By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Last Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills focused on addressing gun violence. “California has the toughest gun safety laws in the nation, but none of us can afford to be complacent in tackling the gun violence crisis ravaging our country,” Newsom said. “These new measures will help ...

An updated Covered California analysis highlights how the expiration of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) would raise costs for enrollees, including doubling premiums on average for 1 million low-income Californians, and may lead up to 220,000 people to drop their health coverage. The analysis comes as Congress deliberates whether to extend the law, which provides ...

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media One year to the day since making its historic debut, the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans delivered its anticipated interim report to the California legislature. Responding to the release, Black reparations activists are encouraging Black Californians to read the report and ...

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media After a first vote failed, the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans decided that lineage will determine who will be eligible for reparations. During the first session of the eighth, two-day meeting, five members of the task force voted in favor of ...

Rep. Pete Aguilar introduced the Affordable Housing Resident Services Act, legislation that secures funding for affordable housing properties to provide supportive services for their residents. “The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the lack of supportive services for low-income families in affordable housing,” Rep. Aguilar said. “While the federal government continues to invest in building ...

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. California Black Media During the final week before the Oct. 10 deadline for signing bills passed by the State Legislature this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 46 bills supporting public school and college education. Under his California Comeback Plan, the state budget invests more than ever before in public schools ...

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media A police reform bill calling for stricter standards on how law enforcement officers across the state use rubber bullets and tear gas for crowd control has been approved by both the California Senate and Assembly. The legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 48 introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), ...

By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Over the last two weeks, it has been a mixed bag of wins and losses for bills concerned with the rights of people interacting with the criminal justice system. Senate Bill (SB) 262, a bail reform bill that would have established $0 bail for some offenders, was stopped ...

Assemblymember Chris Holden’s police reform legislation, AB 26, cleared its final hurdle in the legislature on the Assembly Floor. AB 26 establishes clear guidelines for police responsibility and accountability when witnessing excessive force by another member of law enforcement. Governor Newsom has until October 10th to sign the legislation. “The vote is a big step ...

By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media As more Californians get vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases are on the decline, there’s an argument to be made that the state has rounded the corner from the worst stages of the global crisis. As of June 6, 53.1% of Californians had been vaccinated and there were 757 ...