Legislative Updates
Legislative Update
2023-2024
The first year of California’s 2023-24 legislative session has come to an end
This year CFT tracked over 1,300 bills, supporting 160 and opposing 38. Included in these figures are 16 bills that the CFT was either the primary sponsor, or a co-sponsor thereof.
In total, eleven CFT-sponsored or co-sponsored bills reached Governor Newsom’s desk, where six were signed into law, and five were vetoed.
CFT-sponsored bills pass first house of Legislature, move on to second
Legislative Update
June 2, 2023 marked the legislative deadline for each California legislative house to pass bills that are introduced in that house. The CFT started the year off with eight sponsored bills, and co-sponsored an additional nine bills. Each bill must pass through a policy committee(s), and the appropriations committee if the bill has significant cost, before being passed off the floor.
CFT to sponsor essential legislation for 2023-2024 legislative session
Legislative Update
INTRODUCTION
With the 2023-2024 California Legislative Session beginning, the CFT will be engaging in a new environment at the state Capitol. With several education champions reaching their term limits, and a large sector of the legislative staff turning over, the Legislative Department will be focusing on building new relationships with newly-elected legislators and their staff.
Governor signs six CFT bills, plus budget trailer bills with union priorities
Legislative Update
Governor Newsom signed six union bills at the end of September that the CFT successfully lobbied in both houses of the Legislature. The CFT had sponsored or co-sponsored 16 legislative bills alongside several budget proposals in the last year of the 2020-22 legislative session. A majority of these priorities made it to the governor’s desk or were included in the state budget, with only one bill being vetoed by the governor.
What budget trailer bills mean for education workers
Legislative Update
On September 30, Governor Newsom signed the final budget trailer bills sent to him by the Legislature after passing the bills and a “budget junior” on August 31. Budget trailer bills are created by the Committee on Budget to provide technical language for the implementation of fiscal allocations. The budget junior bill includes additional allocations as well as additional items necessary for implementation of some July budget expenditures.
The budget-related bills go into effect immediately. CFT priorities in the budget trailer bills are listed below.
Governor extends COVID paid sick leave through end of 2022
New extension will sunset on December 31, 2022
Governor Newsom signed AB 152 on September 29, extending COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave through the end of the year for California workers. This protection was originally set to expire on September 30.
This extension does not come with additional sick leave but instead gives workers access to any of their remaining COVID-19 Supplemental Sick Leave through December 31, 2022.
State budget continues record funding for public education, secures funding for part-time faculty healthcare
Legislative Update
Funding for part-time community college faculty healthcare secured
Governor Newsom signed the final state budget on Friday, June 30 after the governor and state legislators reached agreement on the 2022-23 budget over the weekend. The deal includes record levels of funding for public education and the $200 million to support part-time faculty healthcare that CFT has been championing throughout this budget process.
CFT-sponsored bills pass first house of Legislature, move on to second
Legislative Update
The “house of origin” deadline marks a major hurdle for bills to pass out of their first house of the Legislature and move on to the second. The CFT was able to move its 18 sponsored and co-sponsored bills before the deadline with only a couple of exceptions.
- CFT-Sponsored Bills: The 18 union-sponsored and co-sponsored bills with brief descriptions, bill status, and links to the bill text.
- All Legislation CFT is Monitoring: Find CFT’s position on these 626 bills.
Amid record surplus, governor directs more funds to education in May Revision
Legislative Update
Newsom keeps $200 million in ongoing funding for part-time faculty healthcare
Governor Newsom proposed significant increases for education and a 6.56% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in his revised proposal of the 2022-23 state budget released May 13. Education funding accounts for the majority of state budget expenditures, but the governor also proposes an inflation relief package and monies to combat housing insecurity.
CFT introduces seven bills in Legislature, works to combat staff shortages
Legislative Update
As the state Legislature embarks on its second year of the 2021-22 session, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play a major role in education policy by exacerbating the decline in student enrollment and creating staff shortages with more educators retiring than are being hired.
Worker action extends COVID Paid Sick Leave
Retroactive to January 1, 2022 and sunsets September 30, 2022
CFT and our labor partners have fought hard to reinstate COVID-19 paid sick leave. On February 9, Governor Newsom signed the COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave legislation (Senate Bill 114) into law. This is a huge win that will help keep our workplaces and communities safe.
Supplemental Paid Sick Leave became available starting February 19 — ten days after the legislation was signed. Here is a summary of what is included in the new law:
- This leave is retroactively applied to January 1, 2022, and will sunset on September 30, 2022.
Education sees another increase in governor’s state budget proposal
Legislative Update
Governor Newsom proposed significant increases for education and a 5.33% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in his state budget for 2022-23 released January 8. In his proposal, the governor addressed five concurrent state crises — COVID-19, climate change, inequality, homelessness, and public safety — several of which are reflected in the education budget. This budget is a preliminary proposal subject to negotiations with the Legislature and will be revised in May, with its final passage in June.