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HOPE 2019 Legislative Priorities

HOPE is committed to ensuring political and economic parity for Latinas across the State of California. That's why our 2019 Legislative Priorities are in the areas of Health, Education, and Economic Equity. Read below to learn more about the Bills we support. 

Health

AB 4 (Bonta)

Status: Senate Health
HOPE Position: Actively Support - Advocated for at Latina Action Day

Expands full-scope Medi-Cal to all income-eligible adults regardless of immigration status.

SB 29 (Durazo) Health4All

Status: Assembly Appropriations
HOPE Position: Actively Support - Advocated for at Latina Action Day

Expands full-scope Medi-Cal to all income-eligible young adults (>26 years of age) and elders (65+) regardless of immigration status

AB 174 (Wood) Personal Income Tax Credits: Health Insurance Premiums

Status: Senate Appropriations

HOPE Position: Support

Adds additional state-funded premium tax credits for individuals from 0% to 800% FPL

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AB 414 (Bonta): Healthcare coverage: minimum essential coverage

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

Reinstates the individual mandate penalty and mandates that funds collected be used to make health coverage affordable.

AB 929 (Rivas) California Health Benefit Exchange: Data Collection

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

Requires the Covered CA Board to make public plan-specific data on cost reduction efforts, quality improvements, and disparity reductions.

AB 1063 (Petrie-Norris) Healthcare coverage: waivers

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

This bill would require legislative approval for section 1113 waiver requests. This bill would prevent waivers that reduce eligibility for Covered CA plans or lessen the affordability and scope plans.

SB 65 (Pan) California Health Benefit Exchange: Financial Assistance

Status: Assembly Appropriations
HOPE Position: Support

Adds additional premium support for households below 400% FPL and additional cost-sharing reductions for households between 200-400% FPL.

SB 260 (Hurtado) Automatic Healthcare Coverage Enrollment

Status: Assembly Appropriations
HOPE Position: Support

Allows Covered CA to automatically enroll people losing Medi-Cal and reach out to others losing health coverage

AB 1309 (Bauer-Kahan) Healthcare coverage: enrollment periods

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

Extends the Covered CA open enrollment period by two weeks back to January 31st.

AB 577 (Eggman) Medi-Cal: Maternal Mental Health

Status: Senate - Second Reading
HOPE Position: Support

Extends Medi-Cal postpartum care for up to one year for individuals with a maternal mental health condition.

ACR 1 (Bonta) Immigration: Public Charges

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

Condemns the proposed public charge regulations.

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SB 175 (Pan): Healthcare coverage: minimum essential coverage

Status: Senate Appropriations - Inactive
HOPE Position: Support

Reinstates the individual mandate penalty and mandates that funds collected be used to make health coverage affordable.

AB 1246 (Limón) Healthcare Coverage: Basic Health

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Watch

Requires large group health insurance policies to cover medically necessary prescription drugs if they cover prescription drugs.

HIGHER Education

AB 540 (Limón) CA Dreamer Service Incentive Grant Program

Status: Senate Appropriations
HOPE Position: Actively Support - Advocated for at Latina Action Day

Establishes a service learning grant for AB 540 students.

AB 1314 (Medina & McCarty) Cal Grant Reform Act

Status: Senate Education
HOPE Position: Actively Support - Advocated for at Latina Action Day

This bill will reform the Cal Grant program through four major initiatives: (1) Consolidate all three Cal Grant Awards and the existing Middle Class Scholarship into one Cal Grant Award; (2) Remove age limits, out of high school time, GPA, and AB 540 status as a barrier to accessing a Cal Grant Award; (3) Include Summer Cal Grant Plus.

AB 595 (Medina) Undocumented Student Apprenticeship & Internship Programs

Status: Governor's Desk
HOPE Position: Support

The bill would create a path to allow undocumented students to participate in apprenticeship and internship training programs with ITIN in lieu of a social security number, so that students do not have to enroll in DACA.

AB 1307 (Rubio) College Opportunity Act – Cal Grant Expansion Program

Status: Senate Appropriations
HOPE Position: Support

AB 1307 creates a Cal Grant award formula for students attending private, nonprofit colleges and universities -- replacing the arbitrary manner in which the maximum award is currently set each year with an equitable and predictable award level for students and their families as they plan for college.

AB 1645 (Rubio) DREAM Resource Liaisons

Status: Senate Appropriations
HOPE Position: Support

This bill will require the California State University, University of California, and Community Colleges to have a designated Dreamer Resource Liaison staffer on campus to provide undocumented students with adequate education support, is knowledgeable of state funded immigration legal services, and on campus services needed to navigate the higher education system.

SB 354 (Durazo) DREAM Loan Grad Programs

Status: Assembly Appropriations
HOPE Position: Support

Provides eligible undocumented AB 540 graduate students with the option to borrow loans to help cover the cost of attending UC and CSU.

SB 291 (Leyva) California Community College Student Financial Aid Program

Status: Assembly Higher Education
HOPE Position: Support

This bill would establish the California Community College Student Financial Aid Program, to provide need-based grant awards to eligible community college students who attend a California community college.

AB 1620 (Santiago) Immigrant Student Access to Higher Education

Status: Assembly Appropriations - Held Under Submission
HOPE Position: Support

This bill would increase access to higher education for undocumented students by modernizing AB 540 eligibility through the following items: (1) Reducing the total attendance requirement from three years to two years; (2) Adding attendance at all California schools toward establishing total attendance; (3) Removing the two-year limit on counting community college attendance for establishing attendance eligibility.

AB 2 (Santiago) Two Years Free Community College

Status: Senate Appropriations
HOPE Position: Watch

AB 2 extends the California College Promise to provide a second year of free tuition for students attending a California Community College (CCC).

AB 541 (Gabriel) Cal Grant Eligibility

Status: Assembly Higher Education
HOPE Position: Watch

This bill would repeal the limitation on those students’ eligibility for Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards. The bill would also express the intent of the Legislature that all forms of state-based aid in California be made equally available to these students who are exempt from paying nonresident tuition and to all other students who qualify for state-based aid in this state.

AB 542 (Gabriel) Cal Grant Competitive Award Expansion

Status: Assembly Higher Education
HOPE Position: Watch

Expands the Competitive Cal Grant program by providing 3,000 new scholarships each year to residents who demonstrate financial need and meet certain academic requirements.

CIVIC & Economic Equity

AB 49 (Cervantes) California Voter Protection Act of 2019

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

This bill would require that mailing ballots be completed within 5 days. Given that this is a state-mandated local program, local agencies will be reimbursed.

AB 1666 (Reyes) 2020 Census Providing Information at Schools

Status: Senate - Third Reading
HOPE Position: Support

This bill would require the CA Complete Count to partner with participating local educational agencies to make information about the 2020 federal census available to students and their parents/guardians at school sites.

AB 31 (Garcia) No Tax on Tampons

Status: Assembly Appropriations 
HOPE Position: Support - Inactive

Removes sales and use tax on feminine products.

AB 1048 (Limón) Strengthening Consumer Financial Protections

Status: Assembly Banking and Finance
HOPE Position: Watch

This bill directs the Department of Business Oversight to hire 19 additional positions in its Enforcement Division.

AB 539 (Limón) Fair Access to Credit Act

Status: Senate Appropriations

HOPE Position: Watch

This bill would institute an interest rate cap of 36% plus the federal funds rate on loans of $2,500 - $10,000.

AB 1259 (Rivas, Cervantes, Garcia) California New Markets Tax Credit

Status: Assembly Appropriations - Held Under Submission
HOPE Position: Watch

This bill would allow a California New Markets Tax Credit under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law in a specified amount for investments in low-income communities.

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