California Black Media

Gov. Newsom Approves Key Legislation Backed by Black Caucus in 2024 Session

In 2024, the 12-member California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), introduced nearly 600 bills aimed at improving the lives of all Californians, many with a particular focus on addressing inequities faced by Black citizens. Of these bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 230 into law and vetoed 50. The following are some of the key bills taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Published

2 years ago

October 15, 2024

Oakland Post

Asm. Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) and Asm. Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, in Sacramento on September 26, celebrate after Gov. Newsom signed several CLBC bills into law. Photo by Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media (CBM).

By Joe W. Bowers Jr, California Black Media

The following are some of the key bills taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Education Reform for Black Students

Senate Bill (SB) -1348 by CLBC vice-chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D- Inglewood) designates California Black-Serving Institutions (BSIs), an effort to provide additional resources and support to higher education institutions that primarily serve Black students.

Assembly Bill (AB)-51 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) makes sure that Black families from low-income communities have access to critical early childhood education.

AB-1113 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D–Sacramento) expands the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) to include data on expanded learning opportunity programs. This bill improves the state’s ability to track student outcomes.

Health and Human Services: Improving Health Outcomes for Black Californians

AB-2319 by CLBC chair Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City) mandates implicit bias training for healthcare providers, addressing disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes, especially affecting Black women.

AB-3059 by Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D–La Mesa) requires commercial health plans to cover medically necessary pasteurized donor human milk for infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

Tackling the Job Security

SB-1089 by Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D–Los Angeles) requires grocery stores and pharmacies to provide advance notice to workers and the community before closures.

AB-647 by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D–Pasadena) strengthens grocery worker protections by preventing mass layoffs. and ensuring that trained and skilled grocery store and pharmacy workers are rehired.

Environmental Justice for Black Neighborhoods

Bonta’s AB-2851 mandates air quality monitoring near metal shredding facilities, protecting the health of Black communities.

Bradford’s SB-1130 prevents low-income Black families from being left out of the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program, which subsidizes electricity costs.

Criminal Justice and Civil Rights Advocacy

AB-1986 by Assemblymember Issac Bryan (D–Ladera Heights) bans certain books in state prisons, addressing concerns over materials that perpetuate racial stereotypes and divisive ideologies.

AB-3089 by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D–South Los Angeles) issues a formal apology for California’s role in chattel slavery, calls for systemic reforms and reparative justice for Black Californians.

AB-2975 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D–Carson) known as the Secure Hospitals for All Act, focuses on increasing hospital safety by requiring the installation of weapon detection systems at key entrances.

AB-672 by Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D – Moreno Valley) would ensure that Black Californians and other underrepresented communities are able to alert authorities in a timely way regarding alleged violations of civil rights.

Economic Justice and Worker Rights

Bradford’s SB-1177 ensures that minority-owned businesses are prioritized for public utility contracts, helping to create more economic opportunities for Black entrepreneurs.

AB-1 by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) strengthens collective bargaining rights for workers in the California Legislature and protects Black employees, ensurin opportunities to advocate for fair treatment and wages.

A Continued Fight for Equity

The 230 CLBC bills signed into law represent tangible progress in education, healthcare, housing, environmental justice, and criminal justice reform.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

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July 18, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of July 8 – 14, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 8 – 14, 2026

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Kamala Harris Says State and Local Leadership Matters as Much as Washington

The discussion was moderated by Daniel Squadron, co-founder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union. The organization supports state legislative candidates in competitive states and advocates for greater investment in state legislative races. 

Published

2 weeks ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo States Project.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said that traveling the country since the 2024 Presidential election, during her book tour, gave her an opportunity to hear directly from Americans about the challenges they face every day, reinforcing her belief that many people feel unheard by Washington and increasingly look to state elected officials for solutions.

Speaking at UCLA on June 23 during a discussion hosted by The States Project, Harris said she deliberately used her travels to spend time listening to people rather than simply talking to them.

“After the election I needed to take a minute, but when that minute was over, I needed to listen,” said Harris.

One conversation that stayed with her was with a single mother of three in Jackson, Mississippi, who was attending cosmetology school while raising her children on a $150 weekly grocery budget. Harris said the woman also told her the tap water was sometimes too contaminated to bathe her children.

When Harris asked what she wanted others to understand about families like hers, the woman replied, “Don’t they see me?”

“There are a lot of people who feel that they are not interested, and that their everyday fears and worries and hopes aren’t being heard,” Harris said.

“People are done with the status quo,” Harris added. “They’re done. It’s not working for them.”

She said political leaders must focus on solving everyday problems while presenting a broader vision for the country’s future.

“It’s about having affordable housing, affordable healthcare. It is about having a tax code that works for working people,” Harris said.

Harris said those conversations reinforced her belief that state elected officials are often better positioned than Washington to understand the everyday challenges facing their constituents.

“I support The States Project because the folks here and the folks we are supporting — state elected officials — are on the ground seeing and hearing these stories every day,” Harris said.

The discussion was moderated by Daniel Squadron, co-founder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union. The organization supports state legislative candidates in competitive states and advocates for greater investment in state legislative races.

Harris said protecting voting rights remains central to the broader civil rights movement.

“The fight for civil rights in America, born out of the struggle of Black Americans, has benefited so many groups,” she said. “But when we look at what’s happening across the country, the fight for justice, for equality, lives on.”

Looking beyond the current administration, Harris said Democrats must present voters with more than opposition to President Donald Trump.

“We’ve got to have a mindset and a purpose that is about the day after this administration leaves the White House,” Harris said. “The question is going to be, what are you going to do with the power if you get it?”

Harris closed by encouraging Americans to remain engaged in their communities and state government.

“I strongly believe nobody should be made to fight alone,” Harris said. “Especially at this moment in time.”