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CA Legislature is Back in Session
Bills are going through the Second House and on to the Governor!

Be sure to meet with your Legislators....

August 14, 2023 Update: The CA Legislature reconvenes today, after a month summer break. Most bills that are moving forward are headed to the Appropriations Committees and then onto a floor vote in the second house, back to the first house for a final vote on amendments, and then on to the Governor's desk. A Voice for Choice Advocacy has been taking a position on over 30 bills in California this legislative session. While there are a few bad bills, such as AB 659 which AVFCA was able to work with the author on to get our requested amendments taken to make the HPV vaccine a recommendation rather than a school mandate, for the most part AVFCA is supporting bills this year. The key one of these is SB 499, the Cool Schools Act, for which AVFCA is the sponsor, which would mitigate air pollution and extreme heat in schools.

Supporting bills is an important part of our work, as it allows AVFCA's legislative team to interact with legislators and their staff in a positive way showing them AVFCA is more than just an organization that exists to oppose bad bills. This allows A Voice for Choice Advocacy to continue to be the leading legislative organization lobbying in the California Capitol for your health rights. Below are some of the highlights of the bills AVFCA is Opposing and Supporting this legislative session. A full list can be found here : [link removed] [[link removed]] .

While A Voice for Choice Advocacy's lobbying activity in the Capitol is important, and we have many meetings scheduled for the next month, your positive constituent relationships with your CA State Senator and Assembly Member and their staff are critical to assisting with A Voice for Choice Advocacy's efforts in the Capitol.
Take Action : Request a meeting with your local State Senator and Assembly Member or their staff sharing your concerns or support ( [link removed] [[link removed]] ). Our Legislators are in Sacramento Monday through Thursday. On Friday’s they are in their district office. If they are not available to meet in the next week or two ask to speak to their Legislative Director. Staffers play a key role in our relationships with our Legislators. Talk to friends and family to do the same.



A Voice for Choice Advocacy is Actively Opposing the following bills:

✘ AB-659 Cancer Prevention Act (Aguiar-Curry): declare the public policy of the state that students who are 8th grade to 26 years of age are expected to be fully vaccinated against HPV before enrolling in 8th grade or a public California higher education institution ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Opposed, unless further amended, to remove the notification to 6th graders.
Status: Passed Senate Education and Health Committees. Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee .

✘ AB 665 consent to mental health services (Carrillo) : This bill relates to current statute which allows 12+ year old minors to attain mental health services without their parent’s consent. This law currently appears in both the Health & Safety Code and the Family Code, but differs somewhat and so AB 665 aims to make the two code sections consistent. However, there are areas where the bill has removed criteria which the minors must meet in order to get treatment, making treatment options for which they can consent much broader, especially with regard to Residential Shelter Services. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Unofficially opposed unless amended - AVFCA is working with the author's office to reinstate the criteria or ensure these services are only for homeless youth.
Status: Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.



A few of the bills Voice for Choice Advocacy is Actively Supporting, which can be used as meetings openers, are listed below:

✔ SB-499 Cool Schools Act (Menjivar):
This bill would, on or before January 1, 2025, require all schoolsites, as defined, to develop an extreme heat action plan, as specified, and, by January 1, 2027, to begin implementation of their extreme heat action plan. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Bill Sponsor.
Status: Referred to Asssembly Appropriations Committee.

✔ SB-348 Pupil Meals (Skinner):
This bill would authorize local educational agencies to provide only one meal on each 4-hour schoolday unless the State Department of Education receives a waiver from the USDA; require the State Department of Education, in partnership with specified entities to determine the maximum amount of added sugar to be allowed in a nutritionally adequate breakfast or lunch, as provided. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Support.
Status : Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

✔ AB-418 Food Product Safety (Gabriel):
This bill, commencing January 1, 2025, would prohibit a person or entity from manufacturing, selling, delivering, distributing, holding, or offering for sale, in commerce a food product that contains any specified substance, including, among others, brominated vegetable oil and red dye 3. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Support.
Status : Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

✔ AB-363 Pesticides: neonicotinoids for nonagricultural use: reevaluation: regulations (Bauer-Kahan):
This bill would require the Department of Pesticide Regulation, by July 1, 2024, to issue a determination, taking into account the latest science, with respect to a reevaluation of neonicotinoids on pollinating insects, aquatic ecosystems, and human health when used for the nonagricultural protection of outdoor ornamental plants, trees, and turf, and, by July 1, 2026, to adopt control measures for that use that are necessary to protect pollinating insects, aquatic ecosystems, and human health, as provided. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Support.
Status : Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

✔ AB-246 Menstrual products: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (Papan):
Beginning January 1, 2025, this bill prohibits any person from manufacturing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale in California any menstrual products that contain regulated PFAS, and requires a manufacturer to use the least toxic alternative when removing regulated PFAS in menstrual products. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Support.
Status : Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

✔ AB-1423 Product safety: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and PFAS products (Schiavo):
This bill would, commencing January 1, 2024, require a manufacturer or installer of a covered surface, defined as artificial turf or a synthetic surface that resembles grass, proposing to design, sell, or install a field with a covered surface to any party to notify the party at the earliest possible date that the covered surface contains regulated PFAS, and also prohibit, commencing January 1, 2024, a public entity, including a charter city, charter county, city, or county, any public or private school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, a public institution of higher education, other than the University of California, or a private institution of higher education from purchasing or installing a covered surface containing regulated PFAS, as provided. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Support.
Status : Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

✔ AB-99 State highways: vegetation management: herbicides and pesticides (Connolly):
This bill would require the Department of Transportation to adopt a statewide policy to use integrated pest management, as defined, on state roads and highways, as specified, and to implement the statewide policy in counties that have adopted integrated pest management approaches to road-side vegetation management. ( [link removed] [[link removed]] )
AVFCA Position: Support.
Status : Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

Again, a full list of the legislation AVFCA is Opposing and Supporting can be found here : [link removed] [[link removed]] .

If you found this information helpful and appreciate the work A Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a donation today.

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Together we can make change happen!

C
Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
[email protected] [[email protected]]
www.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org [[link removed]]
www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org [www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org]
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