Earlier this month, we delivered our bold legislative agenda to the Governor’s desk to uplift East Bay values and ensure California leads the way in providing protections for our community, tackling rising costs, and safeguarding our healthcare.
Protecting minors from deportation, ensuring Californians have safe places to give birth, fighting against rising healthcare costs, expanding housing opportunities, and preventing AI misrepresentation in healthcare are not radical ideas; they are common-sense solutions. In this moment, I'm proud to stand against the wave of anti-immigrant attacks and cuts to healthcare to imagine a California that shows up for working families.
Yours in Service,
Mia Bonta
Assemblymember, 18th District
The bills our office sent to the Governor this year are:
Responding to Threats on California Values:
Immigrants, non-profits, and our democracy are facing increasing attacks as the nation deals with rising political violence and a federal government that targets undocumented residents and nonprofits that don’t align with the President’s personal agenda. These bills will help California stand up for its values and protect its community members.
- ACA 8 – puts congressional redistricting on the ballot, coauthored with Assembly Speaker Rivas.
- AB 789 – increases candidates’ ability to use campaign funds for security measures for themselves, their staff, and their families.
- AB 1261 – provides access to legal counsel for minors in civil immigration proceedings.
- AB 1318 – protects non-profits from politically motivated targeting.
Protecting Reproductive Care:
These bills will strengthen California's leadership in maternal and reproductive health. While the federal government is attacking bodily autonomy, these bills will ensure that no one has to jump through hoops to access birth control and that Californians can access safe and culturally concordant birthing options.
- AB 50 – ensures equitable access to over-the-counter birth control for Medi-Cal recipients.
- AB 55 – streamlines burdensome licensure requirements for birth centers.
Protecting Critical Health Care Services & Affordability:
These bills will ensure crucial healthcare services and healthcare workers are protected across the state. These bills also recognize that healthcare is among the fastest-growing expenses hitting California families' pocketbooks and seek to ensure they can access critical services while also providing state agencies with additional tools to prevent further price increases and rising healthcare costs.
- AB 224 – expands coverage requirements to include fertility services, hearing aids, and wheelchairs in the individual and small group markets.
- AB 489 – prevents AI from misrepresenting itself as a licensed professional.
- AB 1415 – promotes oversight of private equity spending in health systems.
- SB 41 – cracks down on prescription drug price gouging, principal coauthor with Senator Wiener.
Supporting School Districts and Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline:
The following bills aim to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through evidence-based expulsion and juvenile justice policies, ensuring that our school districts are equipped to address modern responsibilities, from housing development to responsible discipline practices.
- AB 1230 – reforms expulsion plans to support youth success.
- AB 1296 – promotes new housing opportunities by increasing support for school districts pursuing housing projects.
- AB 1376 – protects youth from endless probation sentences.
California has already witnessed the damage of unaccountable, unwanted, and dangerous immigration raids on our businesses, on our families, and on California’s overall economy, which depends on working people from every background. The East Bay has witnessed this firsthand and the California legislature will not take these civil rights abuses lying down.
As a proud Black Latina and member of the Latino Caucus, I was proud to support the caucus’s priority bills to deliver real policy results for our community members.
- SBs 805 and 627 will require law enforcement to clearly identify themselves and prohibit the use of face coverings during their work to prevent unaccountable masked abduction of our loved ones.
- Other bills include ABs 495 and 49 and SBs 81, 98, and 294 to protect our immigrant communities at school, in the hospitals, and to ensure all Californians have the tools they need to prepare for and respond to ICE raids in their community.
- I was also honored to have my own, aforementioned, AB 1261 included among the caucus’s priority legislation.
It is chilling that these bills are needed in 2025, but California will not be silent or complacent as anonymous immigration enforcement is weaponized to target citizens, residents of color, and average Californians going about their day.
As Donald Trump, JD Vance, and RFK Jr. politicize and attack our healthcare, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington are coordinating to lead health policy through science, not rhetoric, through the newly formed West Coast Health Alliance (WCHA). In addition, Governor Newsom signed AB 144, authorizing
View California’s Public Health Vaccination Recommendations from WCHA
As Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, I am committed to keeping our residents safe and healthy.
Oakland needs more housing to meet the City's goals and make living here more affordable for everyone.
This month, the Town celebrated its 11th Homekey award, which will support the combined rehabilitation and new construction of 109 housing units to serve individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
To help review projects more quickly and objectively, the City has created a new Ministerial Design Review process for single-family and “missing middle” housing projects, which include those with 1 to 30 units. Other project types that are already approved through Ministerial review include 100% affordable housing projects, specific mixed-income projects, and State-mandated projects.
For details about the faster new Ministerial Design Review process as well as Objective Design Standards, visit: www.oaklandca.gov/ods
Alameda Sea Level Rise Planning Fair
- Explore sea level rise concepts for the development of the Alameda Shoreline Adaptation Plan. Share your ideas, concerns, and hopes for the future of the waterfront. Work together to protect what we love.
- Saturday, September 27 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the REAP Climate Center.
- Students, or teams of up to four, from California’s 12th Congressional District can register and submit their applications until October 30, 2025 through CongressionalAppChallenge.us. The competition is open to all students who meet the eligibility requirements, regardless of coding experience.
All 25 Oakland Fire Stations Now Fully Open
- Just in time for the Bay Area’s recent heat wave, the city of Oakland has announced that all 25 fire stations are now fully staffed and active, a significant milestone representing more than 20 years of community advocacy and dedication from the city and fire department staff, since the last time all stations were fully open.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
My office remains committed to helping you navigate any State resources or individualized questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact my office for any assistance or support with your questions.