2025 Legislative Priorities

HOPE SPONSORED BILL – SIGNED BY GOVERNOR NEWSOM

The Challenge:
Despite California’s commitment to equity and inclusion, there is currently no formal system for tracking or reporting the demographic makeup of appointments to the state’s 560+ boards and commissions. Without transparency, it’s difficult to assess whether these decision-making bodies truly reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. This lack of accessible information weakens public trust and limits accountability in the appointment process.

The Solution:
Senate Bill 702, authored by Senator Monique Limón, offers a straightforward fix: greater transparency. SB 702 requires the Governor’s Office and the Legislature to annually report and publicly post aggregate demographic data—such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, and other voluntarily reported characteristics—of individuals appointed to statewide boards and commissions. The Governor’s Office must also maintain an updated website listing board vacancies, current members, and meeting frequency.

By shining a light on who holds power in these spaces, SB 702 fosters inclusive governance and empowers communities to engage in shaping state policy. The annual reports will help ensure appointments are equitable, representative, and accessible to all Californians.

HOPE SPONSORED BIL – SIGNED BY GOVERNOR NEWSOM

The Challenge:

California has taken major steps to promote pay transparency and address wage disparities, including requiring salary ranges in job postings and maintaining wage records. These laws aimed to empower workers with information and support fair pay. However, Latinas in California continue to face the largest wage gap, earning only 42 cents for every dollar paid to White men and vague salary ranges and loopholes in enforcement weaken the impact of these policies. Without stronger accountability, pay disparities across gender, race, and ethnicity will persist.

The Solution:

SB 642 makes reforms to the California Equal Pay Act to ensure workers can effectively enforce their rights. It does so by:

• Clarifying what constitutes “wages”
• Harmonizing the statute of limitations with other wage and antidiscrimination statutes
• Allowing workers to recover for all lost pay
• Revising outdated gender binary language, and
• Providing limits on how wide pay ranges may be in public job postings.

Together, these changes ensure that we are proactively addressing gaps and loopholes in the law for the benefit of closing this inequitable wage gap.

HOPE SPONSORED BILLS

The Challenge:

While California’s dual enrollment programs are designed to give high school students a head start on college, many barriers still prevent equitable access. Students from Latino, low-income, and underserved communities are disproportionately underrepresented in dual enrollment participation. In fact, 82% of California high schools have zero students enrolled in community college courses, often due to complicated application processes, limited course availability, and lack of online learning options.

The Solution:

HOPE was proud to co-sponsor three pieces of dual enrollment legislation, in partnership with organizations like the Education Trust West and the California High School Coalition to expand access to dual enrollment, remove student level barriers to participation, and provide schools with the support they need to implement these programs.  

• AB 731 (Fong): Removing Student-level barriers to dual enrollment 

This bill would streamline the dual enrollment application process and provide students with more flexibility on how they meet the existing 15-unit cap on courses. It also would improve program evaluation by enhancing data collection and reporting on student outcomes. 

By making dual enrollment more accessible, these bills help level the playing field and equips more students with the tools they need for academic and career success.