• On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills into law that address criminal justice, juvenile justice, and policing reforms in California, the governor’s office announced. Most notably, the governor signed AB 1196 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), which bans the use of the carotid restraint statewide, as well as AB 1506 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), which requires that the California attorney general “conduct investigations into officer-involved shootings of unarmed individuals that result in death.” The governor also signed bills that make reforms in the juvenile justice system, such as SB 823 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, which closes the Division of Juvenile Justice. Newsom also signed AB 901 by Assemblymember Gipson, which ends the practice of sending youth to probation programs when they’re struggling in school, as well as AB 1950 by Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), “which caps probation terms to a maximum of one year for misdemeanor offenses and two years for felonies,” the release stated. “Americans across the country took to the streets this summer rightfully demanding more and better of our criminal justice system—and of ourselves,” Newsom said in a statement. “We heard those calls for action loud and clear.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation by state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) into law on Sept. 30 that seeks to “address the race- and gender-based pay gap,” according to a press release. The legislation, SB 973, requires that California employers with 100 or more employees submit an annual pay data report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing that outlines its employees’ compensation and hours worked, broken down by gender, race, ethnicity, and job category. “The bill is modeled after a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission effort to collect pay data by race and gender instituted under the Obama administration that was later halted by the Trump administration,” according to the press release. “Despite all the progress our state has made on equal pay, the pay gap remains a serious problem that costs an estimated $79 billion in lost wages a year in California,” Jackson said in the release. “The pay gap is especially concerning for women of color, with African American women earning 61 cents and Latinas just 42 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.” The bill allows state agencies to “identify patterns of wage disparities and better enforce wage discrimination laws, when appropriate.
• On Oct. 1, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) voted in favor of an updated version of the Heroes Act, which passed the House by a 214 to 207 vote. “I am proud to have voted for four COVID-19 stimulus packages which were signed into law, but it is clear that those bills alone are not enough to truly address the challenges facing our communities,” Carbajal said in a statement. “That’s why I voted to pass two additional coronavirus relief bills in the House, which will provide the assistance [that] individuals, families, local governments, and small businesses on the Central Coast urgently need.” The updated act, which totals $2.2 trillion, addresses pandemic recovery needs that have emerged since May, when the legislation was passed by the House but not taken up by the Senate. “The bill includes additional relief for unemployed workers, another round of direct payments, strong support for small businesses by improving the Paycheck Protection Program, which helped save over 158,000 jobs on the Central Coast, and would deliver targeted assistance to restaurants, nonprofits, and event venues,” the release stated.
This article appears in Oct 8-15, 2020.