Issues
Student support services: Dream Resource Liaisons (AB 2477)
Will require high schools, community colleges and universities to have a dedicated person on campus to provide undocumented students with adequate support and resources needed to navigate the education system.
Child abuse or neglect: foster children (AB 2323)
Will require the state to complete investigations of abuse or neglect of foster children within 30 days of an allegation being made.
Newborns and infants: hearing screening (AB 612)
Strengthens state reporting requirements for newborns and infants tested for hearing loss and would require general acute care hospitals to maintain a newborn and infant data management system.
Foster care: resource family (AB-2183)
Creates an immediate source of funding for resource families who take in a child on an emergency basis.
Resource Family Plan for Foster Youth (AB 507)
Elevate the importance of training while supporting resource families in a dynamic way. The goal is to empower resource families in the foster care system by redirecting current training requirements to most effectively benefit foster youth outcomes. Chaptered by Secretary of State, Chapter 705, Statutes of 2017
Prohibiting Preschool Expulsions (AB 752)
Add to the Education Code to create a process for addressing serious and challenging behavior exhibited by children enrolled in a California State Preschool Program. The goal being to establish a process modeled after the US Department of Health and Human Services’ guidelines to prevent children from being unnecessarily expelled or unenrolled. Chaptered by Secretary of State, Chapter 708, Statutes of 2017
Firearms: prohibited persons (AB 3129)
Prohibits anyone convicted of certain domestic violence misdemeanors, which result in a 10-year prohibition against possessing a firearm, from ever possessing a firearm.
Spousal support factors: domestic violence (AB 929)
Would specify that all documented evidence of any history of domestic violence to be considered by the court in ordering spousal support.
CalWORKs: Housing for Survivors of Abuse (AB 557)
Amends the Welfare and Institutions Code to increase support and options for domestic violence survivors who are trying to escape a violent environment by providing temporary housing assistance to applicants of CalWORKs. Chaptered by Secretary of State Chapter 691, Statutes of 2017
Human trafficking: vertical prosecution program (AB 2124)
Requires the state to allocate and award funds to up to 11 district attorney offices related to human trafficking crimes with a report that describes the counties that received funding, the number of prosecutions for human trafficking cases filed, the number of human trafficking convictions obtained by those counties, and the sentences imposed.
Bail: Supervised Pretrial Release Programs (AB 789)
Amends current Penal Code to allow judges the option to grant Own Recognizance (OR) release to felony arrestees with three or more Failure to Appears (FTA) without a hearing in open court if they are released into a court-approved pretrial release program. In exchange for doing so we would create a more efficient method for processing cases, increase the level of supervision for each case, and reduce the amount of jail overcrowding. Chaptered by Secretary of State Chapter 554, Statutes of 2017
Inoperable Parking Meter Violations (AB 1625)
To protect consumers from receiving unjust parking violations at broken parking meters or kiosks in cities and counties. By preventing local authorities from enacting ordinances prohibiting or restricting the parking of vehicles in parking spaces regulated by inoperable parking meters/kiosks we place a focus on transparency for the tax payer and encourage government efficiency. Chaptered by Secretary of State Chapter 352, Statutes of 2017
Unlawful Interference at Public Agencies (AB 660)
To protect persons visiting any public agency from being exploited or harassed by illegitimate solicitors. This new crime will make it unlawful for any person to intentionally make a material misrepresentation of the law while on the premises of a public agency. Chaptered by Secretary of State Chapter 381, Statutes of 2017
Elder or dependent adult abuse: public shaming (AB 2324)
Would also make it a misdemeanor for a mandated reporter to fail to report public shaming of an elder or dependent adult, and would include the definition of “abuse of an elder or a dependent adult” public shaming, which is defined as the taking, transmission, or dissemination of an image of an elder or dependent adult that shames, degrades, humiliates, or otherwise harms the personal dignity of the elder or dependent adult.
Nurse assistant training programs: geriatric medication technician (AB 2850)
Will create a new certification at skilled nursing facilities. The certification will be called geriatric medication technician. The bill will provide a career ladder for CNAs at these facilities to gain new skills and earn higher wages.
Employment opportunities: persons with autism (AB 2840)
Creates a 3-year pilot program in the counties of Sacramento and Los Angeles for the purposes of increasing long-term employment opportunities for young adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Safe transportation of dogs and cats (AB 2362)
Increases health and safety standards for mobile or traveling housing facilities for dogs and cats, including sufficient heating and cooling, ventilation, and lighting.