Lutheran Office of Public Policy - CaliforniaA celebration event for the passing of SB 4 took place last week at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (ELCA) in San Francisco! Regina Banks was in attendance and shared that it was a truly joyous event that brought together faith communities and the labor unions that advocated on behalf of the bill this year.
Below are some photos from the event. LOPP will work with congregations in the coming year to help them begin taking advantage of SB 4 to house our neighbors.
Happy, happy news, advocates! Governor Newsom signed SB 4 (Wiener) – The Affordable Housing on Faith-Based Lands Act into law on Wednesday, October 12th. This bill is so important for advancing affordable housing efforts and enabling faith organizations to answer the call to house our neighbors.
Thank you SO much to everyone who attended AiQs and took action, those who attended Lobby Day, and those who did various other bits of advocacy this session to get SB 4 across the finish line. We could not have done this without you. Now is the time to celebrate!
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!
Hear Director, Regina Banks, and Hunger Advocacy Fellow, Savannah Jorgensen, give public testimony in support of SB 4 (Wiener) and SB 253 (Wiener) at the Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing on Monday, July 10th.
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).
Thanks to our continued advocacy, SB 4 (Wiener) The Affordable Housing on Faith-Based Lands Act, has passed out of the Senate! Continue to engage with us at AiQ to hear about how you can continue its advancement in the Assembly this summer.
AB 660 (Irwin)– Food Waste, Labeling Reform, passed out of the Assembly this week as well.
Food4All legislation has passed out of the Senate. The partner Assembly bill, AB 311, is still on the Assembly floor.
Please call your Assemblymembers and tell them to support AB 249 (Holden)- Clean School Drinking Water, on the Assembly Floor!
3 of our 4 Lobby Day bills passed out of their Appropriations committees! SB 4 (Wiener), AB 249 (Holden), and AB 660 (Irwin) will be heard and voted on in the Senate and Assembly in the coming weeks. Reach out to your Senator and Assemblymember to urge them to support these bills.
SB 4 (Wiener) is likely being acted on TODAY (5/25)! If you haven’t already called your Senator, do so early today!
SB 4 (Wiener)- The Affordable Housing on Faith & Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 will be heard in Senate Appropriations on 5/15. Call your senator to voice support for this bill!
NO AIQ ON MAY 17TH!
There will be no AiQ on Wednesday, May 17th as that day is Lobby Day! We look forward to seeing you all at Lobby Day. Join us for AiQ again at noon on Zoom on May 24th!
Check out the short video linked below to hear LOPP Director, Regina Banks, testify on SB 4 (Wiener). SB 4 would streamline and make easier the process for nonprofits and religious organizations to develop affordable housing projects on their land. The bill is onto Appropriations and needs our continued support. SB 4 will also likely be a Lobby Day bill!