**This post was updated on October 10 to reflect the current status of each piece of legislation**
When California’s legislative session ended last week, elected officials worked through the night to ensure all eligible bills reached the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom. Of the legislation currently awaiting the governor’s signature, JCJ has supported several bills on issues such as reproductive rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention.
To ensure these bills are signed into law, JCJ is encouraging supporters to call the governor and urge him to pass these important legislative items. Please take one minute between now and October 13th (the last day the Governor has to sign the bills) and make your voice heard. We have provided a sample call script below, which you are welcome to use and modify for your own outreach.
- SB 24 (Leyva): Requires access to abortion pills for college students at public universities by 2023. Public universities currently offer contraception and pregnancy option counseling, but none offer abortion services. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
- SB 136 (Wiener): Eliminates the automatic addition of prison time to the sentences of some repeat offenders. Supporters argue the bill will help reduce mass incarceration. [UPDATE: Signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 8]
- SB 328 (Portantino): Requires that middle schools start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools no later than 8:30 a.m. Gov. Brown previously vetoed a similar bill. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
- AB 218 (Gonzalez): Expands the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
- AB 539 (Limon): The Fair Access to Credit Act will ensure that California’s most financially vulnerable communities are protected from harmful, manipulative practices of predatory lenders by caping interest rates on loans that amount to $2,500 or more. [UPDATE: Signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 10]
- AB 61 (Ting): Expands the category of persons that may file a petition requesting a court to issue an ex parte temporary gun violence restraining order. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
- AB 339 (Irwin): Requires each specified law enforcement agency to develop and adopt written policies and standards regarding the use of gun violence restraining orders. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
- SB 61 (Portantino): Prohibits the sale of a semiautomatic centerfire rifle to any person under the age of 21, except a law enforcement officer or active duty member of the Armed Forces, as specified. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
- SB 296 (Allen): Opens Cal Grants to students who are seeking asylum. [UPDATE: Still awaiting signature]
Contact number: (916) 445-2841
“My name is ___________ and I am reaching out on behalf of the Jewish Center for Justice, a nationwide Jewish organization representing the Jewish voice on today’s most pressing issues. I’m calling today to urge Governor Newsom to sign Bill [number(s)/name(s)] before the October 13 deadline. I support this [these] important piece(s) of legislation and believe their passage would improve our state and local communities.”
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One prominent bill that was actually stalled on Friday (although it can be brought back up when the Legislature reconvenes in January) is SB 54 (Allen) / AB 1080 (Gonzalez). These identical bills mandate a 75 percent reduction in packaging plastics by 2030.