Information on the Coronavirus/COVID19 outbreak is changing often. At present, the risk to Californians remains low. The state is working to ensure public agencies have all the resources they need to minimize the spread. In addition, all Californians are urged to take precautions like they would during flu season to stay healthy. Click here.
Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, released the following statement about the Governor’s May Revision for the 2021-22 state budget:
“California is in a unique position. We need to think big! Not only can we keep helping Californians who are still struggling, but there’s also an opportunity to build a foundation for the next century. I’m eager to invest in priorities like infrastructure, university expansion, affordable housing supply and climate resilience – all of which will keep the state strong for generations.
To help us get there, we must first address the challenges of today. We need to stabilize working families by getting them back to work and school, while also ensuring they have a roof over their heads. We’ve already taken early budget action that sent stimulus checks to individuals and small businesses, ramped up wildfire protection and extended eviction safeguards. We can now do so much more. The Assembly Budget Blueprint unveiled last month outlines a vision that includes providing additional cash assistance, reversing budget cuts made last year, expanding critical support services, and stimulating the economy. This roadmap allows our state to emerge from the pandemic better than ever.
The Governor’s May Revise explores similar ambitions, and I look forward to spending the next month working with legislators and the Governor to deliver a balanced, on-time budget by the June 15th deadline.”
To view budget comments Assemblymember Ting made on May 10th, prior to May Revise, please watch here.
Proposal to Address Hate Crimes in the AAPI Community
The California Asian Pacific Islander population has faced increased attacks against members of their community since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than one year ago. Racist rhetoric coming from the previous White House has mobilized and emboldened individuals who wish to sow hate against AAPIs by attacking them. California must take a strong stance against this violence and provide community support, services, prevention against these attacks, and cultural and economic development for the community. This proposal requests $200 million over a three-year period to address hate crimes against the AAPI community. (Click headline to see entire list.)
Direct Response – $159.5 million
Victims Services & Prevention – $109.5 million
Nonprofit or CBOs that are providing necessary services to victims of hate crimes, such as legal services, health care, mental health, victim’s compensation, or counseling will receive grant funding so that these services may be provided free of charge. Grantees that are service providers should be within the database that the hotline provides referrals to.
Nonprofits or CBOs providing services to protect and prevent attacks against API individuals (such as senior escort programs) will also receive grants to continue this work. Nonprofits or CBOs that provide educational or healing programs about the historic harms caused by structural and systemic racism across different communities of color will receive grants to continue or start this work.
Statewide Hate Crimes Hotline – $10 million
California lacks a single location for individuals to report hate crimes and incidents that can also connect callers with necessary services. This proposal seeks to provide a hotline run by a nonprofit entity that serves as a centralized hub that would connect caller’s in-language to the appropriate local resources, whether they be legal, health care, mental health, or law enforcement if they choose to report. The hotline will also collect data on these calls about the hate crimes and incidents occurring, which will be reported to the Legislature on July 1, 2024. This program may be eligible for federal funding.
Culture and Economic Development – $20 million
Hate rhetoric and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused rippling economic effects to ethnic hubs across the state. In order to rebuild these communities and recognize the important cultural role they provide to California, the state shall provide grants to local ethnic hubs to revitalize Chinatowns, Japantowns, Koreatowns, Little Manilas, etc. Local nonprofits or CBOs would receive grant funding to beautify ethnic corridors, create cultural monuments, revitalize community centers, notify local business owners about existing grant programs to assist small businesses, and provide direct assistance to businesses if necessary.
For the fourth consecutive year, more Californians and law enforcement agencies have turned to the courts to prevent senseless shootings. Judges approved 1,285 gun violence restraining orders (GVROs) last year, mandating the temporary removal of an individual’s firearms because they pose a danger to themselves or others. That brings the total number of GVROs issued in California to 3,008 since the red flag law began in 2016.
“The closure of our courts for periods of time during the pandemic may have contributed to the slow growth in GVRO usage. Still, nearly 1,300 orders were issued, with San Diego County leading the way. I’m glad that Californians have a tool to intervene to save lives and prevent tragedies,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the author of AB 61, which took effect September 1, 2020. The bill expanded the pool of people who can ask for a GVRO, allowing educators, employers and co-workers to file for one when coordinating with school administrators or human resources departments. Prior to Ting’s law, only family members and law enforcement could obtain a GVRO by going to the courts directly.
In California, there are two ways GVROs can be granted:
For a duration of 21 days, immediately (which can be extended to one year with a court hearing); or,
For a duration of up to five years, after a court hearing
The release of gun violence data is later than usual this year because the California Attorney General’s (AG) Office began withholding firearms records. This also made it difficult for researchers to continue studying the effectiveness of the state’s gun policies. But the newly sworn-in Attorney General Rob Bonta made the vital information available as soon as he took office. However, to ensure state data regarding firearms remain accessible for years, Ting will continue to pursue AB 1237 this session - his bill reiterating the duty of the AG’s Office to release these materials to California research centers.
“We’re very glad to have received the information we need to continue our detailed evaluation of California’s pioneering GVRO policy. Research on many other violence prevention policies and programs also depends on data from the Department of Justice; we and our colleagues at other universities are hopeful that the legislature will act to preserve that access, for the sake of all Californians,” said Garen Wintemute, Director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at U.C. Davis Health.
AB 1237 is currently in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
State lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a proposal by the governor to create a new state agency to improve working conditions in California, with opponents saying the state should first resolve serious problems that have delayed payment of unemployment benefits to many of those left jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic.
An Assembly panel recommended against creating the new department at a hearing where lawmakers noted that a backlog of delayed claims has grown in the last month.
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Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the Assembly’s Budget Committee chair, agreed the time wasn’t right to create “a new bureaucracy” in the labor agency.
“Given the multitude of ongoing problems at EDD, now is not the time to transfer numerous employees from the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to a newly created department,” Ting said. “They’re desperately needed to resolve the tremendous backlog in unemployment claims, prevent fraud and implement job training programs to get people back to work.”
California’s main rebate program to coax more drivers to buy electric cars has run out of money — and there’s no guarantee that buyers on the waiting list will get checks later.
The program, one of the largest electric-car rebate efforts in the world, is destined to end unless the Legislature goes against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to cut funding for it next fiscal year, starting July 1.
Newsom wants to redirect money that has gone to most buyers of new electric cars, spending it instead to increase incentives for lower-income buyers. He also wants to install more public charging stations.
But he faces resistance from some legislators and electric-car advocates, who say cutting rebates could undermine the state’s climate goals.
Money for the rebate program ran out last month. Electric vehicle sales surged in the first few months of this year, after plummeting in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
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“Without rebates, it would be a significant step backwards in this struggle to transform our vehicles into clean cars,” said Assembly Member Phil Ting, the San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Budget Committee.
Ting said Assembly Democrats will propose restoring funding for the program, though they have yet to set an amount. In the Senate, Democrats have proposed to spend $525 million on rebates over the next three years.
Bay Area mayors push for historic five-year investment
Bay Area mayors on Thursday urged the state to do something unprecedented — spend $20 billion in a multi-year effort to combat California’s massive homelessness crisis.
Their proposal would dedicate $4 billion every year for five years to continue the historic efforts California has made to house and shelter people during the pandemic. That sum would be roughly half of the state’s projected 2021 budget surplus, when factoring in $26 billion California was allocated in federal stimulus money.
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Democrats in both the state Assembly and Senate also are backing the proposal, and called for the $20 billion, five-year investment when they released their 2021 budget priorities earlier this month.
“Since the pandemic began, we’ve invested even more state money for homelessness and prevention,” Assembly Budget Committee Chair Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, wrote in an emailed statement. “But to have meaningful and ongoing impact, the Legislative Analyst Office says we need a long-term strategy.”
If approved, it would be the largest allocation of funds dedicated to fighting homelessness in U.S. history, according to the mayors.
California lawmakers are expecting the state’s budget surplus to reach up to $20 billion.
State Democratic lawmakers in the assembly Wednesday laid out their financial priorities with more money available than initially expected.
“Our budget situation has drastically changed,” Assm. Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said.
Budget Chairman Phil Ting says while the assembly is still waiting on a final budget estimate for the year, lawmakers expect the state surplus to be between $15 billion to $20 billion.
That money coupled with $26 billion collected in federal stimulus makes this year a more flexible one for spending.
“We also want to make sure we’re protecting Californians. We have millions of vulnerable Californians living paycheck to paycheck, worried about evictions, homelessness jobs, and covid has just continued to exacerbate them,” Ting said.
California is in its strongest state and federal funding situation in budget history. Because of a boost in state tax revenue and $26 billion from the American Rescue Plan, the Assembly is revising its 2021 Budget Blueprint, originally unveiled in December. The surplus and federal funding boost will provide additional investment opportunities to ensure, and even accelerate, an economic recovery that is inclusive of all Californians.
Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, unveiled his 2021-22 Revised Budget Blueprint, Preserve | Respond | Protect | Recover, calling for the restoration of state services and greater investment in priority areas, while also developing ways to stimulate the economy.
With early budget action, the state has already followed through on promises made in key areas, such as school reopening, stimulus aid to individuals and small businesses, wildfire protection and eviction prevention. California is in a position to do much more - poised to not only reverse budget cuts made last year, but also expand critical health and human services programs in support of those still struggling.
“While the COVID-19 numbers and economic indicators are encouraging, many Californians still need their government to assist them during this recovery. The White House has stepped up, giving states the ability to keep helping families and small businesses and ensure economic recovery touches all communities. New federal funding also presents us a rare opportunity to take meaningful steps toward equity,” said Ting.
Highlights of the revised Preserve | Respond | Protect | Recover plan include:
Stabilization and expansion of some critical programs and services: Repay school/community college deferrals; restore cuts to UC, CSU, courts, housing, child support, health and human services; bolster access to Medi-Cal and Covered California; retain healthy reserves
Maintain COVID-19 response: Continue investing in public health infrastructure; safely reopen schools for the fall; protect vulnerable populations in nursing homes and prisons; ensure workplace safety enforcement; greater transparency & oversight of all disaster-related funding
Support for working families: Ongoing funding to head off homelessness; more Golden State Stimulus payments; implementation of TK-For-All and expansion of Early Care & Education (ECE); increase college financial aid and refund amounts for California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) filers; safeguard communities from wildfires
Reopening/economic ecovery: Add retraining programs for laid off workers; debt-free college; establish a Climate Crisis investment plan and infrastructure strategy to stimulate green jobs while benefiting low-income communities; empower communities & celebrating diversity to combat racism; modernization of the Employment Development Department (EDD)
The California State Assembly marked Earth Day with the approval of AB 1200 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), legislation prohibiting the use of “forever chemicals,” known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in food packaging. The bill aims to reduce food and environmental contamination.
“Federal regulations on PFAS allow companies to self-certify that a chemical used in their food packaging is safe,” said Ting. “That’s not good enough for me – not when our health and environment suffer the consequences. Manufacturers should use safer alternatives so that our families aren’t ingesting harmful chemicals.”
PFAS, a class of roughly 9,000 man-made chemicals, have been linked to health problems, including cancer, hormone disruption, thyroid disease and vaccine interference. They are commonly added to food wrappers and containers to prevent grease and other liquids from leaking through. The term “forever chemicals” refers to their resistance to breaking down, making them persistent in the environment and human body. We’re eating PFAS with our meals when they come in food containers coated with these harmful substances. McDonalds, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are already phasing out PFAS-laced wrappers, boxes and the like, or have pledged to do so.
“The California Assembly has swiftly voted to protect its residents from toxic PFAS,” said Susan Little of Environmental Working Group, a co-sponsor of AB 1200. “Because of a broken federal chemical regulatory system, states are stepping up to protect the health of its citizens from hazardous chemicals added to food packaging. This law will protect Californians by reducing their exposure to PFAS in food.”
In addition, when those containers are composted, the environmental impacts are far-reaching with PFAS entering the food chain when the compost is applied to agricultural soil used to grow crops. Those hazardous chemicals also end up in drinking water and in our air. New York, Washington and Maine have enacted a similar law prohibiting the use of PFAS in food packaging.
AB 1200 also requires cookware manufacturers to disclose the use of PFAS and other hazardous chemicals in their products. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Hotels in the Southland and across the state were among the hardest hit during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
Now, state legislators say they are trying to help the throngs of laid-off workers in the hospitality industry by passing a new law that says larger hotels and resorts have to rehire their former staff first before hiring new employees.
“What we really want to do is make sure that as hotels are opening back up, that these workers who have been on unemployment, unable to work for almost a year now, have the first right of refusal to return to work if they were laid off during the pandemic,” San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting, who authored the bill, said.
Ting says legislators are only targeting larger organizations, such as hotel chains.
“This only affects large hotels,” he said. “So the mom and pop hotels, if you have a 10-room inn or a bed and breakfast or something that’s only a few rooms, you are not impacted. This is really geared toward the larger hotel chains.”
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The release of gun violence data is later than usual this year because the California Attorney General’s (AG) Office began withholding firearms records. This also made it difficult for researchers to continue studying the effectiveness of the state’s gun policies. But the newly sworn-in Attorney General Rob Bonta made the vital information available as soon as he took office. However, to ensure state data regarding firearms remain accessible for years, Ting will continue to pursue AB 1237 this session - his bill reiterating the duty of the AG’s Office to release these materials to California research centers.
