Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan Introduces Legislative Package for 2022

Sacramento, CA – With the recent bill introduction deadline, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan has introduced legislation addressing her priority issues of mental health, gender equality, wildfire protection, education, gun safety, environmental protection and more.

“I’m proud to have introduced over 15 pieces of legislation that re-affirm my commitment to the values of this district,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. “From addressing climate change and our drought, to reproductive rights and keeping our kids safe from gun violence, I’m ready to fight for the future of District 16 and all of California.”

In furthering action on bills she introduced in the first of the 2-year legislative session - Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan continues to fight for gender equity and reproductive rights, successfully moving her bill that eliminates gender-based pricing or the “Pink Tax” to the Senate. She also introduced AB 1666 in partnership with Planned Parenthood, which will protect California reproductive healthcare providers and patients from fiscal repercussions for providing and receiving care. In light of the horrendous Texas-style abortion bans and the looming SCOTUS decision that will likely curtail or strike down constitutional rights recognized for decades by Roe v. Wade, AB 1666 will ensure that doctors and patients are protected from legal ramifications related to abortions.

The Assemblymember has also continued her efforts to pass legislation implementing the new alternative to 911 – the 988 crisis phone line, which would provide a mental health care response for those in crisis. After advocating for $20 million in last year’s budget to fund the 988 call centers, the Assemblymember is working now to ensure interconnection and create mental health crisis response teams across the state by continuing to move AB 988. It was incredibly heartening to Governor Newsom support this program earlier this year by including ongoing funding for 988 in his January 2022 budget proposal. Other mental health and social justice bills include AB 2754 which will expand options for certifying psychology trainees allowing more mental health professionals to enter the field, and AB 2658 which will create equitable electronic monitoring for youth who are serving probation from home.

District 16 issues are always at the forefront of the Assemblymember’s work, from AB 2627 which will assist California Community Colleges in outreach to individuals, such as veterans and former foster youth, to ensure access to higher education for all Californians, to AB 2374 which addresses illegal dumping in the District and statewide. Fire continues to threaten vast swaths of the District, and Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has worked hard with local fire districts to create AB 2070, which greatly increases the public’s safety by limiting wildfire risk when utilities perform dangerous work.  

In her new role as Chair of the Assembly’s Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee, the Assemblymember is working on legislation to protect water supply and biodiversity. AB 2016 will study the future of desalination to explore water supply options, and AB 2805 will reform the Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS) system to ensure the protection of California’s open space. She has also introduced AB 2146 which will limit the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on non-agricultural crops to protect bees and other pollinators from threatened decimation.

The Assemblymember has partnered with Governor Newsom to advance the state’s gun control agenda with AB 2571, which will ban advertising weapons to children. With accidental shootings by children increasing yearly, this bill will strike at the heart of this epidemic of violence.

Other pieces of the legislative package include AB 1838, which will improve communications from schools to non-English speaking parents, AB 1907, which streamlines inspections of nursing homes in order to improve oversight, and AB 2436, which eliminates discrimination from gendered language on state death certificates.

Current law considers the swastika, the noose and the desecrated cross as symbols of terror, but penalizes them at different criminal levels. AB 2282 will equalize the punishments for usage of all three of these symbols, increase fines, and expand the prohibition of these offenses to places of worship, cemeteries, schools, places of employment, and public parks and spaces.

“Whether I am protecting children from the gun industry, ensuring punishment for those who use symbols of terror, or working to protect our district from wildfire, 2022 will be another challenging and worthwhile year,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. “It is my honor to continue to represent District 16 for my fourth year here in Sacramento and move these important issues forward in the legislature.”

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More information on bills introduced can be found here: https://a16.asmdc.org/2022-legislation