New research released today from The Education Trust–West examines financial aid access in California and offers guidance for improving the state’s Cal Grant program. The pair of new resources looks at the effectiveness of efforts to streamline Cal Grant applications, provides key considerations for making the Cal Grant more equitable, and recommends next steps state and district leaders should take to increase students’ access to financial aid.

Paving the Path to College Aid: Expanding Access to the Cal Grant Program looks at work being done to increase Cal Grant application rates, including the initial implementation of AB 2160, a bill authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting to streamline the Cal Grant application process by requiring that high schools submit GPAs electronically. Over the past five years, Cal Grant application completion rates have increased by 10 percentage points, with 56 percent of high school seniors completing applications in 2017. Rates were even higher in the highest-poverty schools, where 66 percent of twelfth graders completed applications in 2017. Paving the Path outlines effective practices that county offices of education, districts, and schools are using to meet this new requirement and increase Cal Grant access, and offers suggestions for ways in which state, district, and school leaders can further improve access to financial aid.

“Streamlining the Cal Grant application process is the simplest way to ensure thousands of students in our state have access to the California dream. I’m glad to see application rates have increased, especially in California’s highest poverty schools, since implementation of my legislation, AB 2160, to do just this. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the legislature, along with The Education Trust-West and other stakeholders to further strengthen our financial aid programs and make sure affordable college is truly a reality in California,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco).

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), commonly known as “in-law units” or “granny flats,” are poised to play an important role in alleviating California’s housing crisis. After being sworn in to a fourth term this week, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) introduced AB 68 and AB 69, making it even easier and faster for homeowners to build livable space in their backyards.

“We are in a housing crisis, and ADUs are one of the quickest ways to expand our affordable housing supply,” said Ting. “While the state has already removed some of the red tape, we need to do more to spur widespread adoption.”

According to the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, applications for ADU permits have jumped significantly since the Legislature eased some regulations, but  homeowners still face challenges when it comes to building codes, limiting the full potential of ADUs.

Ting’s ADU bills aim to:

•     Speed up the approval process to 60 days

•     Prohibit restrictive local requirements pertaining to lot size and parking

•     Allow more types of units, such as units in multi-family dwellings, to be approved with less bureaucratic review

•     Create a Small Home Building Standards Code to make construction more cost-effective and safe

Sacramento – Due to a remarkable economy and responsible budget practices, California’s finances are in good shape today. However, a more robust reserve is needed to weather a recession. With that in mind, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, unveiled his budget blueprint, Funding Progress | Protecting Tomorrow, calling for an incremental expansion of economic opportunities for all Californians while building up the reserve and paying down debt.

“We’ve invested wisely to keep California moving forward. Our goal is to maintain those investments that resulted in higher funding for education, poverty reduction, healthcare, housing and other priorities,” said Ting. “At the same time,  we need to protect the state against a recession by saving even more.”

Highlights of Funding Progress | Protecting Tomorrow include:

 ·         Focusing on One-Time Investments: bigger reserve, debt payment, infrastructure needs

·         Funding Promises Made: wildfire assistance, poverty reduction, enrollment expansion at UC & CSU; more financial aid; climate change policies

·         Measured Investments in Long-Term Goals: housing, homelessness, healthcare access, early childhood care/education

To read more about Funding Progress | Protecting Tomorrow, click here.

Sacramento – Shortly after being sworn in today, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) renewed efforts to fight global warming with cleaner cars. He introduced AB 40 for 2040, which requires the California Air Resources Board to develop a comprehensive state strategy to achieve complete electrification of the transportation sector in 22 years, by year 2040.

“Much of the research today says climate change is happening at a much faster rate than anticipated. Since transportation accounts for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and 80% of transportation emissions come from passenger vehicles, our vehicles are both the problem and solution. Cleaner cars would make the biggest impact in reducing this pollution,” said Ting.

The urgency to adopt zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) more aggressively is highlighted in last month’s federal report that delivered a dire warning about the consequences of climate change if we don’t act, including greater instances of illness and premature deaths. 

“It’s clear that we need to shift to zero-polluting electric cars and trucks. We simply have to stop exposing children to harmful air pollution and to stop wrapping the planet in climate pollution,” said Kathryn Phillips, Director of Sierra Club California. “The question is not whether we will have an electric car future or even when. The question is how do we get there as quickly as possible? This bill will help answer that.”

The global car market is already moving toward ZEVs. National governments, including Great Britain, France, China, Norway, Ireland, Netherlands and India, have announced policies to electrify vehicles. At the state and local levels, bans on gas and diesel powered vehicles have been announced by the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the cities of Copenhagen, Rome, Athens, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City, and Brussels.

“Moving toward a clean cars future is not just important, it's necessary,” said Mary Creasman, CEO of the California League of Conservation Voters. “With climate change impacts worsening daily and federal progress on clean cars being gutted, California must take bold action.”

AB 40 requires the report to be completed by 2021 and is one of many Ting bills intended to put California on a path to cleaner cars.

• Java Beach Coffee Roasters: 3620 Wawona Street
• Word A Café: 5114 Third Street
• Old Skool Café: 1429 Mendell Street           
• Corinne Chuitang Pusawong: 2244 Taraval Street
• Bayview Pasta: 5009 Third Street                             

“I’m excited for the neighborhoods that’ll see more jobs, foot traffic and social spaces,” said Ting. “It’s also an opportunity for a new generation of restauranteurs who previously couldn’t afford a license.”

A Type 87 liquor license differs from a traditional one (Type 47) in the following ways:

• Location: Restaurants must be located in: the Sunset, along Noriega and Taraval Streets; the Excelsior,  on Ocean Avenue and Mission Street; Visitacion Valley, on Leland Street and Bayshore Avenue; the Portola’s San Bruno Avenue; and the Bayview’s Third Street.
• Affordability: Cost is about $15,000 instead of the nearly $300,000 that conventional liquor licenses cost on the secondary market. Restaurants in outer neighborhoods typically lack the revenue to recoup such a large investment, placing them at a competitive disadvantage.
• One-Time Use: These licenses cannot be re-sold or transferred. If a business closes or relocates, it is canceled and a new one is created in its place.

Before Ting’s legislation was enacted, new liquor licenses hadn’t been issued in San Francisco in over 80 years. New restaurants and bars typically have to buy their liquor licenses from other businesses that have closed or want to sell their license.

AB 471 allows for 30 Type 87 licenses total, five awarded per year until 2023. When more than five businesses apply for one in any given year, a random drawing is held. The first wave of restaurants were approved last year. Today’s lottery was the second wave.