by Julia Baum / Pleasanton Weekly
First-year Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) passed her first two bills out of the Judiciary and Human Services committees so far this legislative session. Assembly bills 1735 and 807 received wide bipartisan support and unanimous approval.
Bauer-Kahan said in a statement that she was "thrilled to have the support of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle" on protecting human trafficking victims and giving low-income students greater access to higher education.
AB 1735 would help prosecute human traffickers by protecting communications between witnesses and caseworkers.
AB 807 would eliminate income exclusions for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, which currently penalizes enrolled families if a student receives academic scholarships, rental assistance or transfers money between accounts, such as a college savings account.
Bauer-Kahan also recently became chair of the newly formed Select Committee on Women's Reproductive Health, which is planning an investigative hearing in June to explore the effects and outcome of the Title X "gag rule" that prohibits participants from referring patients to abortion providers.