Reducing Childhood Poverty and Expanding Sexual-Harassment Prevention Top Mitchell’s Agenda

Proposed laws for 2018 by Sen. Holly J. Mitchell include continuing to reform the juvenile justice system and reducing childhood poverty to help families and communities.

Her other efforts focus on expanding worker training to prevent sexual harassment and providing women key health information.

Here, in bill-number order, are the top pending measures Mitchell hopes receive final passage prior to the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment Aug. 31:

· Senate Bill 439 – Minimum Age Incarceration

This juvenile justice-reform measure would exclude children age 11 and younger from juvenile court jurisdiction and would promote the rights, health and well-being of the child by curbing premature exposure to incarceration. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 982 – CalWORKs

This proposal seeks to address childhood deep poverty by raising the CalWORKs cash grant. Status: Passed by the Senate on a bipartisan 39-0 vote, SB 982 is awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 1034 – Dense Breast Tissue

This would extend to Jan. 1, 2025 the sunset on the current dense breast tissue notification, which is currently set to expire in January. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 1050 – Services and Support for Exonorees

Provides services and support for exonerated people after prison, including healthcare, work training and updating exonerate records to reflect their wrongful convictions. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 1083 – Resource Family Approval

This would reduce barriers in the Resource Family Approval process to make it more child centered and family friendly. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 1343 – Sexual Harassment Training

This would expand mandatory sexual-harassment training for all employers with five or more employees. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 1391 – Juvenile Justice for Children Under 16

This would ensure that youth ages 14 and 15 who commit crimes get the services and help they need by prohibiting them from being tried as adults and keeping them in the juvenile justice system. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

· SB 1393 – Five-Year Judicial Discretion

This proposal would return judicial discretion on sentencing related to five-year enhancements for serious felony convictions. Status: Awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

In addition, the text of her film-tax credit bill, originally in SB 951, was incorporated into follow-up language in the 2018-19 state budget and was signed by Gov. Brown on June 27. This extended the state’s film-tax credit to 2025.

Ray Sotero