Categories
AiQ Education Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues State

AiQ News: 8/16/23

AiQ has started again now that the legislature is back in session. Some key updates following the legislative recess include:

  • Appropriations hearings are taking place the next 2 weeks. Remaining bills must get out of Appropriations before floor votes in early September.
  • SB 4 (Wiener) and AB 249 (Holden) will be in heard in their respective Appropriations committees during this time.
  • AB 712 (W. Carrillo) was signed into law by the Governor! This new law will now include hot and prepared food access for EBT users.

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!

Categories
AiQ Enviroment Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues

AIQ News: 5/31/23

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!

Categories
AiQ Hunger Issues Immigrant Justice Poverty State

AIQ News for Feb. 15, 2023

  1. California Food Assistance Program (CFAP)AB 311 and its counterpart SB 245 have been proposed in the legislature. If enacted, the bill would remove the age limitation on receiving CalFresh benefits, specifically if their immigration status is the sole reason for not receiving the benefits, and make any individual eligible for the program regardless of immigration status. This is a big and important ask from a hunger, anti-poverty, immigrant rights advocacy perspective this year as it would include using state General Fund dollars to expand the program. Be monitoring these bills and begin advocating for it to the Governor’s office in particular, as it’s related to the state budget.
  2. Lobby Day 2023 registration is live! Start spreading the word to friends, family, and colleagues about Lutheran Lobby Day 2023, taking place on Wednesday, May 17th. You can find the registration form and more information here.
Categories
AiQ Health Care Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues Poverty Racial Justice

AIQ News for June 22, 2022

Call the Governor’s Office and urge him to sign the budget! Then enjoy your summer until the first week in August when we meet again!

Categories
AiQ Children's Issues Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues Immigrant Justice Poverty

AIQ News for 06/08/2022

Please contact Governor Newsom and ask him to sign the revised state budget! This budget includes funding for many of the bills we have been working on.

Categories
Children's Issues Enviroment Federal Legislation Gender Justice Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues

Register for Ecumenical Advocacy Days on April 25th-27th

Register now at https://advocacydays.org/2022-fierce-urgency/

Categories
AiQ Children's Issues Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues Poverty Racial Justice

LOPP-CA Legislative Priorities

Bill Priorities for LOPP-CA 2022 for the 2022 Legislative Session:

 SB 854 (Skinner), the HOPE for Children Act. This bill would establish California’s first baby bond program for children  who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 and eligible foster youth. The bill also lays the groundwork so one day California can expand the program             to all children living in low-income circumstances.

AB 2180 (Wicks), The Children of Incarcerated Parents and Caregivers Taskforce. This bill would establish the Taskforce for Children with incarcerated parents and caregivers as California lacks a statewide entity that focuses on identifying and addressing the needs of system-impacted children. Asm. Wicks will be including this bill in her working class families package of bills as an emphasis to the disproportionate impact mass incarceration has on working class families, especially women, and the destabilization that leads to.

AB 2589 (Santiago) This bill will would provide a 1-time payment of $2000 per child dependent to California residents who made less than $30,000 in 2021 and file their taxes.    Increase the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) minimum tax credit to about $255 per eligible tax filer. AB 2589 would benefit approximately 5 million Californians, including 2 million children.

AB 1615 (Ting) Foster Youth Housing: This bill would extend housing assistance for former foster youth to 36 months.

Categories
AiQ Children's Issues Homelessness & Housing Hunger Issues Racial Justice State

AIQ for 02/23/2022 Introduced Bills related to Ending Childhood Poverty in California

These are 3 bills LOPP-CA may be supporting during this legislative session.

This bill would establish California’s first baby bond program for children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 and eligible foster youth. The bill also lays the groundwork so one day California can expand the program to all children living in low-income circumstances. I’ve attached the support letter template for more details. 

  • AB 2180 (Wicks), The Children of Incarcerated Parents and Caregivers Taskforce 

This bill would establish the Taskforce for Children with incarcerated parents and caregivers as California lacks a statewide entity that focuses on identifying and addressing the needs of system-impacted children. Asm. Wicks will be including this bill in her working class families package of bills as an emphasis to the disproportionate impact mass incarceration has on working class families, especially women, and the destabilization that leads to. 

  • AB 2589 (Santiago) This bill will would
  • Provide a 1-time payment of $2000 per child dependent to California residents who made less than $30,000 in 2021 and file their taxes. 
  • Increase the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) minimum tax credit to about $255 per eligible tax filer. 
  • Together, AB 2589 would benefit approximately 5 million Californians, including 2 million children.
Categories
AiQ Children's Issues Hunger Issues Immigrant Justice Poverty

AIQ Asks for Wednesday, July 28th

Budget Advocacy; Please write a “thank you one of the links below. Mention you are from Lutheran Office of Public Policy.

Immigration/ Migration https://abic.us/events/the-path-forward-briefing-with-sen-bob-menendez-on-immigration-via-budget-reconciliation/?emci=9ccd605d-afef-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&emdi=7eb4aa51-b1ef-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&ceid=5839587

Also encourage your pastor to sign on to the letter linked below,

“Garment Workers Sign On Letterhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1pmbiSC0J8085TBp2VSS2qBtuyB1LshdDJD-ItgXcIto/edit?usp=sharing

Green Burial : Information on proposed legislation.

https://recompose.life/help-bring-recompose-to-california/

https://recompose.life

Categories
AiQ Hunger Issues Immigrant Justice Poverty

AIQ for July 7, 2021

With the CA budget passed, these bills we’ve been working on (SB 464 Food4All, SB 107 CalFresh Simple for Seniors, SB 108 State Healthy Food Access) are now being reviewed by the , Assembly Appropriations Committee. Please contact your Assembly Person if they are on this committee and urge full funding for these bills.

ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

80 Chair Lorena Gonzales, Dem, San Diego

05 Vice Chair Frank Bigelow, GOP, Sutter Creek, Placerville, Madera

54 Isaac Bryan, Dem, Culver City

57 Lisa Calderon, Dem, Whittier, South El Monte, La Puente, Norwalk, La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs, City of Industry

51 Wendy Carillo, Dem, Los Angeles

49 Ed Chau, Dem, Monterey Park San Gabriel Valley

01 Megan Dahle, GOP, Redding, Nevada City

73 Laurie Davies, GOP, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point

34 Vince Fong, GOP, Kern County, Bakersfield

45 Jesse Gabriel, Dem, Woodland Hills, west San Fernando Valley

56 Eduardo Garcia, Dem, Coachella, Imperial Valley

10 Mark Levine, Dem, San Rafael, Petaluma, Santa Rosa

20 Bill Quirk, Dem, Hayward, southeast Bay Area

30 Robert Rivas, Dem, Salinas, Morgan Hill, Soledad, Hollister

79 Akilah Weber, Dem, San Diego