Looking for ways to put your Unitarian Universalist values and faith into action? Want to learn more about upcoming opportunities to engage in policy and legislative justice in California? You’ve come to the right place!
UUJMCA knows that mobilizing and supporting California UUs to take specific faith-rooted action is an important part of our mission to make life better for all Californians. And we also know that our collective power can make a difference, shift hearts, and transform policies. So we’ve made it a bit easier for you to see what openings exist for you to put your faith in action. Check out the policy and legislative initiatives below, sign, send, and share them with other California UUs who want to create a more just and equitable world!
Immigrant Justice
#Health4All (AB 4 / SB 29)
Join UUJMCA & the California Immigrant Policy Center in our ongoing push to get #Health4All Californians. Sign UUJMCA’s petition (to be delivered later this year) and send personalizable messages to your state senator and assembly member.
CalEITC – Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion (AB 1593)
One of our core Immigrant Justice partners in the state, the California Immigrant Policy Center, is advocating for the expansion of the CalEITC to allow for immigrant workers to benefit from this provision. Sign UUJMCA’s petition and be part of the statewide UU voice for equity!
Immigrant Student Access to Higher Education (AB 1620)
There are still many undocumented students who have lived in California for numerous years and yet are unable to qualify as residents to pay in-state tuition and receive financial aid. AB 1620 would expand the in-state tuition eligibility to more undocumented students by reducing the three-year attendance requirement of AB 540 to two years, adding attendance at all California schools toward establishing total attendance, and removing the two-year limit on counting community college attendance for establishing attendance eligibility. (Sponsored by the Korean Resource Center)
No Private ICE Act (AB 1282)
In recent years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increasingly relied on private contractors to carry out its extensive enforcement operations in California, including in-state prisons. Many immigration enforcement arrests in state prisons are conducted not by ICE officers, but by employees of private security corporations. AB 1282, the “No Private ICE Act,” prohibits the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from facilitating or allowing private security guards to conduct immigration enforcement arrests of individuals in CDCR custody. (Sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice
California Act to Save Lives (AB 392)
This bill would be one of many steps taken to address the use of deadly force by police officers, which is known to disproportionately be used on black and brown people. AB 392 would require law enforcement officers to use de-escalation tactics whenever possible and avoid using deadly force. AB 392 would update the state’s use of force laws by restricting police officers’ use of deadly force – to only when other alternatives are not available. It limits the ability of the police to “kill at will,” whether in self-defense or defense of another. This bill bars the use of this defense if the peace officer acted in a criminally negligent manner that caused the death, including if the officer’s actions created the necessity to use deadly force. Modeled after policies such as the ones found in San Francisco and Seattle, this bill can reduce serious uses of force without compromising the safety of officers. Co-Sponsored by ACLU of California, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Anti Police-Terror Project, Black Lives Matter CA, CA Faculty Association, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, PICO CA, Silicon Valley DeBug, STOP Coalition, UDW America – AFSCME Local 3930, and Youth Justice Coalition
Economic Justice
Updates from our partners at Restaurant Opportunities Center – CA will be shared here shortly.
Environmental Justice
Updates from our partners at Community Water Center, the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe will be shared here shortly.
