Legislative Agenda

In 2021, 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.

CAIR-CA Position: SPONSOR
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill will create the California Commission on Human Rights, an independent body which will review the status of human rights across California and introduce necessary policy recommendations to the Legislature and State Departments accordingly.

MDAC Fact Sheets

CAIR-CA Position: CO-SPONSOR
Bill status: Passed in Budget!

This bill will create the Enhanced Services and Programs for Asylees (ESPA) program which ensures that Asylees in California receive culturally appropriate case management services, mirroring existing efforts and services that refugees receive.  This bill also has an additional budget request of $8 million over the next two years to help support the financing of the ESPA program.

MDAC Fact Sheet

CAIR-CA Position: OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill will mandate that every high schooler in California take an ethnic studies course in high school in order to graduate.  While CAIR-CA wholeheartedly supports ethnic studies, and the graduation mandate, AB 101 (Medina) includes guardrail language singling out ethnic studies for potential criminalization in schools in order to prohibit conversations around certain communities such as Arab American Studies.   Unless this guardrail language – which mirrors anti-ethnic studies legislation in other states – is removed, CAIR-CA will maintain an Oppose Unless Amended position.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill will prohibit the use of kinetic energy projectiles like rubber bullets, and chemical agents like tear gas, by law enforcement on individuals who are peacefully protesting or practicing their first amendment rights to assemble.

MDAC Fact Sheet

CAIR-CA Position: OPPOSE
Bill Status: Held in Senate Public Safety Committee

This bill will create potentially problematic reporting requirements regarding the funding of counter-terrorism and surveillance money and programs across California.  CAIR-CA’s opposition, along with a myriad of other organizations, came from the concerns around the vagueness of the domestic terrorism reporting bill and its potential usage, particularly considering the vague language of the bill, for increased funding for surveillance.  This bill was held in committee and will not be moving forward this year.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill Status:  Held in Senate.

This bill will modifies the petiion system for when the state criminally convicts on the basis of race, ethnicity, etc. in order to ensure that our judicial system is operating in a non-racially bias manner.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: On the Assembly Floor awaiting vote.

This resolution would urge the federal government, on behalf of the State of California, to abolish ICE.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill requires law enforcement to increase reporting around any acquisition of military grade equipment.  This reporting will increase transparency in understanding how much military equipment law enforcement agencies have.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill disqualifies a person from being a peace officer if they have ever been found by a law enforcement agency who has used excessive force, or failed to intercede when excessive force was being used.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill would require election officials to mail a ballot to every active registered voter and to make a ballot tracking system available for all future elections similar to the most recent election during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: In Committee

This bill will would make Election Day a holiday across California to increase voter turnout and voter accessibility.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status:  At Governor’s Desk.

This bill requires a person who wishes to apply to be a peace officer to either reach the age of 25 or obtain a college degree prior to being hired.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill would disqualify a person from being employed as a peace officer if the person has been convicted of crimes against public justice, or has engaged in serious misconduct, in any law enforcement agency in California.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill expands the categories of police personnel records that are subjected to be disclosed under the Public Records Act.

CAIR-CA Position: Support
Bill status: Passed in Budget.

This bill establishes the California Office of Racial Equity (ORE) as an independent public entity within the California State Government focused on racial equity across California departments.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: In Appropriations Committee.

This bill requires automated license plate recognition systems to perform annual audits and omit any and all irrelevant data as to not allow the misuse of data by law enforcement.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status – Held in Senate Government & Finance Committee.

This bill will changes the law to widen the pool of individuals within a community who could run for the County Sheriff position; ensuring that not just former law enforcement officers can run and increasing the democratic choices for the position.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill ensures that journalists have access to areas shut off by police for a command post during protests and assemblies.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill creates the California Youth Empowerment Commission in state government to focus on issues related to California’s disadvantaged youth.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: In Appropriations Committee.

This bill provides Medi-Cal benefits to individuals over 65 across California despite their immigration status, getting closer to Healthcare for All.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: In Assembly.

This bill, if passed, will send a proposition to voters to amend the California Constitution so that it no longer permits involuntary servitude during incarceration.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: In Senate Appropriations Committee.

This bill provides language training in primary threshold languages, or the primary languages are spoken across the state, to increase access to EDD benefits to non-native English speakers.

CAIR-CA Position: Support
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill prohibits the prosecutor’s ability to claim people are gang members simply because of coming from the same community and requires evidence to ensure that individuals aren’t receiving gang enhancements on their charges unjustly.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: In Senate Appropriations Committee.

This bill requires deadly use of force incidents by police officers to be investigated by the Attorney General’s Office as a criminal investigation.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill clarifies immigration status to be included in the scope of what is considered a hate crime.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill requires police agencies to post financial details on any settlements related to police misconduct on their website.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status – Held on Senate Floor.

This bill would repeal provisions of law requiring punishment of death or imprisonment for life for a person convicted of murder when they were not the actual killer.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status:  In Assembly Education Committee.

This bill would appropriate $200,000,000 for the establishment of the A-G Completion Grant Program to assist local school districts to increase graduation rates.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill requires a for-profit private detention facility to comply with the detention standards of care and confinement agreed upon in the facility’s contract for operation and specified health, safety, and insurance requirements; particularly in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill requires the Department of Social Services to ensure that state-licensed foster facilities and home accords in the Office of Refugee Resettlement allow individuals their personal rights and requires the Foster Care Ombudsperson to investigate and resolve any complaints on behalf of children in custody.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill will establish the Commission on the Status of Hate to examine hate crimes across California.

CAIR-CA Position: SUPPORT
Bill status: At Governor’s Desk.

This bill ensures Dreamers and aspiring citizens can be appointed and elected to a delegate position in a county central committee.