August 2024 UPDATE: Thanks again for your support for AB 518! AB 518(Wicks): Paid Family Leave for Chosen Family unfortantately will not be moving forward this year, but we remain committed to passing this legislation in the future. Please note that AB 518 was amended on August 26th, 2024 and now the bill number does not pertain to Paid Family Leave for Chosen Family. 

Californian employees pay into Paid Family Leave, but can only take paid leave to care for a seriously ill parent, parent-in-law, child, spouse, registered domestic partner, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. This is not encompassing of all family types. Support AB 518 to make Paid Family Leave available for all chosen, biological, and legal family members.

5/22 Update: Good news! AB 2428 has passed the Assembly floor vote and was sent to the Senate where it will be assigned for policy committee hearings. We will need your help again soon to call and email your state Senators this time. 

5/20 Message: This week, your Assemblymember will vote on AB 2428 Medi-Cal: Community Based-Adult Services, so that CBAS centers, at minimum, get paid the amount that managed care plans have already been budgeted to pay them. CBAS programs provide valuable respite to caregivers, but have been closing in recent years.  

Almost all private sector and some public sector California workers pay into the Disability Insurance Fund which funds California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program. PFL provides 8 weeks of partial income for qualifying California workers who take time away from work to care for a seriously ill
family member or to bond with a new child. Under current law, employers can require an employee to use up to two weeks of accrued vacation leave before the employee can access their PFL benefits. This requirement contradicts the purpose of the program and impedes workers from obtaining the benefits that they are entitled to.

California workers are not currently permitted to apply for PFL and SDI until they have already experienced a qualifying life event and are on unpaid leave from work. As a result, California workers cannot even begin the application process for PFL until they are are unable to work due to caring for an ill family member, which is already stressful and financially uncertain. SB 1090 would allow employees to apply in advance and confirm their approval BEFORE starting leave. 

August 2024 Update: Thank you for your support! Unfortunately this bill was not passed out of the Senate Appropriations committee and is now a "dead bill." 

This bill codifies recommendations made by the statewide Long-Term Care Facility Access Policy Workgroup to ensure long term care facility resident access to designated support persons and other critical service providers during public health emergencies. 

Wandering or elopement is a serious safety issue for some of our most vulnerable Californians. An estimated 690,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s disease in California. Over sixty percent of those living with Alzheimer’s will wander at some point.

The fastest growing homeless population in California is comprised of older adults. SB 37 provides a targeted solution. 

The pilot program created by SB 37 will fund targeted rental assistance that meets the specific needs of eligible households. Those living in low-cost areas may need only a small or “shallow” subsidy to exit homelessness or remain housed, while those in high-cost areas may need deeper subsidies to exit homelessness or remain housed. The bill would also require the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to work collaboratively with local housing authorities to bridge to federal Housing Choice (“Section 8”) turn-over vouchers, to ensure this three-year program can sustain participants in housing over the long term.