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Government Relations

High-Impact Advocacy Across the State

Racial disparities that leave low-income people of color behind should concern us all. The Government Relations team aims to shift public policy priorities and investments toward programs that benefit all Californians—not just the privileged few.

SB 299 (Limón) - Voter registration: California New Motor Voter Program.  

Improves California’s automated voter registration system, the California New Motor Voter Program (CNMVP) to increase registration rates of communities of color and other underrepresented groups.    

BUDGET PROPOSAL - Racial Equity Commission 

For the 2024-2025 Budget to allocate $5 million to provide the necessary resources needed to fully implement the functions of the Racial Equity Commission created by Executive Order N-16-22. 

Equity in Community Investments 

  • ACA 16 (Bryan) - Environmental Rights. 
    Amends the California Constitution to declare that the people have a right to clean air and water and a healthy environment.  
  • AB 2813 (Aguiar-Curry) - Government Investment Act. 
    Authorize a local government that imposes a tax under ACA 1 to commit revenues to affordable housing programs, including downpayment assistance, first-time home buyer programs, and owner-occupied affordable housing rehabilitation programs. 
  • AB 1725 (McCarty) - Law enforcement settlements and judgments: reporting. 
    Requires cities and counties to post financial details about police misconduct settlements and judgments that amount to $50,000 and above on their websites, including amounts paid to plaintiffs. Additionally, municipalities are required to report the amount allocated from their budget that is spent towards law enforcement settlements and judgments annually. 
  • AB 2267 (Jones-Sawyer) - Youth Reinvestment Grant Program. 
    Reestablish the Youth Reinvestment Grant Program to be administered by the Office of Youth and Community Restoration for the purpose of implementing a mixed-delivery system of trauma-informed health and development diversion programs for youth.  

Educational Equity

  • AB 1947 (Rivas, L) - California State Preschool Programs: contracting agencies: staff training days. 
    Support staff in state preschool programs with training to better support children who are dual language learners (DLLs).  
  • AB 2071 (Carrillo, J) - Pupil instruction: English Learner Roadmap: grant program: parent toolkit. 
    Ensures California’s schools can support English Learners/Dual Language Learners (ELs/DLLs) by providing 25, three-year incentives and support grants to implement the EL Roadmap and will also create a parent toolkit to support parents/families to advocate for the ELs/DLL children at their districts for implementation. 
  • AB 2074 (Muratsuchi) - Pupil instruction: English Learner Roadmap Policy: statewide implementation plan. 
    Tasks the California Department of Education (CDE) with creating an implementation plan for the California English Learner Roadmap Policy (EL Roadmap) to support English learners to fully and meaningfully access and participate in early childhood and K-12 that results in their attaining high levels of English proficiency, mastery of grade level standards, and opportunities to develop proficiency in multiple languages.  
  • AB 2319 (Wilson, Weber) - California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act. 
    Extends the evidence-based implicit bias training requirements to include hospitals that provide perinatal or prenatal care, ensuring the successful implementation of SB 464 (Mitchell), the California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act of 2019. 
  • BUDGET ADVOCACY - Continuous Coverage for Children 0-5 in Medi-Cal 
    Protect investments and fully fund the multi-year continuity of Medi-Cal coverage for children ages 0-5 as part of the 2024-25 budget and ongoing.  
  • BUDGET ADVOCACY - Community Schools 
    Preserve the total $2.6 billion for the California Community Schools Partnership Program–which is critical to strengthening public education in our state by allowing the expansion and opportunity for other schools and districts to address the needs of the whole child.  
  • BUDGET ADVOCACY - Rate Reform 
    Ensure the state resources the single rate structure using the Alternative Methodology so that childcare providers are compensated for the true cost of care, as opposed to what the market can afford, to ensure equity. Advancing Equity

Political Voice

Reimagining Safety and Justice

  • AB 280 (Holden) - Segregated confinement 
    Bans solitary confinement in all detention facilities for the following populations: people with certain mental health, physical and developmental disabilities, pregnant or those who recently gave birth, people under 26 and over 59 years old, and lastly prohibit long-term solitary/segregated confinement by limiting to no more than 15 consecutive days, 45 days total in any 180-day period.   
  • AB 544 (Bryan) - Voting: county jails. 
    Ensures equal access to voting for all individuals regardless of whether they are incarcerated or not and continues to build a just democracy. 
  • AB 1990 (Carrillo, W) – The SAFE Act - OPPOSE 
    Allows a police officer to arrest a person for shoplifting not committed in the officer’s presence without a warrant if the officer has “reasonable cause” to believe that the person has committed shoplifting. 

Advancing Racial Justice

News & Blog Posts

MEET THE TEAM

A TIMELINE OF OUR VICTORIES

Catalyst California’s government relations work has helped achieved the following:

2023
October
Helped secure the passage of AB 764 (Bryan) which prohibits the consideration of incumbency protection in the redistricting process, adds clarity regarding the proper prioritization of redistricting criteria, and ensures jurisdictions do their due diligence to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.
2023
October
Helped secure the passage of AB 1127 (Reyes), which extends the project performance and reporting period for the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP) from 2024 to 2029, and requires the California Department of Education (CDE), when administering the BTPDP, to meet quarterly with grant recipients to share promising practices and resources.
2023
October
Helped secure the passage of AB 393 (Rivas, L) which requires the Director of Social Services to develop procedures for general or migrant childcare and development contractors to identify and report data on dual language learners enrolled in a general childcare and development program or migrant childcare and development program.
2023
September
Helped secure the passage of AB 421 (Bryan), which requires a disclosure notifying the public that the petition circulator is receiving money for soliciting signatures, or that the person is a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit organization.
2023
June
Secured $10 million in one-time funding for the Diversity Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative (DELPI), which will increase diversity among school leaders and promote a culturally responsive learning environment to better reflect the students, teachers, and communities our state serves.
2023
April
State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon Appoints Catalyst California's John Kim and Dr. John Dobard to Racial Equity Commission and Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board

Today, Catalyst California is delighted to announce that John Kim, President & CEO, and Dr. John Dobard, Vice President of Policy and Programs, have been appointed to the Racial Equity Commission and Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board, respectively, by California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. The appointments come at a crucial time as California reckons with racial disparities that have only been exacerbated in the wake of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and racial uprisings. 

2022
September
Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-16-22, establishing the state’s first Racial Equity Commission. Senator Richard Pan, M.D. developed the Commission with Catalyst California and other racial equity organizations that sponsored SB 17 (2021). Through the Governor’s executive order, the Commission will produce a Racial Equity Framework consisting of resources and tools to promote racial equity and address structural racism. 

>> Governor's press release

2022
September
Governor Gavin Newsom signed our sponsored bill, AB 2832, authored by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas). The bill created a new tool to identify the areas of highest need of increased early care and education (ECE) and whole child resources due to racial and economic inequities. AB 2382 was included in Education Trust-West’s “The Equity 8 – California’s Key Legislative Proposal 2022.”

Learn more

2021
October
Governor Newsom signed our sponsored bill, AB 1363, authored by Assemblymember Luz Rivas (D-San Fernando Valley). This data will help guide instruction and practice, build on DLLs’ linguistic skills and needs, and support early childhood educators and quality Early Learning.

Learn more

2020
November
Helped secure passage of AB 1196 (Gipson), a powerful policing reform bill The bill creates a uniform statewide policy to eliminate the use of chokeholds and carotid artery restraints statewide by law enforcement.

Learn more

2020
November
Helped secure passage of ACA 6 (McCarty), restoring voting rights to formerly incarcerated people

Learn more

2020
June
Helped secure passage of bill that authorizes the Secretary of State to establish an advisory committee that would make recommendations and establish guidelines for removing barriers to Native American voter participation
2019
August
Helped secure passage of the Police Accountability and Community Protection Act
2018
August
Secured $850 million in Early Childhood Education investments
2018
June
Helped secure passage of SB1421, The Right To Know Act

Gives the public the right to see certain records relating to police misconduct and serious uses of force.

2018
June
Secured $90 Million for 2020 Census for outreach to hard-to-count communities
2017
June
Securing over $800 million dollars for state-funded early care and education programs since the Great Recession.
2017
June
Securing funding for Census 2020 outreach and planning.
2017
June
Securing $200m allocation in the budget to establish the College Readiness Block Grant.

The grant provides California high school students, particularly those who are low income, English learners, or foster youth, additional supports and creates a stronger pipeline between high schools and the University of California and other postsecondary educational institutions.

2015
July
Securing full health care coverage to undocumented children under the age of 19 within Medi-Cal.
2015
June
Negotiated a change in funding formula for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) grants.

As a result, the new allocation formula provides much-needed access to high-quality preschool slots to areas where high number of children do not have access to state subsidized preschool.

2013
June
Creating the Local Control Funding Formula that guarantees more funding for low-income students, English learners, and Foster Youth.
2010
September
Establishing Transitional Kindergarten, which gives California a two-year public school kindergarten experience that will ensure that our youngest children will be prepared to succeed in school.
2011
July
Establishing the California DREAM Act

Allows children who were brought into the US under the age of 16 without proper visas/immigration documentation meet in-state tuition and GPA requirements to have access to financial aid benefits at public universities and colleges.

2008
September
Providing $90 million in facility lease money reimbursement to charter schools serving low-income students and $400 million in facility eligibility to the state’s overcrowded classrooms.
2008
September
Ensuring that the state streamline funding for early childhood education and care so that more resources can be spent on services to children.