Advocacy Update – 2023 Legislation and State Budget

NASW-CA is pleased to announce legislation we will be cosponsoring this year as well as issues we will advocate for in the State Budget. The NASW-CA Legislative Committee will meet in Mid-March to decide our positions on a broader range of bills as well as choosing our Lobby Day issues. Most Senate and Assembly committees will start to meet in March, with the legislative session ending on September 14, 2023. Most bills will take until mid-September to go through the legislative process and land on the Governor’s desk for his signature or veto. It is important to note that at this time, we are not ready to unveil all our sponsored legislation, but there will be a major announcement in the near future.  

One of our newly elected State Senators, Caroline Menjivar, MSW, is the author of two of our cosponsored bills. SB 372 will allow licensees under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), who have transitioned their gender and changed their name, to have the Breeze computer system no longer list their deadname. This will protect the privacy and the safety of ASWs, LCSWs and many other professionals who obtain a license under DCA. There will be provisions under the bill to allow consumers to find information or file a complaint under the licensee’s deadname on an individual basis. As we all know, transgender individuals are often targeted for hate crimes and this bill will help protect them from harassment or violence. 

The second bill authored by Senator Menjivar is SB 373. This bill will allow registrants with the Board of Behavioral Services (BBS), the Medical Board, and the Board of Psychology, to list only their city, state, and zip code rather than their full home address as their address of public record. When a business address is not available, the current process forces licensees to choose between listing their home address or obtaining a P.O. Box, which has a cost and requires frequent monitoring. By protecting a licensee’s personal home address, this bill, much as the bill outlined above, protects the privacy and safety of ASWs, LCSWs and other clinicians. Unfortunately, some clinicians have been subjected to angry clients, stalking, and ongoing harassment. This change has been requested by NASW members.  

NASW-CA is also a member of the Occupational Licensing Coalition which is a group dedicated to helping those with a past legal record obtain a professional license. This year, we are cosponsoring AB 442 (Villapudua) which would allow clean slate, legal aid, pro bono, and other attorneys supporting people with a conviction history, to swiftly obtain the state summary criminal history information without additional costs. This bill reduces unnecessary delays and barriers to post-conviction remedies that often deter people from seeking the fullest restoration of rights available under the law. This bill also allows an attorney to make a timely evaluation of a person’s conviction history and provide accurate information about any impacts of their conviction(s) on employment, housing, education, or immigration.  

In the state budget, we are continuing our advocacy with the Ca4SSI coalition to increase SSI/SSP grants and to reinstate the yearly Cost of Living Increase. The Governor’s budget included funding for an 8.6 percent grant increase which was a rare budget increase in a lean budget year, but it is not large enough to retain the purchasing power of the grants before deep cuts in 2009. We are advocating for the grants to be adjusted to be at their pre-recessionary level adjusted for inflation. We are also advocating for emergency assistance for one-time costs such as repairing and replacing essential household furniture, equipment or clothing, necessary moving expenses, required housing repairs, and unmet shelter needs. In addition, this coalition is asking for increases in programs that provide CalFresh benefits to SSI recipients. 

Lastly, we will be working with public defenders to reinstate a cut in this year’s budget, which we had successfully funded in the past. This $50 million allocation allows public defenders, and the social workers who work in their offices, to implement recent criminal justice reforms that will allow low level offenders to reduce their sentences.  

As usual, we expect a busy legislative and budget year. Please check back for updates!