2024 was a challenging year to advance policy and budget priorities that further community health, safety, and equity in California. Faced with a $68 billion deficit, budget cuts to critical investments—including affordable housing and climate initiatives—significantly curtailed California’s ability to respond to pressing community health needs. We know from our work with community-based organizations that investments into the conditions that contribute to our health are not just “good to have” during strong economic years, they are critical community infrastructure that allows communities to thrive and be resilient through difficult times.?
With this understanding, we worked with advocates across the state to advance health equity and racial justice policies. Among our legislative and budget priorities, we supported advocacy efforts to establish reparations for descendants of chattel slavery (SB 1403, SB 1331), strengthen protections for domestic violence survivors seeking medical attention (AB 3127), and declare access to a healthy environment as a constitutional right (ACA 16). Unfortunately, despite the dedicated work of grassroots advocates, these efforts faced setbacks in the legislative process. We remain steadfast in our work with coalition partners to carry these priorities into the coming year.??
We are excited to share wins advocates secured in this year’s session, including:
- Establishing Tribal Housing Supports: AB 1878 will remove barriers to Tribes accessing state support for affordable housing by improving the efficiency of the state’s tribal housing programs and creating a Tribal Housing Advisory Committee within the Department of Housing and Community Development. The Tribal Housing Advisory Committee will collaborate with the state to remove barriers tribes face in accessing affordable housing resources. PI staff learned about this bill at the second annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Summit, organized by the Yurok Tribe and Wilton Rancheria.??
- Enshrining Local Authority on Oil and Gas Operations: As coalition members of the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California, we celebrate the signing of AB 3233 and AB 1866, which gives cities and counties greater authority to impose restrictions on oil and gas companies. The bills effectively uphold local ordinances in Monterey County and Los Angeles County that were blocked by state courts due to oil companies’ legal challenges to the laws.
- Advancing Reparations for Chattel Slavery in California: Despite facing a significant budget deficit this year, and thanks to the advocacy of Black-led organizations and coalitions, Governor Newsom dedicated $12 million to reparations in the state budget. Additionally, he signed several bills as a part of the California Legislative Black Caucus’s Reparations Package, including a bill that formally apologizes for California’s role in slavery.
Looking ahead to 2025, our advocacy will remain rooted in an affirmative policy agenda that proactively advances health equity and racial justice. We are looking forward to:
- Embedding Equity into Climate Bond Implementation: Voters will consider a $10 billion climate bond on the ballot via Proposition 4, which could bring critical investments to address environmental priorities, including a $700 million investment for parks and outdoor recreation. This investment is an opportunity to re-envision the implementation process of large public funding streams so that public dollars intended to address the impact of both climate change and park and green space inequities are prioritized and effectively absorbed by BIPOC communities most impacted by climate change and environmental racism.
- Promoting Safety and Healing and Preventing Domestic Violence: We remain committed to advocating for upstream policy solutions that center safety and healing in our advocacy work with Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC) through the Healing Together Campaign and with our partners at Futures Without Violence, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, ValorUS, and Culturally Responsive DV Network. We also hope to continue amplifying community-driven policy priorities led by the work of our local partners through Safety and Healing in Networks of Equity.
- Continuing Advocacy To Establish Reparations Infrastructure: Following the state’s formal apology, there is more work to do to redress historical injustices and racist policies that targeted Black Californians. We welcome the opportunity to work in solidarity with Black-led organizations and communities to establish the California Freedmen Affairs Agency, a dedicated fund to direct payments to descendants and provide redress to people who had their property forcibly taken via racially motivated uses of eminent domain.?
- Operationalizing Racial Equity In State Government: This past year we have been actively engaging with the California Racial Equity Commission as it prepares to develop a Racial Equity Framework for state government. As a member of the California Racial Equity Coalition, we anticipate contributing to the Framework’s development to embed procedural, structural, and distributional equity into governmental policies and practices. We are excited about the opportunity to engage with commissioners and staff throughout this process and provide meaningful feedback on a draft Framework once it is released.?
- Supporting the 1 Million Homes Campaign: In the face of faltering commitments in addressing housing and homelessness, Housing Now! California has launched a campaign to build greater momentum and urgency for housing in California to hold Governor Gavin Newsom and state leaders accountable to their commitment to building one million affordable, low-income homes by 2030. We look forward to advancing this campaign through our involvement with Housing Now! California and the Housing Justice as Health Equity Collaborative, where we will demonstrate the public health imperative for housing equity and leverage the field of public health to increase momentum for housing initiatives.
To learn more about our CA Policy work, visit our California Policy & Advocacy webpage. To connect, please reach out to Vince Leus at [email protected].
