Joshua Stickney

The California Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees advanced four pieces of pro-equality legislation sponsored by Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, during Thursday’s suspense file hearings. The bills would repeal the racist and transphobic law that criminalizes loitering with intent to engage in sex work (SB 357), expand access to contingency management programs (SB 110), update California’s leave laws to be more equitable and accessible (AB 1041) and protect the privacy of trans and nonbinary Californians when they update important identifying documents (AB 218).

Equality California released the following statement from Executive Director-designate Tony Hoang:

“The California Legislature continues to lead the way in the fight for full, lived LGBTQ+ equality. We are thrilled with today’s advancement of four of our top pro-equality priorities, including legislation to repeal a so-called loitering law that encourages racial and gender identity profiling, to combat the meth crisis devastating our community through proven interventions, to create more equitable leave laws and to protect the privacy of trans and nonbinary Californians. While extremists around the country — and a handful here at home — seek to set back the clock on progress, we are moving California forward.”

The following bills sponsored by Equality California were passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will now advance to the Senate floor for a final* vote:

AB 218: Affirming Records by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego)
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. AB 218 is sponsored by Equality California.

AB 1041: Job Protected Leave for Chosen Family by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland)
AB 1041 will expand the definition of “family member” for purposes of family caregiving and sick leave to allow workers to use existing time off to care for a “designated person,” thereby creating equitable access to job protected family caregiving and sick leave for all of California’s working families. AB 1041 is cosponsored by Equality California, California Lawyers Employment Association, California Work and Family Coalition, Equality Rights Advocates and Legal Aid at Work.

The following bills sponsored by Equality California were passed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will now advance to the Assembly floor for a final* vote:

SB 110: Recovery Incentives Act by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)
SB 110 (Wiener) will expand access to contingency management (CM) programs. CM is a substance use disorder treatment that uses positive reinforcement to achieve behavioral change. CM has proven to be the most effective method of intervention for methamphetamine disorder. Because there is currently no form of medication-assisted treatment for methamphetamine use disorder, CM is a critical tool in addressing meth and other stimulant use. Meth use is a longstanding crisis in the LGBTQ+ community due to historical and ongoing stigma, shame, and marginalization. SB 110 is an important pillar in California’s response to this public health crisis. SB 110 is cosponsored by Equality California, APLA Health, California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives, California Society of Addition Medicine, HealthRIGHT360 and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

SB 357: Safer Streets for All Act by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose)
Senate Bill 357 repeals California Penal Code Section 653.22, the law that criminalizes loitering with the intent to engage in sex work. SB 357 will also enable people who have been convicted of loitering with the intent to engage in sex work 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 and Brown women, members of the transgender community and sex workers. By repealing § 653.22, Senate Bill 357 would protect vulnerable populations from discriminatory enforcement. SB 357 is cosponsored by Equality California, Positive Women’s Network-USA, St. James Infirmary, SWOP LA, TransLatin@ Coalition, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach and ACLU California Action.

*Subject to a concurrence vote.

For a complete list of Equality California’s legislative priorities, visit eqca.org/legislation.

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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, announced the endorsement of five openly LGBTQ+ champions for local offices across California. The endorsements come just 76 days before the November 3, 2020 election. 

Oakland City Council, At-Large: Rebecca Kaplan
Tracy City Council, At Large: William Muetzenberg
San Francisco Community College Board: Tom Temprano
San Francisco Community College Board: Shanell Williams
Desert Healthcare District 2020, Zone 1: Dr. Les Zendle

Names shown in bold indicate an openly LGBTQ candidate.

Equality California released the following statement from Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur:

“Equality California is thrilled to officially endorse Rebecca Kaplan, William Muetzenberg, Tom Temprano, Shannell Williams and Dr. Les Zendle. They have shown themselves to be incredible advocates for our LGBTQ+ community and the diverse communities to which we belong. We look forward to the election of each of these candidates in November and urge everyone who can to vote for these amazing trailblazers.”

For a full list of Equality California’s 2020 endorsements to date, visit eqca.org/elections.

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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ+ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org

With 130 days until California’s Super Tuesday primary election, Secretary of State Alex Padilla will announce Friday afternoon at Equality California Institute’s annual Fair Share for Equality policy convening that he will partner with the civil rights organization to protect transgender and gender-nonconforming voters’ access to the ballot box and boost LGBTQ civic engagement in 2020. Equality California Institute is the educational arm of Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization.

Specifically, the partnership will include:

• The development and distribution of training materials to county registrars that promote best practices for poll workers to engage with voters whose gender identity, expression or pronouns do not appear to match their name on the voter rolls;
• The development of content such as brochures, posters and digital media to inform transgender and gender-nonconforming voters of their rights;
• Targeted nonpartisan ‘Get Out the Vote’ communications and 2020 census outreach efforts to increase civic participation within the LGBTQ community.

“Every eligible voter has a right to cast a ballot free from any unnecessary burdens or intimidation,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “Elections officials have a duty to facilitate the participation of all eligible voters. By partnering with Equality California we can benefit from their expertise and experience to better train poll workers and ensure a welcoming voting environment for LGBTQ citizens. California is proud to be proactive in protecting the voting rights of LGBTQ voters and fostering an inclusive democracy.”

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimates approximately 0.76% of Californians — or 218,400 people — identify as transgender. Based on the overall numbers of eligible and registered California voters as of February 2019, that means there are likely at least 190,000 eligible voters and 150,000 registered voters statewide who identify as transgender.

“No one should be denied the right to vote because of their gender identity or expression — and there’s certainly too much at stake next year to let that happen in California,” said Equality California Institute Executive Director Rick Zbur. “While other states impose strict, unnecessary voter ID laws targeting people of color and the LGBTQ community, California is making sure every single eligible voter has a chance to cast a ballot. We’re grateful to Secretary Padilla for his leadership and partnership in the fight to protect access to the ballot box and advance LGBTQ civil rights.”

In most cases, California voters are not required to show identification to a poll worker before casting a ballot. Still, many transgender and gender-nonconforming voters may be registered and appear on the voter roll under a name that does not appear to “match” their gender identity, expression or the name and pronouns that they use. Additionally, Californians voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail, who did not provide a driver’s license number, state identification number or the last four digits of their social security number on their registration form, may be asked to show a form of identification when going to the polls. In these cases, voters’ names and gender markers on their form of identification may not appear to “match” their gender identity, expression or the name and pronouns that they use.

If all other legal requirements are met, a transgender or gender-nonconforming person is entitled to to vote just like any other person, regardless of their gender identity or expression. If poll workers aren’t given the tools and training that they need to respectfully engage with transgender and gender-nonconforming voters, tens of thousands of California voters could be at risk of being disenfranchised. The partnership announced Friday seeks to ensure that does not happen in the State of California.

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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org