•On Sept. 20, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1261, legislation drafted by State Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) to support certain critical services for older adults and people with disabilities amid ongoing regional program transitions. According to Laird’s office, without SB 1261, the Service Area 17 Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC), which serves Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, would be forced to close on Jan. 1, 2027. The legislation allows that ADRC chapter, and the chapter that serves Ventura County, to “temporarily continue operating independently during the redesignation of regional Area Agencies on Aging,” Laird’s office stated. “SB 1261 grew out of a threat to losing ADRC support here on the Central Coast because of an undefined administrative practice that would have quickly erased an aging and disability network it took years to build,” California Foundation for Independent Living Centers Board Chair Jennifer Griffin said in a Sept. 20 statement. “This could have translated to lost jobs and lost services for many people with disabilities and older adults. SB 1261 closes a gap and provides flexibility to keep these critical services in place while a new partnership is established.” The foundation is among SB 1261’s sponsors, along with the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging. “Access to critical services should never be disrupted because of an administrative transition,” California Association of Area Agencies on Aging Executive Director Christina Mills stated.
•U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was among the four legislators who co-announced the Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety Act on Sept. 17. Padilla’s office described the bipartisan legislation—co-led by U.S. Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), and Tim Sheehy (R-Montana)—as currently in development to address long-standing gaps in health and safety protections for wildland firefighters. Legislators will develop the legislation in partnership with firefighters, unions, and health experts “to make sure the heroes fighting these fires have the resources, safety equipment, and support needed to do their jobs safely,” Padilla stated. The Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety Act will specifically establish a Wildland Firefighter Health Task Force and “an advisory panel of outside stakeholders to coordinate exposure reduction and pilot respiratory technologies.” U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Portland, Oregon) is currently leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
•On Sept. 18, U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) co-introduced a legislative package to expand access to affordable meals for college students across the country, while addressing food insecurity on college campuses. While the Hot Meals for College Students Act will allow for college students to use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase hot and prepared meals from on-campus vendors, The Food for Thought Act will direct the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a grant program for colleges to offer free meals to low-income students. “College students should never have to worry about where their next meal will come from or have to drop out because they can’t afford food and tuition,” Schiff stated. “These bills are a commonsense approach to addressing student hunger and strengthening higher education.” Allan Hancock College is among the bill’s endorsers, which also include SwipeOut Hunger and the University of California Student Association. “Students from underserved communities face enough challenges in higher education without the added burden of wondering where their next meal is coming from,” Welch stated. “We should do all we can to provide the resources necessary to give a helping hand to students facing food insecurity on campus.”
This article appears in September 24 – October 1, 2026.
