Legislative Agenda

In 2023, CAIR California is focusing its advocacy efforts on a wide range of bills. We will update the community and its priorities as needed.

To help us advocate for legislation, find your representative here.

Tier 1

Justice Reinvestment

SB 309 Correctional facilities: Religious accommodations.

This bill would include the right to exercise religious freedom, including accommodations for grooming and prescribed religious clothing and headwear, as specified.

  • Author: Cortese
  • CAIR-CA sponsored bill
  • Status: Hearing scheduled in Senate Public Safety Committee on April 11.

School/Workplace Discrimination

SB 461 Days and hours of work: religious or cultural observance.

This bill would allow state employees to utilize their allocated 8 hours of holiday credit towards time off for religious or cultural observance. Currently, the time may only be used for predetermined holidays.

  • Author: Wahab
  • CAIR-CA sponsored bill
  • Status: Referred to Senate Labor Committee

AB 1503 Pupil attendance: excused absences: religious retreats.

This bill would expand the excused absence time from 4 to 8 hours per semester. The existing law allows 4 hours per semester of excused absences for religious retreats in K-12.

  • Author: Lee
  • CAIR-CA sponsored bill
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Education Committee

Tier 2

Justice Reinvestment

AB 1034 Biometric information: law enforcement: surveillance.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation protecting the rights of Californians against the use of biometric surveillance by law enforcement.

  • ACLU Sponsored, Author: Wilson
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Public Safety Committee.

SB 50 Criminal procedure: arrests.

This bill would state the Legislature’s intent to enact legislation limiting a peace officer’s authority to initiate pretextual stops to reduce racial profiling and the harm stemming from such stops.

  • Sponsored by Catalyst California, Author: Bradford
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Hearing scheduled in Senate Public Safety Committee on March 28.

AB 449 Hate crimes: law enforcement policies.

This bill would make adopting a hate crimes policy by a local law enforcement agency mandatory. The bill would require those policies to include the supplemental hate crime report in the model policy framework developed by the commission and a schedule of hate crime or related training the agency conducts. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing requirements on local agencies.

  • Author: Ting
  • Position: Pending
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.

School/Workplace Discrimination

AB 644 Public postsecondary education: campus safety; hate crimes; survey.

Requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California State University, and request the President of the University of California to (A) develop survey questions on campus climate, as defined, related to hate crimes to be submitted to the United States Secretary of Education for review and approval to be incorporated into a specified online survey tool for campus safety, and (B) require campuses that already have formulated and implemented a hate crime-specific survey before January 1, 2024, to meet on or before December 31, 2024, and at least once every 5 years thereafter, to review and update the survey with student participation, as provided.

  • Author: Jones-Sawyer
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee.

Immigration

AB 617 One California Program.

This bill would expand those qualifying services to persons having the intent to reside in and having a nexus to the state and would expand the scope of services to include, among other things, holistic legal representation and related services for removal defense. The bill would make changes to the definitions of various terms relating to legal services and immigration remedies.

  • Author: Jones-Sawyer
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee and Judiciary Committee.

SB 85 Immigration: Case Management and Social Services.

A refugee, asylee, or human parolee may receive up to 360 days (current law allows for 90) of case management with the approval of a designated case worker.

  • Author: Wiener
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Hearing scheduled in Senate Human Services Committee on April 24.

AB 1306 (State government: immigration enforcement)

This bill would prohibit the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from, amongst other actions, transferring individuals protected under certain criminal justice reform laws to ICE.

  • Author: Wendy Carrillo
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Introduced.

Misc

AB 884 Elections: language accessibility.

The bill would require, for each statewide election, the Secretary of State to provide translated materials including registration forms, voting notices, instructions, assistance, other materials, and information relating to the electoral process that the Secretary of State prepares in English.

  • Author: Low
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Elections Committee.

Tier 3

Justice Reinvestment

AB 93 Criminal Procedure: Consensual Searches.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to prohibit officers from requesting consent to conduct a search if the officer does not suspect criminal activity.

  • Author: Bryan
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Passed Assembly Public Safety Committee (7 ayes; 1 no).

Immigration

AB 4 Covered California: Expansion.

This bill would remove immigration status requirements for access to healthcare benefits under Covered California.

  • Author: Arambula
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Health Committee.

AB 311 California Food Assistance Program: Eligibility and benefits.

This bill would remove immigration status requirements for access to CFAP and CalFresh benefits.

  • Author: Santiago
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee.

SB 227 Unemployment: Excluded Workers Program.

This bill would remove immigration status requirements for access to unemployment benefits.

  • Author: Durazo
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Passed Senate Labor Committee (4 ayes; 0 no). Referred to Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

Misc

AB 432 Court interpreters: workforce development program.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish a workforce development pathway program to increase the number of court interpreters.

  • Author: Fong
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Introduced.

ACA 4 Elections: eligibility to vote.

This bill would repeal that requirement regarding the disqualification of electors incarcerated for felony convictions, thereby authorizing an otherwise qualified elector serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony to vote.

  • Author: Bryan
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Introduced

SB 400 Peace Officers: Confidentiality of records.

This bill would clarify that this confidentiality does not prohibit an agency that formerly employed a peace officer or custodial officer from disclosing the termination for cause of that officer, as specified.

  • Author: Wahab
  • Position: Support
  • Status: Hearing scheduled in Senate Public Safety Committee on April 11.