With the California legislative cycle now complete, there are a number of bills on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. The governor has until September 30th to sign these bills into law. Below are 8 of many bills for which we have advocated and call on the governor to enshrine into law.

SB 107
If signed, this bill would protect from prosecution patients who travel to California for what supporters call gender-affirming care and the doctors who provide that care. The bill would make California a refuge for minors seeking gender-affirming care by prohibiting the removal of a child from their parent or guardian because that parent allowed their child to receive gender-affirming care. SB 107 also bans California from complying with out-of-state subpoenas seeking medical information related to gender-affirming care.

SB 951
This bill would increase Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance to 90 percent of regular wages for workers making up to 70 percent of the State Average Weekly Wage, about $57,000 a year in 2022. Paid Family Leave (PFL) and State Disability Insurance (SDI) is designed to make it affordable for workers to take leave from work when they are sick, caring for sick loved ones, or bonding with new children. Access to paid leave is an important determinant of health because it reduces premature birth and infant mortality, promotes breastfeeding, and reduces nursing home admissions. However, paid leave remains out of reach to lower-wage Californians due to inadequate wage replacement rates.

SB 907
The Local, Equitable Access to Food (LEAF) program would establish a grant program to support healthy food access at farmers’ markets for all California families, regardless of income. Specifically, it increases EBT access at farmers’ markets across the state, especially in areas where access to fresh food is limited.

SB 1137
This bill would prohibit new oil and gas wells or extensive retrofitting of existing operations within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. The bill also would require operators to take certain steps at the thousands of existing wells within that buffer zone. Included is a plan to monitor toxic leaks and emissions, and install alarm systems. In addition, new requirements would include limits on noise, light, dust and vapors. Learn more about Senate Bill 1137.

SB 222
This bill would offer state assistance to low-income residents who struggle to pay for drinking water and sewage. While details about how this would work have yet to be determined, including how much assistance would be offered and how many people would qualify, this bill is greatly needed to ensure low-income Californians have access to basic water and sewage. 

AB 1242
This bill would prevent California-based tech companies from disclosing user information to out-of-state law enforcement agencies seeking to prosecute someone for obtaining or providing an abortion. That means companies like Facebook, Apple or Google — all of which facilitate private digital communications — could not turn those records over to another state where abortion is illegal.

The measure would also prohibit California law enforcement agencies from arresting anyone who obtains or performs a legal abortion and prevents them from cooperating with out-of-state law enforcement agencies investigating an abortion.

SB 731
This bill would, as of July 1, expand criminal record relief for all felonies, not just jailable felonies, if an individual is no longer serving a probationary sentence, not currently involved in another case, and two years have elapsed. It would exclude crimes requiring the offender to register as a sex offender. Criminal records must be disclosed to school districts, which can use those records for deciding teacher credentialing or employment.

AB 2183
This bill would allow farmworkers to vote in union elections by mail, rather than the current system that requires in-person elections, which usually take place on a farm owner’s property. It gives agricultural employers two options for union drives:  select a “labor peace” process in which they pledge to remain neutral during a union election, for which farmworkers could choose to receive and submit ballots by mail from the Agricultural Labor Relations Board; or, if growers do not agree to neutrality, workers could unionize via a “card check” process in which growers must recognize the union if a majority of workers sign cards expressing interest.

Click here to track all the bills currently on Governor Newsom’s desk.