22 – AB 1666 – Civil Liability for Abortions

Year: 2022

Category: Medical, Social/Political

Bill Description:

AB 1666 protects Californians from civil liability on the basis of other states’ laws that impede abortion rights, which are contrary to the public policy of California. The bill took effect immediately upon signature.

22 – AB 1041 – Leave for Chosen Families

Year: 2022

Category: Social/Political, Family, Workplace

Bill Description:

AB 1041 will make access to job protected family caregiving and sick leave more equitable for all of California’s working families, including LGBTQ+ workers with chosen families.

21 – SB 357 – Safer Streets for All Act

Year: 2021

Category: Social/Political

Bill Description:

Senate Bill 357 repeals California Penal Code Section 653.22, the law that criminalizes loitering for the intent to engage in sex work. SB 357 will also enable people who have been convicted of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution to seal their records. The law has contributed to discrimination on the basis of gender, race, class and perceived sex worker status – in particular, targeting Black women and members of the transgender community. By repealing § 653.22, Senate Bill 357 would protect vulnerable populations from discriminatory enforcement.

21 – SB 283 – Strengthening the Equal Insurance HIV Act of 2020

Year: 2021

Category: Social/Political, Medical

Bill Description:

SB 283 will strengthen the Equal Insurance HIV Act of 2020 via clarifying and technical changes. The Equal Insurance HIV Act of 2020 prohibits an insurer from declining an insurance application or enrollment solely based on an applicant’s positive HIV test.

21 – SB 258 – HIV & Aging Act

Year: 2021

Category: Medical, Social/Political

Bill Description:

SB 258 includes older people with HIV as part of the population of “greatest social need” to ensure they have access to the programs and services administered by the California Department of Aging. With recent advancements in HIV treatment, people with HIV who take antiretroviral therapy can keep the virus suppressed and live long and healthy lives. For this reason, the number of older people living with HIV is increasing and over half of people living with HIV in California are now aged 50 years or older. Unfortunately, our current medical and social service systems are largely unprepared to address the unique needs of this population. Given the continued growth in the number of older people with HIV, it is imperative that California implement effective policies and programs to address their unique needs.

21 – AB 465 – Cultural Competency Training for Professional Fiduciaries

Year: 2021

Category: Social/Political, Housing, Medical

Bill Description:

AB 465 will ensure that professional fiduciaries are equipped to provide LGBTQ+ older adults and people with disabilities with supportive and respectful care by requiring LGBTQ+ cultural competency and sensitivity training during the education and licensing process. Private professional fiduciaries provide critical services to older adults and people with disabilities. They manage daily care, housing, and medical needs, and they offer financial management services ranging from basic bill payments to estate and investment management. LGBTQ+ older adults are a particularly vulnerable community and typically have fewer options for informal care and support. AB 465 will help to protect LGBTQ+ people as they age.

21 – AB 439 – Nonbinary Option for Death Certificates

Year: 2021

Category: Social/Political

Bill Description:

AB 439 adds “nonbinary” as an option for gender identity on death certificates. Codifying inclusive gender identity options on death certificates brings these documents in line with California’s existing nonbinary options on driver’s licenses and birth certificates. AB 439 continues the critical work started by Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins years ago to authorize nonbinary identification on birth certificates, court documents, and driver’s licenses (SB 179 in 2017), and to ensure that California respects people’s gender identity even after death (AB 1577 in 2014).

21 – AB 245 – Affirming Transgender & Nonbinary Students’ Names in College Act

Year: 2021

Category: Social/Political, Educational

Bill Description:

AB 245 will ensure that California’s public colleges and universities allow transgender and nonbinary former students to have their name and gender accuratenly reflected on their academic records, such as transcripts and diplomas. The bill also provides a standardized process for doing so. Students should not be ‘deadnamed’ – referred to by the name they were assigned at birth, rather than by their affirmed or chosen name – on their diplomas and other academic records that commemorate years of hard work and achievement. AB 245 builds upon AB 711 (Chiu), signed in 2019, which covered school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education.

21 – AB 218 – Affirming Records

Year: 2021

Category: Family, Social/Political, Educational

Bill Description:

AB 218 will codify and streamline the process for transgender Californians to update their marriage certificates and the birth certificates of their children to accurately reflect their legal name and gender, while protecting their privacy. Accurate and affirming identity documents are critical to preventing discrimination when, for example, enrolling a child in school, applying for a loan, or making medical decisions on behalf of an incapacitated spouse.

20 – AB 1145 – Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act

Year: 2020

Category: Social/Political, Workplace

Bill Description:

The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to make a report to a specified agency whenever the mandated reporter, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. This bill would provide that “sexual assault” for these purposes does not include voluntary sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual penetration, if there are no indicators of abuse, unless that conduct is between a person who is 21 years of age or older and a minor who is under 16 years of age.