2023 Legislative Priorities

AB 4 (ASM Arambula) Expanding Covered CA
Summary: AB 4 would declare the intent of the legislature to enact legislation to expand Covered California access to all Californians regardless of immigration status by revising and recasting provisions in existing law relating to California’s Health Benefit Exchange waiver to allow individuals who are not eligible to purchase on the exchange because of their immigration status.

AB 12 (ASM Haney) Security Deposits
Summary:  AB 12 would prohibit landlords from demanding security deposits greater in value than one month’s rent, regardless of the type of property. AB12 would cap security deposits at an equal amount to one month’s rent for all types of housing. This increases accountability on landlords and protects students from paying exorbitant fees just to live near their campus.

AB 264 CCC Lunar New Year Holiday.
Summary: Provides community college districts an avenue to recognize Lunar New Year as an academic holiday and to close the campus for students and staff, allowing a community college district to recognize Lunar New Year as an academic holiday and close the community colleges within its boundaries, only if the community college district elects to replace the closure date of the Lunar New Year with either approved holiday, February 12, known as Lincoln Day, or the third Monday of February, known as Washington Day. More so, for each holiday adopted, an additional academic day must be added to the academic calendar; thus, this bill seeks to circumvent this process by allowing a community college district to bypass the rearrangement of its academic calendar in order to add the new holiday. It also respects the school district and unions’ decision-making and negotiation process.

AB 315 (ASM Bauer-Kahan) False Marketing by CPCs
Summary:

Prohibits false/misleading advertising by anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” or CPCs, which provide a variety of pregnancy-related services but do NOT provide abortions or abortion referrals.  The two changes to existing law are as follows:

1. Clarifies that false and misleading statements about providing abortion services are false advertising and fall under UCL.
2. Adds new remedies for people who have been harmed; private citizens wouldn’t need to show they’ve suffered monetary or property damage.

SB 59 (Sen. Skinner/ASM Curry) Menstrual Product Equity
Summary: SB 59 would require all women’s and all-gendered restrooms, and at least one men’s restroom, in all buildings, hospitals, universities, or office spaces owned or administered by the state, to provide available menstrual products including but not limited to pads and tampons. These menstrual products would be available and accessible to all employees and members of the public free of charge at all times. The costs incurred by this legislation would be reimbursed by the state as stated in the California Constitution.

SB 567 (Sen. Durazo) No Fualt Evictions
Summary: This bill revises existing state law that deals with gross rental increases and protections against evictions without a cause. Specifically, this bill addresses the shortcomings, and strengthens, the Tenant Protection Act of 2019. This bill has three crucial components and changes:  

1) It prohibits evictions without legal justification for the first 12 months of a tenancy. 

2) It closes existing loopholes of just cause evictions in areas of owner or owner’s relative move-in, substantial repair or remodel, or the complete removal of the property from the rental market.

3) It improves accountability by “[empowering] aggrieved tenants and public agencies” for civil lawsuits and provides awards for costs, attorney fees, and damages which include enhanced damages (Senate Analysis 5)