of today will need to be passed out of their respective policy committees by the end of the day on Friday, July 14th to meet the legislative deadline. Bills that do make it to Appropriations will need our support in those committees. From there, we encourage you to start calling your representatives to urge them to support these and our other priority bills on the floor.
Federal advocacy: Please complete the ELCA Advocacy Action Alert on the Endangered Species Act. You can do so here.
AiQ schedule: We will NOT be meeting for AiQ until Wednesday, August 16th on account of the legislative summer recess (July 14th-August 14th).
AiQ is cancelled today because of the 4th of July holiday. See you next Wednesday, July 12th!
If you missed last week’s AiQ, here are some resources we shared to discuss the now-passed and signed California budget for 2023-24:
Additionally, here’s a good summary from CalMatters on the passed budget.
Thank you to those of you who called in last week about AB 249 (Holden)! It successfully passed out of the Assembly and will be sent to the Senate to continue in the policy bill process.
Other hearings are taking place in the next few weeks, but most major legislation is on hold until the state budget is passed. The legislature has until the end of the day on June 15th to pass the Budget Bill.
Federal: Advocates in the D.C. ELCA Advocacy office, along with LOPPCA, are monitoring the illegal and unethical transportation of migrants from Texas and Florida into Sacramento. We will follow-up here and on our social media channels with concrete action steps for how you can help as we organize efforts to assist the migrants.