LGBTQ Caucus Raises Awareness During Pride Month

2024 Legislative & Budget Priorities 2024 #1 Priority Legislation   AB 1955 (Ward, LGBTQ Caucus) – SAFETY Act The Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY Act), would strengthen existing California protections against forced outings of LGBTQ+ students in schools; provide critical resources for parents and families of LGBTQ+ students to support them in working towards family acceptance on their own terms; and provide additional protections to educators who face retaliatory actions from administrators and school boards for seeking to create an inclusive and safe school environment.   2024 Priority “Sponsored” Legislation   AB 1899 (Cervantes) – Gender-Inclusive Jury Questionnaires This bill requires Judicial Council to create a template juror questionnaire that is inclusive of gender expression and identity. AB 1979 (Ward) – Doxing Victims Recourse Act This bill provides recourse for victims who have been harmed as a result of being doxed by allowing a victim to pursue civil action to receive restitution for the harms endured as a result of being doxed. AB 2258 (Zbur) – Protecting Access to Preventive Services The bill codifies longstanding federal guidance that health plans and insurers must cover services that are integral to providing recommended preventive care – including anesthesia and polyp removal during a colonoscopy; placement, management, and removal of long-acting reversible contraceptives; and, ancillary and support services for PrEP including HIV and other STI screening – without cost sharing. AB 2442 (Zbur) – Expedited Medical Licensure for Gender-Affirming Care This bill requires the expedited processing of licensure applications by the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Physician Assistant Board, the Board of Behavioral Sciences, and the Board of Psychology for applicants demonstrating a commitment to providing gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care services within their licensed scope of practice. AB 2477 (Zbur) – Foster Care Cash Savings This bill permits youth transitioning to adulthood from foster care the chance to grow the best financial safety net possible by updating state law to clarify that young adults have the ability to accumulate cash savings while in foster care. AB 2498 (Zbur) – California Housing Security Act This bill aims to prevent individuals from falling into homelessness by providing rent subsidies to a range of rent-burdened populations, including former foster youth, older adults, adults with disabilities, people experiencing unemployment or homelessness, and recently incarcerated people. AB 3031 (Lee and Low) – Statewide LGBTQ+ Commission This bill establishes a Statewide LGBTQ+ Commission to serve as a state-level focal point for identification of key issues for the Caucus to prioritize in the future. SB 11 (Menjivar) – California State University Mental Health [Two-Year Bill] This bill would require the CSU to decrease the ratio of students to mental health counselors to address increased student needs and work to create a pipeline for CSU students to become mental health professionals. Also, this bill would increase data collection on CSU’s mental health services and student wellbeing. SB 729 (Menjivar) – Health Care Coverage for Infertility and Fertility Treatment [Two-Year Bill] This bill would expand access to fertility care for Californians, including coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Also, this bill would revise the definition of infertility to ensure same-sex couples are covered by health care insurance and are treated without discrimination. SB 954 (Menjivar) – Youth Health Equity + Safety (YHES) Act This bill seeks to address the sexually transmitted infection (STI) epidemic among California youth and improve equitable public health outcomes statewide by expanding teen access to condoms in schools and communities. SB 957 (Wiener) – SOGI Data Collection This bill requires the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data from third-party entities, including local health jurisdictions, on any forms or electronic data systems, unless prohibited by federal or state law. The bill also requires CDPH to provide an annual report to the public and to the Legislature on its efforts to collect, analyze, and report SOGI data. SB 959 (Menjivar) – TGI Resources Website This bill establishes an online resource for transgender, gender diverse, and intersex (TGI) people and their families to combat misinformation and provide accurate information about access to trans-inclusive health care, existing legal protections for patients and health care providers, and other available support services. SB 990 (Padilla) – LGBTQ+ Disaster Relief Plans This bill requires Cal-OES to consult with LGBTQ+ organizations and advocates in the community when creating the State Disaster Plan. SB 1278 (Laird) – World AIDS Day This bill enshrines December 1st as World AIDS Day, a day globally recognized in solidarity with people affected by HIV. SB 1333 (Eggman) – HIV Data Sharing This bill requires state and local health department employees and contractors to annually sign the agreement and would repeal the annual review of the agreements. Additionally, this bill authorizes disclosure to other local, state, or federal public health agencies or to medical researchers when confidential information is necessary for the coordination of, linkage to, or reengagement in care for the person. SB 1491 (Eggman) – LGBTQ+ Higher Education Equity This bill, beginning with the 2026–27 school year, requires the Student Aid Commission to provide a written notice to students who receive state financial aid regarding whether their postsecondary educational institution has an exemption from either the Equity in Higher Education Act or Title IX on file with the commission.     2024 Endorsed “Supported” Legislation   AB 1810 (Bryan) – Incarcerated Peoples’ Menstrual Products Caucus Co-Author: Assemblymember Zbur This bill ensures that any incarcerated person and/or youth who menstruates or experiences uterine or vaginal bleeding has ready access to, is allowed to use, and continues to use materials necessary for personal hygiene without having to request them. AB 1825 (Muratsuchi) – The California Freedom to Read Act Caucus Principal Co-Author: Assemblymember Ward This bill prohibits public libraries from banning books based on partisan or political reasons, view point discrimination, gender, sexual identity, religion, disability, or on the basis that the books contain inclusive and diverse perspectives. AB 3161 (Bonta) – Equity in Health Care Act: Ensuring Safety and Accountability Caucus Co-Author: Assemblymember Jackson This bill requires hospitals to analyze patient safety events by sociodemographic factors, like race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, and disability status. This will allow us to see the disparities in health that communities of color and LGBTQ communities are facing. Additionally, AB 3161 requires hospital safety plans to include a process for addressing racism and discrimination and its impacts on patient health and safety. SB 1022 (Skinner) – Defending Housing, Employment, and Other Civil Rights Violations Caucus Co-Author: Senator Wiener This bill empowers the Civil Rights Department (CRD) to stop systemic workplace discrimination by doing the following: (1) Clarify that deadlines that apply to individual complaints do not apply to complaints initiated by CRD or to group/class claims being prosecuted by CRD; (2) Allow CRD to rectify longrunning civil rights violations for the benefit of all victims, not only recent victims; (3) Allow CRD to pause investigations when the parties agree; and, (4) Allow housing discrimination cases to be brought in any county where CRD has an office.     May Revise Budget Priorities   Preserve all funding for the LBTQ Women’s Health Equity Initiative Fund within CDPH Office of Health Equity’s Gender Health Equity Section by authorizing existing funds to transfer from FY23/24 to FY24/25. Reject proposed cuts to the CYBHI – Public Education and Change Campaign funding within CDPH Office of Health Equity to ensure LGBTQ+ preventive mental health programs are prioritized including local LGBTQ organizations and the statewide LGBTQ campaign, and replace proposed cuts with a more equitable level of funding reduction. Reject proposed cuts for “The Future of Public Health” initiative at CDPH Office of Health Equity to ensure LGBTQ community services within local health departments are supported for sexual health and harm reduction programs. Support requested expenditure authority of $725,000 with Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to support addition of intersexuality to voluntary self-identification information to be collected by state departments and entities, pursuant to the requirements of AB 1163 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Disparities Reduction Act). Support requested expenditure authority of $710,000 with Department of Public Health (CDPH) to implement system changes to collect voluntary self identification information pertaining to intersexuality in the course of collecting demographic data, pursuant to the requirements requirements of AB 1163 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Disparities Reduction Act). Support requested expenditure authority of $718,000 with Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) to to support implementation of required planning by hospitals for increasing the diversity of procured vendors, pursuant to the requirements of AB 1392 (Rodriguez), Chapter 840, Statutes of 2023.     Priority Budget Requests (In Alphabetical Order)   ADAP Rebate Fund Loan Reduction & Modernizations – This budget request reduces the Governor’s proposed $500 million loan from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Rebate Fund to the General Fund (GF) to $250 million, of which $5 million of the loaned ADAP-to-GF must go towards SB 954 (Menjivar, 2024), the YHES Act. Additionally, this budget request seeks the following modernizations to ADAP: (1) ADAP and PrEP-AP eligibility increase from 500% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 600% FPL – $3.5 million (one-time); (2) Harm Reduction Clearinghouse Increase: $10 million (one-time); (3) Health Insurance Premium Payment Cap on Premium Payments Lift: $3.5 million (one-time) & $7 million (ongoing); (4) TGI Wellness and Equity Fund: $5 million (ongoing); and, (5) Needs assessments and analyses for both gap identification of client navigation and retention services, as well as PrEP Navigation Program: $400 thousand (onetime). California Coalition of Transgender Immigrants – This budget request seeks $250,000 in funding to be divided into three programs to help bring equity, justice, and inclusion for Transgender, Gender NonConforming, and Intersex (TGI) immigrants: (1) Trans Immigrant Asylee program – $150,000; (2) Trans Inter-Sectional Unity program – $50,000; and, (3) Trans Emerging Leadership and Artist program – $50,000. Raise-A-Child Foster Family Recruitment & Retention Expansion – This budget request seeks $1 million in funding to accelerate the expansion of Raise-A-Child services throughout California to go towards: (1) Recruitment Promotion Campaigns; (2) Community Events and Engagement; (3) Virtual Information and Orientation Sessions; and, (4) Technical Assistance and Support. Renewal of Preservation of LGBTQ+ History Program Historical Archives – This budget request seeks to renew previously allocated funding for the “Preservation and Accessibility of California’s LGBTQ+ History Program,” which is a competitive grant program that is administered by the California State Library. This program supports LGBTQ+ archives of all sizes for projects that work to preserve and make publicly accessible collections relevant to the LGBTQ+ movement, culture, experience, and/or history in California, as well as provides vital information services, including research opportunities, youth engagement, and academic enrichment. Specifically, this San Francisco Harvey Milk Plaza ADA Updates – This budget request seeks to invest $5 million in funding to be used towards the installation of a new ADA-compliant main stair and a new escalator to access the entrance to the Castro Muni Station for Harvey Milk Plaza. AB 1955 (Ward, LGBTQ Caucus) – SAFETY Act