California Legislature Passes Women’s Caucus Priority Bills

Today, the California State Senate and State Assembly passed all seven of the Legislative Women’s Caucus priority bills.

The California Legislative Women’s Caucus is a bi-partisan body of the California Legislature which represents and advocates on behalf of women, children, and families throughout the state. The Women’s Caucus worked to develop seven Priority Bills to enhance parental leave, promote gender equality, increase access to child care, elevate low-income families, combat sexual assault, and fight women’s cancers. Senator Skinner is a principal co-author of all seven of these bills.

• Senate Bill 63 –The “New Parent Leave Act” provides up to 12 weeks of job protected maternity and paternity leave for up to 2.7 million more California employees. (Senator Hannah Beth Jackson)
• Senate Bill 500 protects Californians from being held ransom for money or sex by criminals threatening to release intimate and personal photos to the public. (Senator Connie Leyva)
• Assembly Bill 168 addresses wage discrimination among women by prohibiting employers from seeking salary history information from a job applicant. (Assemblymember Susan Talamentes Eggman)
• Assembly Bill 273 clarifies that English as a Second Language (ESL) and Higher School Equivalency (HSE) classes are acceptable types of training courses for families to qualify for subsidized child care eligibility. (Assemblymember Cecilia Aguilar-Curry)
• Assembly Bill 480 makes diapers for infants and toddlers a reimbursable expense for CalWorks participants with young children. (Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher)
• Assembly Bill 1312 ensures that rape kits are not destroyed for at least 20 years, that survivors of sexual assault are aware of their rights and resources available to them, and establishes the ability for a victim to receive free post-assault contraception. (Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher)
• Assembly Bill 1386 – launches a breast and ovarian cancer screening and awareness pilot program to promote and encourage genetic testing screening. (Assemblymember Marie Waldron)

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