June 24 Action Items

1. Write or call Senator Mitchell, Assemblymember Ting, and Governor Newsom to tell them thank you for including ITIN filers with children from 0-6 in the CalEITC. We know that they were juggling a lot of priorities, and we are grateful that the administration is supporting some of our undocumented neighbors
2. Check out LegInfo and learn about AB 3070, jury selection.
3. Save contact info for your legislator!

Other Actions you can take:

1. ACA 5 – Support Racial Justice and Affirmative Action by calling or emailing your senator today.

June 17 Action Items

1. Call your Senator to tell them why you oppose Assembly Constitutional Amendment 25 unless amended to protect public participation and retain legislative transparency. The amendments we support are:
   1) Remove or Limit Proxy Voting;
   2) Specify Rules for Pro Tempore Appointments in Emergencies;
   3) Eliminate Quorum Reduction​;
   4) Ensure Remote Voting and Proxy Voting Transparency;
   5) Time-Limit Remote Voting and Proxy Voting​.
   Learn More Here.
2. ACA 5 – Support by calling the Senate Labor Committee at (916) 651-1556 or email.

June 17, 2020 Events

1. Emanuel Nine Commemoration and Pledge
2. Learn about World Refugee Day 

RACIAL EQUITY BILLS

1. ACA 5 (Weber) Opportunity for All: repeals the ban on affirmative action in higher education, employment and contracting
2. ACA 6 (McCarty) Free the Vote: restores voting rights for people on parole
3. AB 901 (Gipson) Juveniles: ends the practice of putting youth on probation when they have not committed a crime (yes, that’s a thing we do)
4. AB 1950 (Kamlager) Probation Reform: limits probation terms
5. AB 2054 (Kamlager) CRISES Act: creates an alternative emergency response to the police
6. AB 2147 (Reyes) Conservation Camps – Expungement: creates a process for people who served as firefighters while in prison to expunge their convictions and obtain jobs
7. AB 2342 (McCarty) Parole Reform: limits terms paroles
8. AB 3070 (Weber) Anti-Discrimination in Jury Selection: addresses racial discrimination in jury selection
9. AB 3121 (Weber) Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans: creates a task force to study awarding reparations
10. SB 144 (Mitchell) Debt Free Justice: eliminates the most burdensome fees in the criminal justice system
11. SB 555 (Mitchell) Phone Justice: limits the cost of phone calls and commissary in jail

June 10 Action Items

1. Check out CA’s budget: Assembly Version; Senate Version.
2. Keep this bill moving forward with us! SB 882 is sitting on the suspense file – which is just what it sounds like. This is the only thing stopping it from being voted on on the Senate floor.  Let’s move it to the floor!
3. Watch Webinar: Detention, Family Separation, and Asylum in the Era of COVID-19 for Communities of Faith

June 3 Action Items

1. How can you support Black liberation in your community? Use this list of bail funds to find ways to support the movement with your dollar and find resources to learn, support, and give.
2. Voice your support for racial equity in urging an Aye vote on AB 3070 (Weber) – Anti-discrimination in Jury Selection.
3. Urge your Assemblymember to vote yes on AB 3073 (Wicks) to make CalFresh preenrollment possible for people exiting the criminal justice system.

May 20 Action Items

1. Mark your calendars for May 19, 2021 for next year’s Lutheran Lobby Day. We just got our permits approved and pray we will once again gather in person to advocate together.
2.  God’s Work, Our Hands, Our Voices: Let us know what your church is doing for Sunday, Sept. 13 2020. What sort of advocacy component would you imagine? Email us at Regina.Banks@elca.org and Nicole.Newell@elca.org or just reply to this email.
3. Call the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee to support Calfresh Access for Seniors.

Why?
Calfresh applications have gone up 243% compared to last year. Eligible California seniors have very low participation rates due to barriers in access and retention. SB 882 removes these barriers for seniors and adults with disabilities.

Prioritize your outreach to Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena), the Chair of the Committee on Appropriations. This should take you just a few minutes.

• Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair (D-25) (916) 651-4025

Please also spend a few minutes contacting your Senator if they are listed below as members of the committee:

• Patricia Bates, Vice Chair (R-36) (916) 651-4036
• Steven Bradford (D-35) (916) 651-4035
• Jerry Hill (D-13) (916) 651-4013
• Brian W. Jones (R-38) (916) 651-4038
• Connie Leyva (R-38) (916) 651-4020
• Bob Wieckowski (D-10) (916) 651-4010

Sample script:

Hi, my name is _____ and I live in ______. I’m calling to urge Senator ______ to support SB 882, a bill that will make it easier for people to access CalFresh, our most powerful anti-hunger program. It is urgent that we simplify the CalFresh application process as more and more people are out of work and need help putting food on the table. SB 882 will make permanent improvements to the program, especially for older adults and people with disabilities. Please vote yes on SB 882. Thank you. [Or choose one or more of the following reasons or tell them your own]

• Californians struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 crisis need quick access to CalFresh, but the process is often overly complicated. We need SB 882 to simplify access to food assistance.
• Only 19% of eligible adults age 60+ receive CalFresh. SB 882 make it easier for people, especially seniors, to enroll and stay connected to our most powerful anti-hunger program.
• CalFresh applications are up more than 200% due to spiking unemployment. We need SB 882 to simplify access and keep people connected to food assistance during and after this crisis.

Sample tweets:

• Californians struggling to make ends meet during the #COVID19 crisis need quick access to CalFresh, but the process is often overly complicated. We need #SB882 to simplify access now! @Portantino @SenatorPatBates
• Only 19% of eligible adults 60+ receive #CalFresh. Let’s make it easier for people, especially seniors, to stay connected to our most powerful anti-hunger program. Plz support #SB882! @Portantino @SenatorPatBates
• #CalFresh is a proven positive public health intervention and powerful economic stimulus. #SB882 will help maximize its dual role in California’s immediate and long-term COVID-19 response. Plz support SB 882! @Portantino @SenatorPatBates
• #CalFresh applications are up more than 200% due to spiking unemployment. We need #SB882 to simplify access and keep people connected to food assistance. Let’s cut the red tape to put food on their plates! @Portantino @SenatorPatBates

Thank you to the California Food Policy Advocates for this action alert text and information.

April 29 Action Items

1. Register for Lobby Day

2. Use Community Development Block Grant Funds for Rental Assistance

3. Farmworker Justice in California

You can sign on to this letter to Governor Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom highlighting the challenges California’s farmworkers are facing during COVID and recommendations to address them. The letter was prepared by Líderes Campesinas, a network of female farmworkers and their families working globally since the 1980s.

April 22 Action Items

1. National Day of Action to Boost SNAP Benefits in Next COVID-19 Package

Sample script: Hello. My name is ___. I live in ___, CA. I am calling to ask Representative/Senator ___ to boost SNAP benefits in the next COVID-19 relief bill. The next COVID-19 relief bill must include the following SNAP priorities:

1. boost SNAP maximum benefits by 15 percent
2. increase the minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30
3. suspend all SNAP administrative rules that would terminate or cut benefits.

These temporary provisions must continue until the economy improves. The provisions will not only help households put food on the table during this crisis, but will also help to stimulate the economy.Thank you for your time.Goodbye.

Background from California Food Policy Advocates:

Millions of California families are facing serious hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While Congress has passed a few bipartisan laws that provide some relief – including the Families First and CARES Act – much more needs to be done to prevent increased hardships and support those who were largely or entirely left out of earlier relief packages. Federal negotiations on the next COVID-19 bill are moving forward quickly.

We are hearing the next relief package will include assistance for businesses and hospitals, but not a boost to people who have been left out of relief measures so far (such as immigrants and many people with very low incomes).

We are also hearing that SNAP – one of the largest and most effective anti-poverty programs in the country, and one of the most rapid and effective forms of stimulus we can enact – is also not included in the package. Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer are already working on a proposal for another major relief bill, which we have learned could move in late May or June. Now is the time to reach out to Congress as they work to develop their policy priorities for that bill, in preparation for eventual bipartisan negotiations.