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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Listen to this special episode of Ear Hustle in honor of Pride Month.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[audio src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/1109_PRIDE_FOR_PODCAST_FEED_SEG_A_16.mp3\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of incarcerated Californians requesting gender-affirming health care more than doubled last year, and the state’s corrections agency expects the trend to continue even as the overall population of imprisoned people in California is projected to decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The estimate comes from budget documents detailing the agency’s responsibilities for two groundbreaking policies the state adopted over the last seven years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One, in 2017, made California the first state to set standards that would grant gender-affirmation surgery to incarcerated people in state prison. It followed the state’s approval of surgery for a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/prisons-california-us-news-ca-state-wire-7c3b2f14287849a18e2f9bb27362c05a\">transgender woman\u003c/a> serving a life sentence. She was later transferred to a women’s prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other, a 2021 law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, requires that every person upon entering prison be asked \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB132/2019\">gender-specific questions\u003c/a> to determine whether they should be housed in a men’s or women’s facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the changes took effect, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation found that the number of incarcerated transgender, intersex and nonbinary people consistently grew each year, rising to 1,617 last year. That’s a 234% increase over 2017, according to the documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vulnerable, transgender and transgender diverse population in CDCR has grown and continues to grow and there are enduring needs that need to be met,” Trisha Wallis, a department senior psychologist who specializes in gender health care, said during a budget committee hearing in March.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Trisha Wallis, department senior psychologist\"]‘The vulnerable, transgender and transgender diverse population in CDCR has grown and continues to grow and there are enduring needs that need to be met.’[/pullquote]The agency this year sought a slight boost in funding — $2.2 million — to provide the mandated care. The agency’s request was not controversial and moved through the Legislature without pushback this spring. Budget negotiations between Gov. Newsom and the Legislature are expected to conclude this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wallis at the hearing said the program was originally meant to “address equitable access” to safe and optimal gender-affirming care, but she acknowledged that staff shortages led to treatment backlogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Backlog grows for gender-affirming care\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As of December, 20 incarcerated people since 2017 had received gender-affirming surgery. Another 150 surgeries had been approved, but not completed, according to the budget documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 2021-22 California government budget year, 270 incarcerated people requested gender-affirming surgeries — up from 99 the previous year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state projects 348 incarcerated people will request gender-affirming treatment this year, and 462 next year. The corrections agency says its staff can evaluate no more than three requests each week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency also has received over 364 housing transfer requests since 2021. Only 35 of those were approved and sent to the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for transgender and nonbinary incarcerated people have urged the state to move faster in providing the surgeries and evaluating other incarcerated people’s requests to transfer to facilities that better suit their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of them criticized the agency’s budget request, arguing the state’s $15 billion-a-year prison system already had plenty of money to carry out the policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s ridiculous. Two million dollars for stuff they should already be doing?” said Alex Binsfield, a policy analyst with TGI Justice Project, a San Francisco nonprofit that \u003ca href=\"https://tgijp.org/\">advocates for incarcerated transgender people\u003c/a>. “I don’t think pumping any more money into CDCR is going to fix health care there.”[aside label='More on Transgender Rights' tag='transgender-prisoners']Transgender advocates also are on guard for signs that the state is refusing transfers for incarcerated people who identify as transgender but who have not received gender-affirming medical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately the housing question should not be a medical question,” said Jen Orthwein, a psychologist who previously provided treatment to transgender incarcerated people in prisons across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri Hardy, spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said those fears are unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Incarcerated people are not required to have gender-affirming surgery in order to transfer to an institution consistent with their gender identity,” Hardy wrote in an email to CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lawsuit challenges California prison transfers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Outside of the Capitol, some conservative-leaning and feminist groups have opposed the prison agency’s gender-affirming policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://womensliberationfront.org/chandler-v-cdcr\">Women’s Liberation Front\u003c/a>, a feminist advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., sued the state in 2021 to halt \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/540465542/Women-s-Liberation-Front-Lawsuit-against-the-California-Department-of-Corrections-and-Rehabilitation\">certain transfers to the state’s women’s prison\u003c/a> in Chowchilla. It argued the transfers put incarcerated females at greater risk of violence and sexual assault. The lawsuit is playing out in the U.S. Eastern District Court of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality that men and women are factually, materially, immutably different, in ways that disadvantage women and necessitate attention to women’s unique needs, supports protection of incarcerated women by providing women-only correctional facilities,” the lawsuit reads.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Jen Orthwein, psychologist\"]‘There should be no difference to their treatment than that of cisgender people. They shouldn’t have to jump through a number of barriers and be poked and prodded for housing.’[/pullquote]The Transgender Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief challenging that suit. The two liberal organizations contend the 2021 law allowing prison transfers protects vulnerable incarcerated transgender people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several states have followed California in adopting gender-affirming policies for incarcerated people. Massachusetts and Connecticut allow incarcerated people to be transferred to facilities according to their chosen gender identity. New Jersey, New York City and Rhode Island also require that incarcerated people be housed at facilities appropriate to their gender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orthwein, the psychologist, urged the state to accommodate more care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There should be no difference to their treatment than that of cisgender people,” Orthwein said. “They shouldn’t have to jump through a number of barriers and be poked and prodded for housing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The agency this year sought a slight boost in funding — $2.2 million — to provide the mandated care. The agency’s request was not controversial and moved through the Legislature without pushback this spring. Budget negotiations between Gov. Newsom and the Legislature are expected to conclude this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wallis at the hearing said the program was originally meant to “address equitable access” to safe and optimal gender-affirming care, but she acknowledged that staff shortages led to treatment backlogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Backlog grows for gender-affirming care\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As of December, 20 incarcerated people since 2017 had received gender-affirming surgery. Another 150 surgeries had been approved, but not completed, according to the budget documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 2021-22 California government budget year, 270 incarcerated people requested gender-affirming surgeries — up from 99 the previous year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state projects 348 incarcerated people will request gender-affirming treatment this year, and 462 next year. The corrections agency says its staff can evaluate no more than three requests each week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency also has received over 364 housing transfer requests since 2021. Only 35 of those were approved and sent to the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for transgender and nonbinary incarcerated people have urged the state to move faster in providing the surgeries and evaluating other incarcerated people’s requests to transfer to facilities that better suit their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of them criticized the agency’s budget request, arguing the state’s $15 billion-a-year prison system already had plenty of money to carry out the policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s ridiculous. Two million dollars for stuff they should already be doing?” said Alex Binsfield, a policy analyst with TGI Justice Project, a San Francisco nonprofit that \u003ca href=\"https://tgijp.org/\">advocates for incarcerated transgender people\u003c/a>. “I don’t think pumping any more money into CDCR is going to fix health care there.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Transgender advocates also are on guard for signs that the state is refusing transfers for incarcerated people who identify as transgender but who have not received gender-affirming medical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately the housing question should not be a medical question,” said Jen Orthwein, a psychologist who previously provided treatment to transgender incarcerated people in prisons across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri Hardy, spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said those fears are unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Incarcerated people are not required to have gender-affirming surgery in order to transfer to an institution consistent with their gender identity,” Hardy wrote in an email to CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lawsuit challenges California prison transfers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Outside of the Capitol, some conservative-leaning and feminist groups have opposed the prison agency’s gender-affirming policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://womensliberationfront.org/chandler-v-cdcr\">Women’s Liberation Front\u003c/a>, a feminist advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., sued the state in 2021 to halt \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/540465542/Women-s-Liberation-Front-Lawsuit-against-the-California-Department-of-Corrections-and-Rehabilitation\">certain transfers to the state’s women’s prison\u003c/a> in Chowchilla. It argued the transfers put incarcerated females at greater risk of violence and sexual assault. The lawsuit is playing out in the U.S. Eastern District Court of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality that men and women are factually, materially, immutably different, in ways that disadvantage women and necessitate attention to women’s unique needs, supports protection of incarcerated women by providing women-only correctional facilities,” the lawsuit reads.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>They stood on the steps of the state Capitol, in white bridal gowns and veils, their wrists chained together and their mouths taped shut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are survivors of forced and child marriages — and they want California to finally outlaw child brides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I was 14 years old, my parents coerced me into marrying the 27-year-old pedophile who had been abusing me for two years because I became pregnant and it brought ‘shame’ to the family,” said Pat Abatemarco, who said she eventually escaped the marriage, with her daughter, with the help of a social worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday, she and others shared their stories of enduring gender-based violence, being forced to abandon their education, and becoming estranged from their families during the “chain-in” protest organized by \u003ca href=\"https://www.unchainedatlast.org/\">Unchained At Last\u003c/a>, a national advocacy nonprofit, to launch a campaign for the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are here in gowns and chains to demand an end to a human rights abuse and nightmarish legal trap that gives get-out-of-jail-free cards to child rapists,” said Fraidy Reiss, a forced marriage survivor who founded Unchained At Last. “What better way to urge legislators to take action than to show them what life looks like for those who are forced into marriage?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine)\"]‘We like to think that here in California … we are ahead of the curve. But when it comes to child marriage, we aren’t leading, we aren’t even following. We are failing.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, you must be 18 to get a divorce. But there is no minimum age to get married, as long as a parent or guardian consent and a court gives permission. \u003ca href=\"https://www.unchainedatlast.org/child-marriage-progress/\">California is among just seven states, including New Mexico and Oklahoma, that does not have a minimum age for marriage.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/cottie-petrie-norris-1975/\">Cottie Petrie-Norris\u003c/a>, an Irvine Democrat, plans to introduce legislation next year to end child marriage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We like to think that here in California … we are ahead of the curve,” she said. “But when it comes to child marriage, we aren’t leading, we aren’t even following. We are failing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A false start\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2017, California was on track to be the first state to pass an absolute ban on marriages for those younger than 18. However, due to opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood, the bill proposed by then-Sen. Jerry Hill was watered down to add some safeguards\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>for child marriage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an opposition letter, the ACLU said that the bill “unnecessarily and unduly intrudes on the fundamental rights of marriage without sufficient cause,” while the Children’s Law Center said that “ … for some minors, the decision to marry is based on positive, pro-social factors and the marriage furthers their personal, short and long-term goals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02.jpg\" alt=\"Many women wearing wedding dresses and veils are seen on the steps of California's Capitol Building. One older woman with gray hair and glasses, is speaking from a podium. All the individuals in the photo wear a red stop sign on their chest that reads, "Stop Child Marriage in CA."\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pat Abatemarco, a child marriage survivor, speaks during a press conference at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 22, 2023. \u003ccite>(Rahul Lal/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most research disputes the claims made by the Children’s Law Center. A review by the International Center for Research on Women found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/child-marriage-in-the-US-prevalence-impact_8-2020_ICRW.pdf\">married girls are more likely to drop out of school (PDF)\u003c/a> and less likely to complete college, more likely to live in poverty, and at greater risk of diabetes and cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not at all about maturity,” Reiss said. “But what you wake up with on your 18th birthday, which is crucial, is the rights of adulthood,” she continued, including leaving home, renting an apartment, getting into a domestic violence shelter, or taking legal action.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine)\"]‘I am committed to ending this human rights abuse in California. One child forced into marriage is one too many.’[/pullquote]The U.S. State Department classifies forced marriage \u003ca href=\"https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/forced-marriage.html\">as a human rights abuse\u003c/a>, while the International Labor Organization has called it \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf\">a form of modern slavery (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The federal government considers marriage under the age of 18 in foreign countries a human rights abuse, yet it still remains legal right here in our own backyards,” Petrie-Norris said at the protest. “I am committed to ending this human rights abuse in California. One child forced into marriage is one too many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under California law, it’s statutory rape when an adult has sex with someone younger than 18 if they are not married. The crime is a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the age difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB273\">The law that eventually passed\u003c/a> in 2018 required a judge and Family Court Services to interview both parties to the marriage and a guardian to determine that coercion, child abuse and trafficking were not taking place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/14225893/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px;\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also required local registrars to begin reporting the number of marriage certificates issued to minors. Since 2019, the state has reported fewer than 20 child marriages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in 2021, about 8,800 15- to 17-year-olds in California reported being married in the previous 12 months to the U.S. Census, according to an analysis by Unchained At Last. The vast majority, but not all, are girls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group says that the huge difference in the numbers is because many registrars are not keeping track of child marriages.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What other states are doing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the limited 2018 law took effect in California, nine states have made the marriage age 18 with no exceptions: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. This week, Michigan’s Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://wwmt.com/news/local/michigan-child-marriage-ban-laws-legislation-house-senate-vote-approval-consent-18-age-minimum-license-bills-government-governor-gretchen-whitmer-policy-lansing-ingham-county\">voted to ban child marriage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protestors and advocates hope that California will be the eleventh state to ban child marriage with no exceptions. But a bill to do that has already been \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVersionsCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB404&cversion=20230SB40499INT\">weakened in the current session\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of setting a minimum marriage age, the bill now addresses some underage marriages that are done through spiritual ceremonies that are not legally recognized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While some — myself included — have concerns with minors getting married under any circumstances, California does have some guardrails to protect children,” the bill’s author, Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/aisha-wahab-1987/\">Aisha Wahab\u003c/a>, a Fremont Democrat, said in a statement to CalMatters. “However, current law does not account for instances in which a third party arranges or officiates an underground marriage between a minor and another person, and that is what we are targeting with this bill.”[aside label='More Stories on California Law' tag='california-law']In May, the state Senate unanimously passed the amended \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB404\">Senate Bill 404\u003c/a>, which would make it a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly sanction a religious union or unauthorized secular union between a minor and another person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While supporters say this proposal would strengthen California’s ability to protect children, some backers of the original bill said the current version could further harm children by criminalizing their families and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The survivors of forced marriage that we serve often have complicated relationships with the parents or communities who pressure them to marry,” the Tahirih Justice Center says in the bill analysis. “In many cases, even after facing significant abuse, they still love and value these social bonds and hope for reconciliation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unchained At Last also says the amended bill doesn’t address the real problem; it wants a minimum marriage age of 18. Thursday’s protest, similar to those held in other states, is the beginning of building a coalition in California, said Reiss. The group plans to sit down individually with legislators, to make the case for a law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are some human rights abuses we all agree are terrible, but we might not be able to eliminate them in our lifetime,” Reiss said. “But child marriage in California, we can end it, not only in our lifetime … [but] this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "California Child Bride Survivors Protest to Outlaw Underage Marriage | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>They stood on the steps of the state Capitol, in white bridal gowns and veils, their wrists chained together and their mouths taped shut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are survivors of forced and child marriages — and they want California to finally outlaw child brides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I was 14 years old, my parents coerced me into marrying the 27-year-old pedophile who had been abusing me for two years because I became pregnant and it brought ‘shame’ to the family,” said Pat Abatemarco, who said she eventually escaped the marriage, with her daughter, with the help of a social worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday, she and others shared their stories of enduring gender-based violence, being forced to abandon their education, and becoming estranged from their families during the “chain-in” protest organized by \u003ca href=\"https://www.unchainedatlast.org/\">Unchained At Last\u003c/a>, a national advocacy nonprofit, to launch a campaign for the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are here in gowns and chains to demand an end to a human rights abuse and nightmarish legal trap that gives get-out-of-jail-free cards to child rapists,” said Fraidy Reiss, a forced marriage survivor who founded Unchained At Last. “What better way to urge legislators to take action than to show them what life looks like for those who are forced into marriage?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We like to think that here in California … we are ahead of the curve. But when it comes to child marriage, we aren’t leading, we aren’t even following. We are failing.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, you must be 18 to get a divorce. But there is no minimum age to get married, as long as a parent or guardian consent and a court gives permission. \u003ca href=\"https://www.unchainedatlast.org/child-marriage-progress/\">California is among just seven states, including New Mexico and Oklahoma, that does not have a minimum age for marriage.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/cottie-petrie-norris-1975/\">Cottie Petrie-Norris\u003c/a>, an Irvine Democrat, plans to introduce legislation next year to end child marriage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We like to think that here in California … we are ahead of the curve,” she said. “But when it comes to child marriage, we aren’t leading, we aren’t even following. We are failing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A false start\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2017, California was on track to be the first state to pass an absolute ban on marriages for those younger than 18. However, due to opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood, the bill proposed by then-Sen. Jerry Hill was watered down to add some safeguards\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>for child marriage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an opposition letter, the ACLU said that the bill “unnecessarily and unduly intrudes on the fundamental rights of marriage without sufficient cause,” while the Children’s Law Center said that “ … for some minors, the decision to marry is based on positive, pro-social factors and the marriage furthers their personal, short and long-term goals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02.jpg\" alt=\"Many women wearing wedding dresses and veils are seen on the steps of California's Capitol Building. One older woman with gray hair and glasses, is speaking from a podium. All the individuals in the photo wear a red stop sign on their chest that reads, "Stop Child Marriage in CA."\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/ChildBridesCM02-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pat Abatemarco, a child marriage survivor, speaks during a press conference at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 22, 2023. \u003ccite>(Rahul Lal/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most research disputes the claims made by the Children’s Law Center. A review by the International Center for Research on Women found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/child-marriage-in-the-US-prevalence-impact_8-2020_ICRW.pdf\">married girls are more likely to drop out of school (PDF)\u003c/a> and less likely to complete college, more likely to live in poverty, and at greater risk of diabetes and cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not at all about maturity,” Reiss said. “But what you wake up with on your 18th birthday, which is crucial, is the rights of adulthood,” she continued, including leaving home, renting an apartment, getting into a domestic violence shelter, or taking legal action.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I am committed to ending this human rights abuse in California. One child forced into marriage is one too many.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The U.S. State Department classifies forced marriage \u003ca href=\"https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/forced-marriage.html\">as a human rights abuse\u003c/a>, while the International Labor Organization has called it \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf\">a form of modern slavery (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The federal government considers marriage under the age of 18 in foreign countries a human rights abuse, yet it still remains legal right here in our own backyards,” Petrie-Norris said at the protest. “I am committed to ending this human rights abuse in California. One child forced into marriage is one too many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under California law, it’s statutory rape when an adult has sex with someone younger than 18 if they are not married. The crime is a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the age difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB273\">The law that eventually passed\u003c/a> in 2018 required a judge and Family Court Services to interview both parties to the marriage and a guardian to determine that coercion, child abuse and trafficking were not taking place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/14225893/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px;\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also required local registrars to begin reporting the number of marriage certificates issued to minors. Since 2019, the state has reported fewer than 20 child marriages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in 2021, about 8,800 15- to 17-year-olds in California reported being married in the previous 12 months to the U.S. Census, according to an analysis by Unchained At Last. The vast majority, but not all, are girls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group says that the huge difference in the numbers is because many registrars are not keeping track of child marriages.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What other states are doing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the limited 2018 law took effect in California, nine states have made the marriage age 18 with no exceptions: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. This week, Michigan’s Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://wwmt.com/news/local/michigan-child-marriage-ban-laws-legislation-house-senate-vote-approval-consent-18-age-minimum-license-bills-government-governor-gretchen-whitmer-policy-lansing-ingham-county\">voted to ban child marriage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protestors and advocates hope that California will be the eleventh state to ban child marriage with no exceptions. But a bill to do that has already been \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVersionsCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB404&cversion=20230SB40499INT\">weakened in the current session\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of setting a minimum marriage age, the bill now addresses some underage marriages that are done through spiritual ceremonies that are not legally recognized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While some — myself included — have concerns with minors getting married under any circumstances, California does have some guardrails to protect children,” the bill’s author, Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/aisha-wahab-1987/\">Aisha Wahab\u003c/a>, a Fremont Democrat, said in a statement to CalMatters. “However, current law does not account for instances in which a third party arranges or officiates an underground marriage between a minor and another person, and that is what we are targeting with this bill.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In May, the state Senate unanimously passed the amended \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB404\">Senate Bill 404\u003c/a>, which would make it a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly sanction a religious union or unauthorized secular union between a minor and another person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While supporters say this proposal would strengthen California’s ability to protect children, some backers of the original bill said the current version could further harm children by criminalizing their families and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The survivors of forced marriage that we serve often have complicated relationships with the parents or communities who pressure them to marry,” the Tahirih Justice Center says in the bill analysis. “In many cases, even after facing significant abuse, they still love and value these social bonds and hope for reconciliation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unchained At Last also says the amended bill doesn’t address the real problem; it wants a minimum marriage age of 18. Thursday’s protest, similar to those held in other states, is the beginning of building a coalition in California, said Reiss. The group plans to sit down individually with legislators, to make the case for a law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are some human rights abuses we all agree are terrible, but we might not be able to eliminate them in our lifetime,” Reiss said. “But child marriage in California, we can end it, not only in our lifetime … [but] this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Fresh Food Benefits Could Be Cut in State Budget",
"headTitle": "Fresh Food Benefits Could Be Cut in State Budget | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Every Thursday at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market, many customers don’t pay for their fruits and vegetables with cash, credit card or Apple Pay. Instead, they go to the information booth, swipe their CalFresh EBT card and receive paper vouchers to spend on produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under Market Match, California food aid recipients get as much as $10 in matching money — meaning they have at least $20 to spend every week at their local farmers market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We already spend $200 on meat and cheese at Costco,” said Mitzi Castillo, who lives in Fairfield with two young daughters. “If I didn’t have Market Match, they would have to wait ’til next week to eat fruits and veggies when my husband gets paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castillo buys cherries, strawberries and blueberries from one of the many farmers who also reap benefits from the program, which brings customers and more cash to more than 270 farmers markets across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me, I get more money, and for the people who use it, they can feed their family more,” said Salvador Navarro, a farmer from Stockton who said he makes as much as $300 from Market Match at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pcfma.org/fairfield\">Fairfield Farmers’ Market\u003c/a>, more than enough to cover the cost of his stall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11943420,news_11950312 label='Food Programs']Together with his stalls across the Bay Area, Navarro says he makes $50,000, or a fourth of his income every season, from CalFresh customers and Market Match.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://marketmatch.org/\">Market Match\u003c/a> is the largest funding beneficiary of the California Nutrition Incentive Program, which is run by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In 2022, the program provided about 38 million servings of fruits and vegetables to CalFresh participants, accounting for $19.5 million in CalFresh and Market Match spending at farmers markets across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, like many initiatives, the fates of Market Match and other healthy food and nutrition programs are in flux as legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-budget-2023/\">negotiate the final state budget\u003c/a> while tackling \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949333/gov-newsom-says-california-budget-deficit-has-grown-to-nearly-32-billion\">a $31.5 billion deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Budget%20Plan%20Step%203.1%20June%2012%209am%20Final.docx.pdf\">the plan that legislative Democrats pushed through on Thursday (PDF)\u003c/a> includes $35 million for the incentive program, advocates, CalFresh recipients and farmers worry that the money won’t be in the final budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re doing now is trying to get the ear of the governor,” said Minni Forman, director of Market Match, which also includes community groups coordinated by the nonprofit Ecology Center. If the program is not funded in the final budget, Forman says the program will return to fundraising in the philanthropic world, which could mean a major reduction and even the end to Market Match.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m worried, and I’m fighting as hard as they are to make sure that it is (part of the final budget),” Assembly Budget Committee Chair Phil Ting told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Democrat authored \u003ca href=\"https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20150904-ting-sends-governor-bill-expand-healthy-food-access-farmers-markets\">the 2015 law creating the incentive program\u003c/a> that now funds Market Match and also \u003ca href=\"https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20180801-study-finds-california-program-boosts-healthy-eating-among-calfresh\">championed additional funding in 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ting declined to comment on the status of ongoing negotiations between legislative leaders and the Newsom administration, as did Senate Budget Chair Nancy Skinner, an Oakland Democrat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Bakersfield Democrat, emphasized the importance of the $35 million for the nutrition incentive program, calling it a “priority” and highlighting \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB628\">her bill to make it official state policy for everyone to have access to enough healthy food\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keeping Market Match funded is also a priority for farmers across California promoting \u003ca href=\"https://ecologycenter.org/blog/state-budget-cuts-endanger-funding-for-ca-market-match-program-its-not-too-late-to-take-action/\">the #FundCNIP campaign\u003c/a>. They include Jeff Nielsen, an organic avocado farmer who manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cambriafarmersmarket.com/\">Cambria Farmers Market\u003c/a> and three other markets. He says that because of the program, people who don’t traditionally go to farmers markets find foods they like and keep coming back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ll get $10, $20, even $30 (in produce) from the market, which is a really big win,” said Nielsen. “For every local that comes every week, it supports them, the farmers, and the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/20/fresh-food-benefits-could-be-cut-in-state-budget/061523_fairfield-market-match_sn_cm_15/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11953432\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953432 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15.jpg\" alt=\"A Latino man and a Latino girl, both smiling and with arms around each other, stand under a tent and behind a table of fruit, with a sign advertising cherries\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmer Salvador Navarro and his daughter Kimberly at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market. Most of Navarro’s customers use Market Match and other benefit programs to buy their produce. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The worries about the possible demise of Market Match and other healthy food incentive programs are growing amid broader concerns that California faces a “\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/06/california-food-banks/\">catastrophic hunger crisis\u003c/a>” as pandemic-era extra CalFresh benefits come to an end. Even with those additional benefits, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/apps/economicindicators.html\">20% of Californians experienced food insecurity in 2021\u003c/a>. This year, the number is expected to rise rapidly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Sacramento to address food insecurity and nutrition inequities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know the governor has been moving in ways to try to address those social needs, including food insecurity for so many Californians,” Becerra, a former state attorney general and member of Congress, said at a press conference. “I don’t believe that my state, which I’m very proud of, is going to abandon the effort to try to keep people moving in the right direction, and that of course, has to include healthy foods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Where food aid stands in budget\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So far, the Legislature has approved the governor’s more modest anti-hunger proposals, including the creation of a summer program for eligible households to receive \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/smmr2023pebtannncmnt.asp\">$40 per month in food assistance benefits for each child\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/home/pandemic-ebt\">substantial drop from the $125 per month\u003c/a> for each child that families received last summer. Lawmakers have also approved the expansion of California’s food assistance program for undocumented immigrants 55 and older, beginning in late 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, the governor’s May budget proposal included a total of $2.7 billion in state and federal funding for anti-hunger programs. However, the Legislature’s budget includes \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Budget%20Plan%20Step%203.1%20June%2012%209am%20Final.docx.pdf\">a variety of food benefits (PDF)\u003c/a> that the governor did not include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>$35 million for the incentive program that funds Market Match and a handful of other incentive programs;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$30 million for a CalFresh $50 minimum benefit pilot program;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$9.9 million for a broader California Fruit & Vegetable EBT pilot program;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$3 million to extend a CalFresh program to buy safe drinking water.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The original proposal to increase the minimum CalFresh benefit from $23 to $50 per month statewide was estimated to cost $95 million. However, the Legislature’s budget deal includes only $30 million, enough for a pilot program in some counties. As budget negotiations continue, there is some doubt that even the reduced $30 million will make it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I recognize with the budget deficit that it’s going to be hard to include,” Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Van Nuys Democrat who authored the minimum benefit bill, told CalMatters in a recent interview. “But the impact is so big, should this pass and get funding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Market Match focuses on farmers markets and uses vouchers and tokens, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/ebt/california-fruit-vegetable-ebt-pilot-project\">the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project\u003c/a> borrows a model \u003ca href=\"https://farmdirectincentives.guide/resource/making-snap-incentives-a-snap-on-the-ebt-card/\">pioneered by Massachusetts\u003c/a> to promote nutritious shopping at grocery stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eli Zigas, the food and agriculture policy director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/about/our-mission-and-history\">SPUR\u003c/a>, a nonprofit policy research institute, says that CalFresh recipients predominantly shop at big-box stores and supermarkets. The test program allows recipients to get money rebated directly back on their EBT cards after buying fruits and vegetables at authorized grocery stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pilot plans to have more than 80 locations running by the end of the summer, but Zigas worries that the final budget may delay efforts to make the program statewide and permanent. Last year, when the state had a record budget surplus, supporters asked for $240 million over two years, but the program wasn’t funded. This year, supporters asked for $94 million over two years, but received $9.9 million in the Legislature’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/20/fresh-food-benefits-could-be-cut-in-state-budget/061523-fairfield-farmers-market-sn-cm-04/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11953433\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953433\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04.jpg\" alt=\"a woman works outside behind a table covered in green vegetables, with a line of people of different races looking through the produce\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers pick produce at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market last week, 82-year-old Gurdial Singh walked from stand to stand, using his Market Match vouchers to buy vegetables. “My wife and I will cook dinner together tonight with the zucchini, eggplant and cucumbers,” he said. “We enjoy this program very much as senior citizens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luis Nava, a market manager with the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association who staffs the Fairfield Farmers’ Market, said he wants to send a message to the governor:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need this program to help low-income families, and if it goes away, it will take away food from our kids’ tables. We need it. We really, really need it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated to accurately reflect state funding for the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Amid concerns about hunger in the state, a popular program that doubles CalFresh benefits to let recipients buy fruits and vegetables at farmers markets is being debated in state budget negotiations.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Every Thursday at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market, many customers don’t pay for their fruits and vegetables with cash, credit card or Apple Pay. Instead, they go to the information booth, swipe their CalFresh EBT card and receive paper vouchers to spend on produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under Market Match, California food aid recipients get as much as $10 in matching money — meaning they have at least $20 to spend every week at their local farmers market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We already spend $200 on meat and cheese at Costco,” said Mitzi Castillo, who lives in Fairfield with two young daughters. “If I didn’t have Market Match, they would have to wait ’til next week to eat fruits and veggies when my husband gets paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castillo buys cherries, strawberries and blueberries from one of the many farmers who also reap benefits from the program, which brings customers and more cash to more than 270 farmers markets across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me, I get more money, and for the people who use it, they can feed their family more,” said Salvador Navarro, a farmer from Stockton who said he makes as much as $300 from Market Match at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pcfma.org/fairfield\">Fairfield Farmers’ Market\u003c/a>, more than enough to cover the cost of his stall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Together with his stalls across the Bay Area, Navarro says he makes $50,000, or a fourth of his income every season, from CalFresh customers and Market Match.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://marketmatch.org/\">Market Match\u003c/a> is the largest funding beneficiary of the California Nutrition Incentive Program, which is run by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In 2022, the program provided about 38 million servings of fruits and vegetables to CalFresh participants, accounting for $19.5 million in CalFresh and Market Match spending at farmers markets across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, like many initiatives, the fates of Market Match and other healthy food and nutrition programs are in flux as legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-budget-2023/\">negotiate the final state budget\u003c/a> while tackling \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949333/gov-newsom-says-california-budget-deficit-has-grown-to-nearly-32-billion\">a $31.5 billion deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Budget%20Plan%20Step%203.1%20June%2012%209am%20Final.docx.pdf\">the plan that legislative Democrats pushed through on Thursday (PDF)\u003c/a> includes $35 million for the incentive program, advocates, CalFresh recipients and farmers worry that the money won’t be in the final budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re doing now is trying to get the ear of the governor,” said Minni Forman, director of Market Match, which also includes community groups coordinated by the nonprofit Ecology Center. If the program is not funded in the final budget, Forman says the program will return to fundraising in the philanthropic world, which could mean a major reduction and even the end to Market Match.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m worried, and I’m fighting as hard as they are to make sure that it is (part of the final budget),” Assembly Budget Committee Chair Phil Ting told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Democrat authored \u003ca href=\"https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20150904-ting-sends-governor-bill-expand-healthy-food-access-farmers-markets\">the 2015 law creating the incentive program\u003c/a> that now funds Market Match and also \u003ca href=\"https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20180801-study-finds-california-program-boosts-healthy-eating-among-calfresh\">championed additional funding in 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ting declined to comment on the status of ongoing negotiations between legislative leaders and the Newsom administration, as did Senate Budget Chair Nancy Skinner, an Oakland Democrat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Bakersfield Democrat, emphasized the importance of the $35 million for the nutrition incentive program, calling it a “priority” and highlighting \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB628\">her bill to make it official state policy for everyone to have access to enough healthy food\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keeping Market Match funded is also a priority for farmers across California promoting \u003ca href=\"https://ecologycenter.org/blog/state-budget-cuts-endanger-funding-for-ca-market-match-program-its-not-too-late-to-take-action/\">the #FundCNIP campaign\u003c/a>. They include Jeff Nielsen, an organic avocado farmer who manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cambriafarmersmarket.com/\">Cambria Farmers Market\u003c/a> and three other markets. He says that because of the program, people who don’t traditionally go to farmers markets find foods they like and keep coming back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ll get $10, $20, even $30 (in produce) from the market, which is a really big win,” said Nielsen. “For every local that comes every week, it supports them, the farmers, and the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/20/fresh-food-benefits-could-be-cut-in-state-budget/061523_fairfield-market-match_sn_cm_15/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11953432\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953432 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15.jpg\" alt=\"A Latino man and a Latino girl, both smiling and with arms around each other, stand under a tent and behind a table of fruit, with a sign advertising cherries\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523_Fairfield-Market-Match_SN_CM_15-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmer Salvador Navarro and his daughter Kimberly at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market. Most of Navarro’s customers use Market Match and other benefit programs to buy their produce. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The worries about the possible demise of Market Match and other healthy food incentive programs are growing amid broader concerns that California faces a “\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/06/california-food-banks/\">catastrophic hunger crisis\u003c/a>” as pandemic-era extra CalFresh benefits come to an end. Even with those additional benefits, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/apps/economicindicators.html\">20% of Californians experienced food insecurity in 2021\u003c/a>. This year, the number is expected to rise rapidly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Sacramento to address food insecurity and nutrition inequities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know the governor has been moving in ways to try to address those social needs, including food insecurity for so many Californians,” Becerra, a former state attorney general and member of Congress, said at a press conference. “I don’t believe that my state, which I’m very proud of, is going to abandon the effort to try to keep people moving in the right direction, and that of course, has to include healthy foods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Where food aid stands in budget\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So far, the Legislature has approved the governor’s more modest anti-hunger proposals, including the creation of a summer program for eligible households to receive \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/smmr2023pebtannncmnt.asp\">$40 per month in food assistance benefits for each child\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/home/pandemic-ebt\">substantial drop from the $125 per month\u003c/a> for each child that families received last summer. Lawmakers have also approved the expansion of California’s food assistance program for undocumented immigrants 55 and older, beginning in late 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, the governor’s May budget proposal included a total of $2.7 billion in state and federal funding for anti-hunger programs. However, the Legislature’s budget includes \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Budget%20Plan%20Step%203.1%20June%2012%209am%20Final.docx.pdf\">a variety of food benefits (PDF)\u003c/a> that the governor did not include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>$35 million for the incentive program that funds Market Match and a handful of other incentive programs;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$30 million for a CalFresh $50 minimum benefit pilot program;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$9.9 million for a broader California Fruit & Vegetable EBT pilot program;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$3 million to extend a CalFresh program to buy safe drinking water.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The original proposal to increase the minimum CalFresh benefit from $23 to $50 per month statewide was estimated to cost $95 million. However, the Legislature’s budget deal includes only $30 million, enough for a pilot program in some counties. As budget negotiations continue, there is some doubt that even the reduced $30 million will make it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I recognize with the budget deficit that it’s going to be hard to include,” Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Van Nuys Democrat who authored the minimum benefit bill, told CalMatters in a recent interview. “But the impact is so big, should this pass and get funding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Market Match focuses on farmers markets and uses vouchers and tokens, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/ebt/california-fruit-vegetable-ebt-pilot-project\">the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project\u003c/a> borrows a model \u003ca href=\"https://farmdirectincentives.guide/resource/making-snap-incentives-a-snap-on-the-ebt-card/\">pioneered by Massachusetts\u003c/a> to promote nutritious shopping at grocery stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eli Zigas, the food and agriculture policy director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/about/our-mission-and-history\">SPUR\u003c/a>, a nonprofit policy research institute, says that CalFresh recipients predominantly shop at big-box stores and supermarkets. The test program allows recipients to get money rebated directly back on their EBT cards after buying fruits and vegetables at authorized grocery stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pilot plans to have more than 80 locations running by the end of the summer, but Zigas worries that the final budget may delay efforts to make the program statewide and permanent. Last year, when the state had a record budget surplus, supporters asked for $240 million over two years, but the program wasn’t funded. This year, supporters asked for $94 million over two years, but received $9.9 million in the Legislature’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/20/fresh-food-benefits-could-be-cut-in-state-budget/061523-fairfield-farmers-market-sn-cm-04/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11953433\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953433\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04.jpg\" alt=\"a woman works outside behind a table covered in green vegetables, with a line of people of different races looking through the produce\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/061523-Fairfield-Farmers-Market-SN-CM-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers pick produce at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back at the Fairfield Farmers’ Market last week, 82-year-old Gurdial Singh walked from stand to stand, using his Market Match vouchers to buy vegetables. “My wife and I will cook dinner together tonight with the zucchini, eggplant and cucumbers,” he said. “We enjoy this program very much as senior citizens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luis Nava, a market manager with the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association who staffs the Fairfield Farmers’ Market, said he wants to send a message to the governor:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need this program to help low-income families, and if it goes away, it will take away food from our kids’ tables. We need it. We really, really need it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated to accurately reflect state funding for the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "why-crisis-pregnancy-centers-will-be-californias-next-abortion-battleground",
"title": "Why 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' Will Be California's Next Abortion Battleground",
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"headTitle": "Why ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Will Be California’s Next Abortion Battleground | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In California, less than two-thirds of counties have an abortion clinic. But nearly 80% have at least one “crisis pregnancy center,” according to a database compiled by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abortion rights advocates and lawmakers have long accused these centers — also known as anti-abortion centers — of coercing vulnerable people into remaining pregnant by misleading them about abortion procedures and contraceptive methods. In rural areas with acute primary care shortages, “crisis pregnancy centers” outnumber abortion clinics 11 to 2, a CalMatters analysis shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While center supporters vehemently deny the accusations about misleading pregnant people, they’ve become the next battleground for California lawmakers bent on protecting abortion rights and offering services for people who live in states where abortion is banned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re the next way in which the anti-abortion movement will try to stop people from getting access to abortion here,” said Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, a Democrat from San Ramon and member of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, which has spearheaded the state’s legislative push for enhanced abortion protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulating “crisis pregnancy centers,” however, has proven to be exceptionally challenging even in the nation’s self-proclaimed “\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/abortion-in-california-laws/\">abortion safe haven\u003c/a>.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-San Ramon)\"]‘They’re the next way in which the anti-abortion movement will try to stop people from getting access to abortion here.’[/pullquote]This legislative session, two bills attempting to regulate the centers died quietly in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, including one authored by Bauer-Kahan. Officially, no one knows why the bills were killed in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/05/california-bills-suspense-file-2/\">the Legislature’s opaque suspense file maneuvers\u003c/a>, in which votes are not public, but it’s no secret that Democratic lawmakers are fearful of passing laws that might spur litigation from abortion opponents. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/06/california-abortion-roe-ruling/\">overturned Roe v. Wade\u003c/a>, abortion opponents had used the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oyez.org/issues/423\">courts\u003c/a> to steadily chip away at abortion protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even a state like California is treading very carefully,” said \u003ca href=\"https://law.scu.edu/faculty/profile/russell-margaret/\">Margaret Russell\u003c/a>, an associate constitutional law professor at Santa Clara University. “Who wants to waste public resources on a lawsuit going up to the Supreme Court with the risk that the law would become even worse?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexandra Snyder, CEO of Life Legal Defense Foundation and former director of a pregnancy center in Santa Clarita, said the bills had clear “legal problems (and) constitutional problems” and would be “tied up in the courts at tremendous expense for the next five years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A ‘chilling effect’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-health-committee-20230425\">an Assembly Health Committee hearing in April\u003c/a>, staff from the Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento dressed in hot pink — a color also frequently donned by the state’s abortion rights advocates — and lined up in opposition to \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB710\">a bill requiring the state Public Health Department to conduct an “awareness campaign” about reproductive health and abortion options\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure made no mention of pregnancy centers opposed to abortion, but public testimony accused them of manipulating women by advertising “abortion education” or counseling services that are a means to scare them away from abortion and of falsely claiming “abortion pill reversal” is scientifically tested. Abortion pill reversal — which involves giving patients high doses of the pregnancy hormone progesterone — is \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/22/688783130/controversial-abortion-reversal-regimen-is-put-to-the-test\">not supported by most doctors\u003c/a>, including the nation’s leading association of pregnancy and women’s health specialists. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states the procedure is “\u003ca href=\"https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/medication-abortion-reversal-is-not-supported-by-science\">unproven and unethical\u003c/a>” because it has not been backed by \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26057457/\">clinical studies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three weeks later the measure was dead — a rare win for the anti-abortion movement in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t go there to necessarily stop the bill. We live in California, we know that. We didn’t think that was possible, but it’s clearly possible,” said Heidi Matzke, executive director of Alternatives Pregnancy Center.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11937191,news_11934819\"]Even the measure’s author, Santa Clarita Democrat Pilar Schiavo, was surprised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was disappointed,” Schiavo said. “It literally didn’t say anything about crisis pregnancy centers. That’s as safe a bill as you can get.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California legislators have struggled to regulate these centers since 2018, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/us-supreme-court-strikes-down-california-fact-act\">the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law\u003c/a> known as the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2018/03/supreme-court-challenge-to-california-law-could-hand-abortion-foes-a-victory-or-backfire-on-them/\">FACT Act\u003c/a>, which required reproductive health centers to notify clients about abortion and birth control options. It also required unlicensed centers to tell clients they were not medical facilities. Anti-abortion groups opposed it, arguing “crisis pregnancy centers” should not be compelled to say something that conflicts with their religious beliefs. The justices agreed in a 5–4 vote, dealing a bruising blow to abortion rights nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s use of a “government-drafted script” violated the First Amendment’s freedom of speech protections, \u003ca href=\"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1140_5368.pdf\">Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the majority opinion (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By requiring petitioners to inform women how they can obtain state-subsidized abortions — at the same time petitioners try to dissuade women from choosing that option — the licensed notice plainly ‘alters the content’ of petitioners’ speech,” Thomas wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because we have this history of the reproductive FACT Act, I think people are really worried about creating bad precedent,” said Cathren Cohen, a staff attorney at the Williams Institute and the Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy at UCLA. “The anti-choice movement is very litigious. They know the federal courts are on their side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What has resulted is a “chilling effect,” even in states like California, Cohen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one lawsuit has been filed in reaction to the flurry of abortion protections California passed last year. \u003ca href=\"https://nimbus.kern.courts.ca.gov/case-file/Complaint?documentId=kRzQGE\">The claim, filed “on behalf of pro-life pregnancy care centers”\u003c/a> by the Life Legal Defense Foundation, seeks to block the state’s requirement that health insurers cover abortion services with no out-of-pocket charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen testified in support of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB315\">Bauer-Kahan’s “crisis pregnancy center” bill\u003c/a> during an \u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-judiciary-committee-20230321\">Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing in March\u003c/a>. That measure would have reinforced the state’s false advertising law to prevent facilities that provide pregnancy-related services from making false or misleading claims about abortion. It also allowed people who sought services and were harmed to later sue for damages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure was carefully crafted to avoid the previous issue of compelled speech that prompted the Supreme Court to rebuke California, Cohen said, “but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be challenged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer-Kahan, who successfully passed two abortion protection bills last session, told CalMatters it’s unlikely she’ll reintroduce this measure but remains committed to exploring future options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really important that we get our arms around it,” Bauer-Kahan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Conflicting narratives\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So what happens inside a “crisis pregnancy center”? It depends on who you ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the national level, abortion opponents don’t mince words when it comes to the goals of the centers: They exist to stop women from getting abortions. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a38642/heartbeat-international-conference-crisis-pregnancy-centers-abortion/\">Convention trainings\u003c/a>, e-books, and online courses from the largest anti-abortion center networks in the country offer strategies on how to talk to women who call asking about abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least three-fourths of California centers are affiliated with national organizations.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Margaret Russell, associate constitutional law professor, Santa Clara University\"]‘Who wants to waste public resources on a lawsuit going up to the Supreme Court with the risk that the law would become even worse?’[/pullquote]Proponents of the primarily faith-based nonprofits disagree with the characterization that their work is underhanded. Training materials from one of the largest networks in the country, Care Net, specifically say “manipulation is never an option,” though it recommends “speaking persuasively” as a “life advocate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centers say they give women with unplanned pregnancies alternatives to abortion by providing material support: free diapers, parenting classes and sometimes housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are a safety net for women that want to carry,” said Marie Leatherby, president of the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care and executive director of Sacramento Life Center. “(For) most women, it’s just a great place to start your pregnancy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leatherby said after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the organization worked hard to root out any “bad actors” that used deceptive practices. It requires members to state whether they are medically licensed facilities, and many disclose online that they do not provide or refer for abortions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We set the bar so high because we’re always scrutinized,” Leatherby said. “If they want to have the abortion, they are free to come and go. We let people know we don’t do that here but they can come in and sit and figure out what they want to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite safeguards that Leatherby and other California center proponents say are in place to ensure women aren’t misled, it still sometimes happens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numerous journalism investigations across the country have detailed instances in other states in which women were \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/how-anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers-can-claim-to-be-medical-clinics/\">tricked into walking into a center\u003c/a> rather than a Planned Parenthood site, shown an altered ultrasound image, or more recently \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6189528/anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers-collect-data-investigation/\">had their data tracked\u003c/a>. Many make assertions about the risks of abortion, side effects of contraceptives, and efficacy of “abortion pill reversal” that may be grounded in research but are taken out of context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, many centers’ websites say emergency contraceptives like Plan B or ella cause early abortions of a fertilized egg, which has been debunked by \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-abortion-medications-differ-from-plan-b-and-other-emergency-contraceptives/\">multiple research studies\u003c/a>. They also emphasize the potential for abortion to cause depression or other negative mental health impacts when decades of research indicate a wanted abortion “does not cause significant psychological problems,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/09/news-facts-abortion-mental-health\">according to the American Psychological Association\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gabriel, a Sacramento-area resident, said she visited a pregnancy center in 2016 seeking an abortion. She was about six weeks pregnant with a minimum-wage job and no health insurance. She and her boyfriend struggled to provide for their toddler and knew they weren’t ready for a second kid, Gabriel said. She had already visited a Planned Parenthood but couldn’t afford its $450 out-of-pocket fee. Her boyfriend saw a pregnancy center advertisement and hoped it could do the procedure for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters agreed to use only Gabriel’s middle name to protect her privacy. Her family doesn’t know she sought an abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center worker promised to help over the phone and never indicated that it did not perform abortions, she said. Gabriel didn’t realize it was a religious organization until halfway through the 45-minute appointment, she said. The staff member gave her “random scary statistics like 80% of couples who go through abortion together break up” and told stories of people who regretted the decision — and waited until the end of the appointment to tell her the center did not do abortions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gabriel was so uncomfortable with her experience that she left a review on Yelp warning other women to be cautious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was definitely stressed and embarrassed. The rational part of my brain told me this was part of their fear tactic, but at the same time he and I were only like 22 or something still trying to figure our lives out,” Gabriel said. “Naturally part of me was wondering if they were right about everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center “was kind of our last resort … and them not being able to help us in the way we needed, and on top of that being talked into something I know I didn’t want, was a lot of emotional pressure,” Gabriel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reproductive health deserts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Increasingly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/29/20828866/obria-medical-clinics-birth-control-planned-parenthood\">“crisis pregnancy centers” across the country are seeking to be licensed by state health departments\u003c/a>. Approximately half of the centers in California are medically licensed facilities, according to the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care. Proponents say it helps fill a community need, while opponents say it gives women in reproductive health deserts even fewer choices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a looming primary care provider shortage in California,” Cohen said. “It’s apt to note that they’re filling a gap because we do need more reproductive health care providers, particularly in rural areas, low income areas, (and for) people of color.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953211\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953211 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A view of a one-story brick building with white columns holding up a front awning, taken from behind bushes, which are blurry in the foreground.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento on June 1, 2023. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The breadth of medical services offered at centers opposed to abortion varies widely, with most performing only pregnancy testing and ultrasounds. The state does not set a minimum service requirement for licensing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cwlc.org/download/cwlc-report-designed-to-deceive-a-study-of-the-crisis-pregnancy-center-industry-in-nine-states-2021/?wpdmdl=9854&refresh=647e0e89bd7b81685982857&ind=1666832971487&filename=CA-Alliance_CPC_Report_California-Oct-2022.pdf\">Only 10% of the California centers provide prenatal care and none offer contraceptives (PDF)\u003c/a>, according to a 2022 report by The Alliance, a national coalition of organizations supporting abortion rights. Last year, State Attorney General Rob Bonta issued \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Crisis%20Pregnancy%20Center%20Bulletin.pdf\">a consumer alert warning that the centers do not offer comprehensive reproductive health care (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are at least 176 “crisis pregnancy centers” in California, according to a CalMatters analysis. That compares to 166 abortion clinics, according to state data. At face value, the difference of 10 seems negligible, but pregnancy centers are more likely to be located in areas where there are primary care shortages. Abortion clinics, on the other hand, tend to be located in urban areas where primary care shortages are less likely. Clinics like Planned Parenthood also offer services like cervical cancer screenings, HIV treatment, gynecological care and annual exams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In rural areas of the state where primary care is insufficient, people have a 25% chance of living near a “crisis pregnancy center” compared to a less than 5% chance of living near an abortion clinic, according to a CalMatters analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 13.1 million state residents — roughly one third-of the state’s population — live in a primary care shortage area, according to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matzke, with Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento, takes particular issue with the claim that she runs a fake medical clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the moment they walk in the door, I want them met with medical professionals,” Matzke said. “The moment they leave, I want them being walked out by medical professionals. And that’s who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alternatives is licensed as a free clinic by the California Department of Public Health. The staff includes three doctors, five nurses, a nurse practitioner, a phlebotomist to draw blood and several medical assistants, Matzke said. In addition to pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, Alternatives offers sexually transmitted disease tests, gynecological care and prenatal care up to 25 weeks. The clinic does not conduct or refer for abortion: It says so on the front door.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Cathren Cohen, staff attorney, Williams Institute and the Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy, UCLA\"]‘The anti-choice movement is very litigious. They know the federal courts are on their side.’[/pullquote]“Every woman knows where to go to get an abortion. You know, you can go to Planned Parenthood … but most women don’t know that free resources like ours exist,” Matzke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways Alternatives is an outlier among centers in California, offering more medical services than most. In other ways, it’s not. It does not provide contraceptives. It also advertises “abortion pill reversal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although most doctors reject abortion reversal, plenty of pregnancy center advocates claim it worked for them. Atoria Foley, a patient of Alternatives who testified against Assemblymember Schiavo’s bill, took the abortion pill mifepristone, which blocks absorption of progesterone, on two separate occasions, she said. She felt pressured into getting an abortion by her child’s father, she said, and immediately regretted it. The clinic staff got her a prescription for progesterone, she said, and her daughter was born roughly seven months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s not any sort of condemnation or shame around that. It’s just, let’s take care of you and love on you and guide you through this,” Foley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to a scientific review, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26057457/\">between 8% and 46% of medication abortions are unsuccessful if the pregnant person does not take the second pill\u003c/a>, which causes the uterus to contract and expel its contents, similar to a miscarriage. The first randomized \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31809439/\">control study of abortion pill reversal in the U.S. was stopped in 2020 after several participants were hospitalized for uncontrolled bleeding\u003c/a>, according to study authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abortion rights advocates are adamant: Pregnancy centers have no place in California. They are a “physical manifestation of the anti-abortion movement,” Schiavo said. Betsy Butler, a former state senator and executive director of the Women’s Law Center at UCLA, which contributed to The Alliance report, agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we reign them in? Why are they allowed to impact women like this? What can the state do about that? We have to answer this question,” Butler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California legislators have passed a slew of laws to protect abortion rights. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many fear attempting to regulate 'crisis pregnancy centers' is legally risky.",
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"title": "Why 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' Will Be California's Next Abortion Battleground | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In California, less than two-thirds of counties have an abortion clinic. But nearly 80% have at least one “crisis pregnancy center,” according to a database compiled by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abortion rights advocates and lawmakers have long accused these centers — also known as anti-abortion centers — of coercing vulnerable people into remaining pregnant by misleading them about abortion procedures and contraceptive methods. In rural areas with acute primary care shortages, “crisis pregnancy centers” outnumber abortion clinics 11 to 2, a CalMatters analysis shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While center supporters vehemently deny the accusations about misleading pregnant people, they’ve become the next battleground for California lawmakers bent on protecting abortion rights and offering services for people who live in states where abortion is banned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re the next way in which the anti-abortion movement will try to stop people from getting access to abortion here,” said Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, a Democrat from San Ramon and member of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, which has spearheaded the state’s legislative push for enhanced abortion protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulating “crisis pregnancy centers,” however, has proven to be exceptionally challenging even in the nation’s self-proclaimed “\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/abortion-in-california-laws/\">abortion safe haven\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This legislative session, two bills attempting to regulate the centers died quietly in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, including one authored by Bauer-Kahan. Officially, no one knows why the bills were killed in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/05/california-bills-suspense-file-2/\">the Legislature’s opaque suspense file maneuvers\u003c/a>, in which votes are not public, but it’s no secret that Democratic lawmakers are fearful of passing laws that might spur litigation from abortion opponents. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/06/california-abortion-roe-ruling/\">overturned Roe v. Wade\u003c/a>, abortion opponents had used the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oyez.org/issues/423\">courts\u003c/a> to steadily chip away at abortion protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even a state like California is treading very carefully,” said \u003ca href=\"https://law.scu.edu/faculty/profile/russell-margaret/\">Margaret Russell\u003c/a>, an associate constitutional law professor at Santa Clara University. “Who wants to waste public resources on a lawsuit going up to the Supreme Court with the risk that the law would become even worse?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexandra Snyder, CEO of Life Legal Defense Foundation and former director of a pregnancy center in Santa Clarita, said the bills had clear “legal problems (and) constitutional problems” and would be “tied up in the courts at tremendous expense for the next five years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A ‘chilling effect’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-health-committee-20230425\">an Assembly Health Committee hearing in April\u003c/a>, staff from the Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento dressed in hot pink — a color also frequently donned by the state’s abortion rights advocates — and lined up in opposition to \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB710\">a bill requiring the state Public Health Department to conduct an “awareness campaign” about reproductive health and abortion options\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure made no mention of pregnancy centers opposed to abortion, but public testimony accused them of manipulating women by advertising “abortion education” or counseling services that are a means to scare them away from abortion and of falsely claiming “abortion pill reversal” is scientifically tested. Abortion pill reversal — which involves giving patients high doses of the pregnancy hormone progesterone — is \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/22/688783130/controversial-abortion-reversal-regimen-is-put-to-the-test\">not supported by most doctors\u003c/a>, including the nation’s leading association of pregnancy and women’s health specialists. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states the procedure is “\u003ca href=\"https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/medication-abortion-reversal-is-not-supported-by-science\">unproven and unethical\u003c/a>” because it has not been backed by \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26057457/\">clinical studies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three weeks later the measure was dead — a rare win for the anti-abortion movement in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t go there to necessarily stop the bill. We live in California, we know that. We didn’t think that was possible, but it’s clearly possible,” said Heidi Matzke, executive director of Alternatives Pregnancy Center.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Even the measure’s author, Santa Clarita Democrat Pilar Schiavo, was surprised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was disappointed,” Schiavo said. “It literally didn’t say anything about crisis pregnancy centers. That’s as safe a bill as you can get.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California legislators have struggled to regulate these centers since 2018, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/us-supreme-court-strikes-down-california-fact-act\">the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law\u003c/a> known as the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2018/03/supreme-court-challenge-to-california-law-could-hand-abortion-foes-a-victory-or-backfire-on-them/\">FACT Act\u003c/a>, which required reproductive health centers to notify clients about abortion and birth control options. It also required unlicensed centers to tell clients they were not medical facilities. Anti-abortion groups opposed it, arguing “crisis pregnancy centers” should not be compelled to say something that conflicts with their religious beliefs. The justices agreed in a 5–4 vote, dealing a bruising blow to abortion rights nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s use of a “government-drafted script” violated the First Amendment’s freedom of speech protections, \u003ca href=\"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1140_5368.pdf\">Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the majority opinion (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By requiring petitioners to inform women how they can obtain state-subsidized abortions — at the same time petitioners try to dissuade women from choosing that option — the licensed notice plainly ‘alters the content’ of petitioners’ speech,” Thomas wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because we have this history of the reproductive FACT Act, I think people are really worried about creating bad precedent,” said Cathren Cohen, a staff attorney at the Williams Institute and the Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy at UCLA. “The anti-choice movement is very litigious. They know the federal courts are on their side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What has resulted is a “chilling effect,” even in states like California, Cohen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one lawsuit has been filed in reaction to the flurry of abortion protections California passed last year. \u003ca href=\"https://nimbus.kern.courts.ca.gov/case-file/Complaint?documentId=kRzQGE\">The claim, filed “on behalf of pro-life pregnancy care centers”\u003c/a> by the Life Legal Defense Foundation, seeks to block the state’s requirement that health insurers cover abortion services with no out-of-pocket charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen testified in support of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB315\">Bauer-Kahan’s “crisis pregnancy center” bill\u003c/a> during an \u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-judiciary-committee-20230321\">Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing in March\u003c/a>. That measure would have reinforced the state’s false advertising law to prevent facilities that provide pregnancy-related services from making false or misleading claims about abortion. It also allowed people who sought services and were harmed to later sue for damages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure was carefully crafted to avoid the previous issue of compelled speech that prompted the Supreme Court to rebuke California, Cohen said, “but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be challenged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer-Kahan, who successfully passed two abortion protection bills last session, told CalMatters it’s unlikely she’ll reintroduce this measure but remains committed to exploring future options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really important that we get our arms around it,” Bauer-Kahan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Conflicting narratives\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So what happens inside a “crisis pregnancy center”? It depends on who you ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the national level, abortion opponents don’t mince words when it comes to the goals of the centers: They exist to stop women from getting abortions. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a38642/heartbeat-international-conference-crisis-pregnancy-centers-abortion/\">Convention trainings\u003c/a>, e-books, and online courses from the largest anti-abortion center networks in the country offer strategies on how to talk to women who call asking about abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least three-fourths of California centers are affiliated with national organizations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Proponents of the primarily faith-based nonprofits disagree with the characterization that their work is underhanded. Training materials from one of the largest networks in the country, Care Net, specifically say “manipulation is never an option,” though it recommends “speaking persuasively” as a “life advocate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centers say they give women with unplanned pregnancies alternatives to abortion by providing material support: free diapers, parenting classes and sometimes housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are a safety net for women that want to carry,” said Marie Leatherby, president of the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care and executive director of Sacramento Life Center. “(For) most women, it’s just a great place to start your pregnancy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leatherby said after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the organization worked hard to root out any “bad actors” that used deceptive practices. It requires members to state whether they are medically licensed facilities, and many disclose online that they do not provide or refer for abortions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We set the bar so high because we’re always scrutinized,” Leatherby said. “If they want to have the abortion, they are free to come and go. We let people know we don’t do that here but they can come in and sit and figure out what they want to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite safeguards that Leatherby and other California center proponents say are in place to ensure women aren’t misled, it still sometimes happens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numerous journalism investigations across the country have detailed instances in other states in which women were \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/how-anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers-can-claim-to-be-medical-clinics/\">tricked into walking into a center\u003c/a> rather than a Planned Parenthood site, shown an altered ultrasound image, or more recently \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6189528/anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers-collect-data-investigation/\">had their data tracked\u003c/a>. Many make assertions about the risks of abortion, side effects of contraceptives, and efficacy of “abortion pill reversal” that may be grounded in research but are taken out of context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, many centers’ websites say emergency contraceptives like Plan B or ella cause early abortions of a fertilized egg, which has been debunked by \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-abortion-medications-differ-from-plan-b-and-other-emergency-contraceptives/\">multiple research studies\u003c/a>. They also emphasize the potential for abortion to cause depression or other negative mental health impacts when decades of research indicate a wanted abortion “does not cause significant psychological problems,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/09/news-facts-abortion-mental-health\">according to the American Psychological Association\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gabriel, a Sacramento-area resident, said she visited a pregnancy center in 2016 seeking an abortion. She was about six weeks pregnant with a minimum-wage job and no health insurance. She and her boyfriend struggled to provide for their toddler and knew they weren’t ready for a second kid, Gabriel said. She had already visited a Planned Parenthood but couldn’t afford its $450 out-of-pocket fee. Her boyfriend saw a pregnancy center advertisement and hoped it could do the procedure for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters agreed to use only Gabriel’s middle name to protect her privacy. Her family doesn’t know she sought an abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center worker promised to help over the phone and never indicated that it did not perform abortions, she said. Gabriel didn’t realize it was a religious organization until halfway through the 45-minute appointment, she said. The staff member gave her “random scary statistics like 80% of couples who go through abortion together break up” and told stories of people who regretted the decision — and waited until the end of the appointment to tell her the center did not do abortions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gabriel was so uncomfortable with her experience that she left a review on Yelp warning other women to be cautious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was definitely stressed and embarrassed. The rational part of my brain told me this was part of their fear tactic, but at the same time he and I were only like 22 or something still trying to figure our lives out,” Gabriel said. “Naturally part of me was wondering if they were right about everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center “was kind of our last resort … and them not being able to help us in the way we needed, and on top of that being talked into something I know I didn’t want, was a lot of emotional pressure,” Gabriel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reproductive health deserts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Increasingly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/29/20828866/obria-medical-clinics-birth-control-planned-parenthood\">“crisis pregnancy centers” across the country are seeking to be licensed by state health departments\u003c/a>. Approximately half of the centers in California are medically licensed facilities, according to the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care. Proponents say it helps fill a community need, while opponents say it gives women in reproductive health deserts even fewer choices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a looming primary care provider shortage in California,” Cohen said. “It’s apt to note that they’re filling a gap because we do need more reproductive health care providers, particularly in rural areas, low income areas, (and for) people of color.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953211\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953211 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A view of a one-story brick building with white columns holding up a front awning, taken from behind bushes, which are blurry in the foreground.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060123-Alternatives-Pregnancy-Center-MG-CM-11-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento on June 1, 2023. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The breadth of medical services offered at centers opposed to abortion varies widely, with most performing only pregnancy testing and ultrasounds. The state does not set a minimum service requirement for licensing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cwlc.org/download/cwlc-report-designed-to-deceive-a-study-of-the-crisis-pregnancy-center-industry-in-nine-states-2021/?wpdmdl=9854&refresh=647e0e89bd7b81685982857&ind=1666832971487&filename=CA-Alliance_CPC_Report_California-Oct-2022.pdf\">Only 10% of the California centers provide prenatal care and none offer contraceptives (PDF)\u003c/a>, according to a 2022 report by The Alliance, a national coalition of organizations supporting abortion rights. Last year, State Attorney General Rob Bonta issued \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Crisis%20Pregnancy%20Center%20Bulletin.pdf\">a consumer alert warning that the centers do not offer comprehensive reproductive health care (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are at least 176 “crisis pregnancy centers” in California, according to a CalMatters analysis. That compares to 166 abortion clinics, according to state data. At face value, the difference of 10 seems negligible, but pregnancy centers are more likely to be located in areas where there are primary care shortages. Abortion clinics, on the other hand, tend to be located in urban areas where primary care shortages are less likely. Clinics like Planned Parenthood also offer services like cervical cancer screenings, HIV treatment, gynecological care and annual exams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In rural areas of the state where primary care is insufficient, people have a 25% chance of living near a “crisis pregnancy center” compared to a less than 5% chance of living near an abortion clinic, according to a CalMatters analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 13.1 million state residents — roughly one third-of the state’s population — live in a primary care shortage area, according to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matzke, with Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento, takes particular issue with the claim that she runs a fake medical clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the moment they walk in the door, I want them met with medical professionals,” Matzke said. “The moment they leave, I want them being walked out by medical professionals. And that’s who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alternatives is licensed as a free clinic by the California Department of Public Health. The staff includes three doctors, five nurses, a nurse practitioner, a phlebotomist to draw blood and several medical assistants, Matzke said. In addition to pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, Alternatives offers sexually transmitted disease tests, gynecological care and prenatal care up to 25 weeks. The clinic does not conduct or refer for abortion: It says so on the front door.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Every woman knows where to go to get an abortion. You know, you can go to Planned Parenthood … but most women don’t know that free resources like ours exist,” Matzke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways Alternatives is an outlier among centers in California, offering more medical services than most. In other ways, it’s not. It does not provide contraceptives. It also advertises “abortion pill reversal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although most doctors reject abortion reversal, plenty of pregnancy center advocates claim it worked for them. Atoria Foley, a patient of Alternatives who testified against Assemblymember Schiavo’s bill, took the abortion pill mifepristone, which blocks absorption of progesterone, on two separate occasions, she said. She felt pressured into getting an abortion by her child’s father, she said, and immediately regretted it. The clinic staff got her a prescription for progesterone, she said, and her daughter was born roughly seven months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s not any sort of condemnation or shame around that. It’s just, let’s take care of you and love on you and guide you through this,” Foley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to a scientific review, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26057457/\">between 8% and 46% of medication abortions are unsuccessful if the pregnant person does not take the second pill\u003c/a>, which causes the uterus to contract and expel its contents, similar to a miscarriage. The first randomized \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31809439/\">control study of abortion pill reversal in the U.S. was stopped in 2020 after several participants were hospitalized for uncontrolled bleeding\u003c/a>, according to study authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abortion rights advocates are adamant: Pregnancy centers have no place in California. They are a “physical manifestation of the anti-abortion movement,” Schiavo said. Betsy Butler, a former state senator and executive director of the Women’s Law Center at UCLA, which contributed to The Alliance report, agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we reign them in? Why are they allowed to impact women like this? What can the state do about that? We have to answer this question,” Butler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>After State Farm \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.statefarm.com/state-farm-general-insurance-company-california-new-business-update//\">declared\u003c/a> in late May that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/state-farm-california-insurance/\">it wouldn’t sell any new home insurance policies in California\u003c/a>, people shopping around for new insurance had one fewer option. When days later \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/insurance-allstate-fires-18130622.php\">it was revealed\u003c/a> that Allstate had quietly made the same decision last year, Californians are now left wondering: How bad is this? And how should the state respond?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “crisis” in California’s insurance market was caused by “a laser focus only on affordability,” said Nancy Watkins, a principal at Milliman, an actuarial firm, at a legislative hearing on Wednesday. The companies are operating with “very crude tools” at the expense of availability and reliability, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the current regulatory system is too rigid. “It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway,” she said. “What insurance company would agree to that?”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Nancy Watkins, principal, Milliman\"]‘It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway. What insurance company would agree to that?’[/pullquote]Home insurance premiums in California are a little cheaper than the national average — and much lower than premiums in other disaster-prone states like Florida and Louisiana. That’s without accounting for the fact that California has some of the most expensive housing in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California still has about 115 companies offering home insurance, said Michael Soller, a deputy commissioner for the state’s insurance department. As for whether more companies are likely to follow State Farm and Allstate, “we don’t think that will happen,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer and insurance industry groups and other experts have ideas for what they’d like to see California do in the wake of the news — few of which they agree upon. Here’s the debate over four of those ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>1. Require State Farm to keep issuing new policies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s disagreement whether this idea, backed by the group Consumer Watchdog, is legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea hinges on how insurance prices are regulated in California. Under current laws, insurance companies can’t just charge whatever they want: They have to submit their proposed rates to the insurance department, which they back up by explaining their projected costs, losses, revenue and more. State regulators can approve a company’s proposed rates, or deny them, if they think, for example, the rates are unjustifiably high, or so low that they could put the company’s finances at risk.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"forum_2010101893331,news_11951923,news_11937459\"]Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, said if a company suddenly says that it’s not going to take the same number of customers that it had projected when it got the department’s approval, then it has changed the assumptions on which the approval was based.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They granted themselves a de facto rate increase by reducing the risk” in a state where that’s illegal, said Rosenfield. The department could issue a notice to State Farm, he said, and tell the company it needs to keep selling new home insurance policies until it submits new rates and those rates are approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance department disputes that it has the power to do this. “Their claims are not supported by law,” said Soller, the deputy commissioner. “There’s a reason why it hasn’t been done by any insurance commissioner before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>2. Let insurance companies use forward-looking catastrophe models\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The kinds of data and statistical models insurance companies can use to set prices may sound like a nighttime sleep aid, but it’s a matter of lively discussion in insurance circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a company tries to justify rate changes, it is required to rely on past losses to project future losses. It can’t use factors like the locations of new homes it is covering — whether they’re in downtown San Francisco or rural wine country — or the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do it in a very old-fashioned way, and it needs to be updated,” said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an insurance industry group that counts State Farm as a member. He supports the use of forward-looking models, which are generally provided by other private companies. California already permits insurers to use models for earthquake insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a company is trying to figure out how much it should charge for earthquake coverage, it would look at proximity to fault lines, Frazier said, but for wildfire insurance, California doesn’t do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For wildfire it just says ‘Well, looking backward, what have you paid over the last 20 years for wildfire clients?’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer groups generally oppose letting insurance companies use models, fearing that companies will use them to justify extreme price hikes, and that complex math will make scrutiny a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re just very sophisticated crystal balls,” said Amy Bach, executive director for United Policyholders, a consumer group. Modeling companies generally see their models as intellectual property, which can pose a challenge for transparency. “Our fear is that they overstate risk,” said Bach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a week and a half after State Farm’s announcement, the insurance department said it would host a public workshop on use of models in insurance pricing, ahead of considering regulations. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0500-legal-info/0300-workshop-insurers/upload/California-Department-of-Insurance-Invitation-to-Workshop-Examining-Catastrophe-Modeling-and-Insurance.pdf\">workshop will take place on July 13 (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, the Assembly’s insurance committee held a hearing on models. When asked by a legislator whether the department was moving toward incorporating catastrophe models, a department representative confirmed that it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Historic losses do not fully account for growing wildfire risks, or risk mitigation measures taken by communities,” said Michael Peterson, a deputy commissioner at the insurance department, during the hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>3. Address the increasing cost of insurance — for insurance companies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are just like us: They buy insurance! When insurance companies buy it, it’s called “reinsurance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/f5f9d450-c539-47a7-bc5c-44a8db57e74e\">cost of reinsurance has risen dramatically\u003c/a>, and State Farm cited “a challenging reinsurance market” as one of the reasons it decided to stop selling new home insurance policies in California.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Rex Frazier, president, Personal Insurance Federation of California\"]‘What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?’[/pullquote]When insurance companies explain their costs to the insurance department as part of the process for justifying their prices, they aren’t allowed to include the cost of reinsurance. The department hasn’t historically permitted it, Soller said, because it doesn’t regulate reinsurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?” said Frazier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry groups say it would help if they could incorporate the cost of reinsurance into their prices. But consumer groups say that the move would cause premiums to spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians would see immediate massive rate hikes — both as soon as that went into effect and ongoing,” said Carmen Balber executive director of Consumer Watchdog. A reinsurance provider regulated by California would address problems she sees with the reinsurance market, Balber said, but that doesn’t exist currently.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>4. Reduce the risk of disasters\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The underlying problem is that disasters happen in California — at an increasing rate thanks to climate change — and that homes are at risk. They’re in the middle of the woods, or surrounded by flammable grasslands, or on the edge of bluffs that are expected to erode. Making homes less likely to burn, flood or collapse would be good for homeowners and would also make California feel less risky to insurers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no shortage of ideas for how to reduce risk, and there’s been action on this front in recent years. The insurance department, for example, has \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/05/fire-insurance-rules/\">required insurance companies to consider whether homeowners take certain steps to protect their homes\u003c/a> — like installing fire-resistant vents and clearing out vegetation under decks — in their prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has set aside $2.7 billion for wildfire resilience over the past three years, according to the insurance department. When the department convened a group of environmental advocates, researchers, and public policy and insurance experts to make recommendations on how to reduce the risks of climate change, \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/CCI/docs/climate-insurance-report.pdf\">they came up with a long list (PDF)\u003c/a>. Among the recommendations:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Create statewide hazard maps so that future risks are more clear to the public.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increase funding to retrofit homes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Apply fire-resistant building codes in areas with moderate to higher fire risk.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cutting greenhouse gas emissions would ultimately be the best way to reduce the risk, said Alice Hill, chair of the group convened by the department and a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. But the world will get warmer even if we reduce emissions, she said, so focusing on where and how homes are built remains important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That could mean not building in areas that are just becoming too risky,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After State Farm \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.statefarm.com/state-farm-general-insurance-company-california-new-business-update//\">declared\u003c/a> in late May that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/state-farm-california-insurance/\">it wouldn’t sell any new home insurance policies in California\u003c/a>, people shopping around for new insurance had one fewer option. When days later \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/insurance-allstate-fires-18130622.php\">it was revealed\u003c/a> that Allstate had quietly made the same decision last year, Californians are now left wondering: How bad is this? And how should the state respond?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “crisis” in California’s insurance market was caused by “a laser focus only on affordability,” said Nancy Watkins, a principal at Milliman, an actuarial firm, at a legislative hearing on Wednesday. The companies are operating with “very crude tools” at the expense of availability and reliability, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the current regulatory system is too rigid. “It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway,” she said. “What insurance company would agree to that?”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Home insurance premiums in California are a little cheaper than the national average — and much lower than premiums in other disaster-prone states like Florida and Louisiana. That’s without accounting for the fact that California has some of the most expensive housing in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California still has about 115 companies offering home insurance, said Michael Soller, a deputy commissioner for the state’s insurance department. As for whether more companies are likely to follow State Farm and Allstate, “we don’t think that will happen,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer and insurance industry groups and other experts have ideas for what they’d like to see California do in the wake of the news — few of which they agree upon. Here’s the debate over four of those ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>1. Require State Farm to keep issuing new policies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s disagreement whether this idea, backed by the group Consumer Watchdog, is legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea hinges on how insurance prices are regulated in California. Under current laws, insurance companies can’t just charge whatever they want: They have to submit their proposed rates to the insurance department, which they back up by explaining their projected costs, losses, revenue and more. State regulators can approve a company’s proposed rates, or deny them, if they think, for example, the rates are unjustifiably high, or so low that they could put the company’s finances at risk.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, said if a company suddenly says that it’s not going to take the same number of customers that it had projected when it got the department’s approval, then it has changed the assumptions on which the approval was based.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They granted themselves a de facto rate increase by reducing the risk” in a state where that’s illegal, said Rosenfield. The department could issue a notice to State Farm, he said, and tell the company it needs to keep selling new home insurance policies until it submits new rates and those rates are approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance department disputes that it has the power to do this. “Their claims are not supported by law,” said Soller, the deputy commissioner. “There’s a reason why it hasn’t been done by any insurance commissioner before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>2. Let insurance companies use forward-looking catastrophe models\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The kinds of data and statistical models insurance companies can use to set prices may sound like a nighttime sleep aid, but it’s a matter of lively discussion in insurance circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a company tries to justify rate changes, it is required to rely on past losses to project future losses. It can’t use factors like the locations of new homes it is covering — whether they’re in downtown San Francisco or rural wine country — or the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do it in a very old-fashioned way, and it needs to be updated,” said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an insurance industry group that counts State Farm as a member. He supports the use of forward-looking models, which are generally provided by other private companies. California already permits insurers to use models for earthquake insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a company is trying to figure out how much it should charge for earthquake coverage, it would look at proximity to fault lines, Frazier said, but for wildfire insurance, California doesn’t do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For wildfire it just says ‘Well, looking backward, what have you paid over the last 20 years for wildfire clients?’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer groups generally oppose letting insurance companies use models, fearing that companies will use them to justify extreme price hikes, and that complex math will make scrutiny a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re just very sophisticated crystal balls,” said Amy Bach, executive director for United Policyholders, a consumer group. Modeling companies generally see their models as intellectual property, which can pose a challenge for transparency. “Our fear is that they overstate risk,” said Bach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a week and a half after State Farm’s announcement, the insurance department said it would host a public workshop on use of models in insurance pricing, ahead of considering regulations. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0500-legal-info/0300-workshop-insurers/upload/California-Department-of-Insurance-Invitation-to-Workshop-Examining-Catastrophe-Modeling-and-Insurance.pdf\">workshop will take place on July 13 (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, the Assembly’s insurance committee held a hearing on models. When asked by a legislator whether the department was moving toward incorporating catastrophe models, a department representative confirmed that it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Historic losses do not fully account for growing wildfire risks, or risk mitigation measures taken by communities,” said Michael Peterson, a deputy commissioner at the insurance department, during the hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>3. Address the increasing cost of insurance — for insurance companies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are just like us: They buy insurance! When insurance companies buy it, it’s called “reinsurance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/f5f9d450-c539-47a7-bc5c-44a8db57e74e\">cost of reinsurance has risen dramatically\u003c/a>, and State Farm cited “a challenging reinsurance market” as one of the reasons it decided to stop selling new home insurance policies in California.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When insurance companies explain their costs to the insurance department as part of the process for justifying their prices, they aren’t allowed to include the cost of reinsurance. The department hasn’t historically permitted it, Soller said, because it doesn’t regulate reinsurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?” said Frazier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry groups say it would help if they could incorporate the cost of reinsurance into their prices. But consumer groups say that the move would cause premiums to spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians would see immediate massive rate hikes — both as soon as that went into effect and ongoing,” said Carmen Balber executive director of Consumer Watchdog. A reinsurance provider regulated by California would address problems she sees with the reinsurance market, Balber said, but that doesn’t exist currently.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>4. Reduce the risk of disasters\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The underlying problem is that disasters happen in California — at an increasing rate thanks to climate change — and that homes are at risk. They’re in the middle of the woods, or surrounded by flammable grasslands, or on the edge of bluffs that are expected to erode. Making homes less likely to burn, flood or collapse would be good for homeowners and would also make California feel less risky to insurers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no shortage of ideas for how to reduce risk, and there’s been action on this front in recent years. The insurance department, for example, has \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/05/fire-insurance-rules/\">required insurance companies to consider whether homeowners take certain steps to protect their homes\u003c/a> — like installing fire-resistant vents and clearing out vegetation under decks — in their prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has set aside $2.7 billion for wildfire resilience over the past three years, according to the insurance department. When the department convened a group of environmental advocates, researchers, and public policy and insurance experts to make recommendations on how to reduce the risks of climate change, \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/CCI/docs/climate-insurance-report.pdf\">they came up with a long list (PDF)\u003c/a>. Among the recommendations:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Create statewide hazard maps so that future risks are more clear to the public.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increase funding to retrofit homes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Apply fire-resistant building codes in areas with moderate to higher fire risk.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cutting greenhouse gas emissions would ultimately be the best way to reduce the risk, said Alice Hill, chair of the group convened by the department and a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. But the world will get warmer even if we reduce emissions, she said, so focusing on where and how homes are built remains important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That could mean not building in areas that are just becoming too risky,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and … housing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers are trying to \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240ACA10\">enshrine the right to housing\u003c/a> in the state’s constitution. But what exactly does that mean in a state that lacks the resources to give everyone a roof over their heads? Supporters say the constitutional amendment would hold state and local officials more accountable for solving California’s homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really a way to make sure elected officials and the government does its job and doesn’t continue to fail so miserably in ensuring access to housing for all,” said the author of Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/matt-haney-1982/\">San Francisco Democrat Matt Haney\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Ann Owens, sociology professor, University of Southern California\"]‘You can have this constitutional amendment, but what happens when you don’t actually have the money to provide it?’[/pullquote]But the language of the measure is brief and vague, and doesn’t specify what a right to housing entails or how it would be enforced. Some critics worry the amendment wouldn’t do much. Others fear it would do too much — with unintended consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While several prior attempts to create a right to housing in California failed, this one recently passed its first committee vote. Even if it passes, the proposed amendment would still need approval from California voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What would a right to housing do?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The proposed amendment recognizes the fundamental right to “adequate housing” for everyone in California. Local and state lawmakers must work toward fulfilling that right “by all appropriate means.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s about it. What that looks like in practice and how it is enforced would be hammered out by local officials and the courts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney, one of the few state legislators who rents rather than owns a home, called the measure a “game changer” during a recent rally in front of the Capitol. He was backed by several dozen people carrying signs that read “Housing is a human right” and “Keep families home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the amendment could influence local planning decisions, such as by empowering lawsuits against zoning rules or policy decisions that restrict affordable housing development. It could also help the state enforce existing pro-housing laws, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10889597\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10889597 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A grimy, wet sidewalk lines an asphalt strip of road bordered by a cement railing, elevated alongside a neighboring building. In the foreground is an olive green tent, and beyond it, down the sidewalk, is a bright orange tent.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-960x720.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tents pitched on Florida Street, north of 16th Street, in the northeastern corner of the Mission District. \u003ccite>(Dan Brekke/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton and now an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, a right to housing also would require the government to regulate landlords, potentially by enacting rent control or tenant anti-harassment policies, or guaranteeing renters a right to counsel during evictions. It also would create an obligation for the government to budget for housing programs, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/housing-crisis-california-constitution-amendment/\">he wrote in a recent op-ed for CalMatters\u003c/a>. Newsom has not endorsed the right-to-housing amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What would a ‘right to housing’ cost California?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Declaring a right to housing wouldn’t immediately solve California’s homelessness crisis, Haney acknowledged, nor would it require cities to provide housing to everyone or entitle people to free housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Decades of under-building have led to soaring housing prices and more people living on the streets. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/california-exodus-housing-cost/\">The state needed to build 220,000 new homes per year\u003c/a> for two decades to meet its population’s needs, California’s Department of Housing and Community Development estimated in 2000. Last year, the state added just 113,130.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11950199,news_11949978,news_11950483\" label=\"Related Posts\"]As a result, rents are unaffordable for many Californians. The median rent for a two-bedroom home in San José, for example, is $3,100, according to Zillow. It’s the same in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ann Owens, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California specializing in social inequality and housing, believes everyone has a right to housing. But she’s not sure how much good putting it in the state’s constitution will do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The resources part, I think, is where the right to housing often hits a wall,” she said. “You can have this constitutional amendment, but what happens when you don’t actually have the money to provide it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AB-2405.pdf\">vetoed a bill that would have guaranteed a right to housing (PDF)\u003c/a>, citing its estimated price tag of more than $10 billion a year. An analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee laid out billions in potential costs for state agencies to design programs and connect people with housing and other services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney’s amendment doesn’t yet have a cost estimate. California \u003ca href=\"https://calneeds.csh.org/\">would have to spend $8.1 billion a year for the next dozen years\u003c/a> to house all its unhoused residents, according to a 2022 analysis by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the California Housing Partnership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, several lawmakers expressed concern that a right to housing would go too far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/joe-patterson-1982/\">Joe Patterson, a Granite Bay Republican\u003c/a>, voted against the measure in committee last week. He said he’s “really scared” about the leeway California’s judges would have when interpreting a right to housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/jesse-gabriel-1981/\">Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Woodland Hills\u003c/a> and an attorney, worried it would subject every budget decision the Legislature makes to litigation. If legislators allocate money to clean energy or health care, he asked, could someone sue because that money wasn’t being spent on housing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The major, major heartburn I’m having right now is around enforcement and implementation of this,” he said, though he ended up voting for the amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney dismissed Gabriel’s argument as a “straw man if there ever was one.” But he promised to work with legislators, constitutional experts and housing leaders to address his colleagues’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure narrowly passed the Assembly’s housing committee and next must clear appropriations.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>California renter groups back amendment\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If this idea makes it onto the ballot and voters OK it, California would become the first U.S. state to legally recognize a right to housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would be a really big deal,” said Eric Tars, legal director for the National Homelessness Law Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not for lack of trying that it hasn’t been done before. Attempts in 2020 and in 2022 to put the right in the state constitution both failed — neither was heard in committee. And \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/12/california-homeless-housing-podcast/\">Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg proposed a right to housing\u003c/a> in his city, paired with an obligation for unhoused people to accept a bed when it was offered, but it didn’t get far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new state proposal likely will meet the same fate, said political consultant Steven Maviglio, who served as spokesperson for the campaign against \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-21-rent-control/\">California’s Proposition 21 rent control initiative\u003c/a> in 2020. Local officials likely will balk at the cost, he said, as will individual homeowners worried about tax increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see it having a very long future,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 housing and renter advocacy groups and other organizations support the amendment, which is co-sponsored by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action, ACLU California Action, Abundant Housing LA and several others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No organizations are on the record opposing the amendment, but the League of California Cities has expressed reservations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cal Cities has concerns with ACA 10, as it does not include the significant investment needed from the state to jumpstart the construction of sorely needed affordable housing throughout California,” Jason Rhine, assistant director of legislative affairs said in an emailed statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s next?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To make it onto the March 2024 primary ballot, the right-to-housing amendment must pass the Legislature before it adjourns in mid-September. To hit the November 2024 ballot, it has until June 2024. It needs a two-thirds vote in both houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After hearing the feedback from his colleagues Wednesday, Haney said it might take longer than this year to pass his measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not trying to rush this just to force it to the ballot,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it does pass, Haney hopes it will help people like Peggy Pleasant, who spoke at the committee hearing on behalf of the amendment. The Los Angeles mother lost her job in 2008 and became unhoused, sleeping with her daughter in her car until it was repossessed. She eventually found housing, but recognizes she’s one of the lucky few who did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re homeless, you lose housing, whatever, you lose family members,” Pleasant said. “But you lose your hope. And when you lose your hope, that makes you an inadequate person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "More than 170,000 people are unhoused in California. Some Democrats want to make the state the nation's first to declare housing a human right, but opponents worry it would be costly.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and … housing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers are trying to \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240ACA10\">enshrine the right to housing\u003c/a> in the state’s constitution. But what exactly does that mean in a state that lacks the resources to give everyone a roof over their heads? Supporters say the constitutional amendment would hold state and local officials more accountable for solving California’s homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really a way to make sure elected officials and the government does its job and doesn’t continue to fail so miserably in ensuring access to housing for all,” said the author of Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/matt-haney-1982/\">San Francisco Democrat Matt Haney\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But the language of the measure is brief and vague, and doesn’t specify what a right to housing entails or how it would be enforced. Some critics worry the amendment wouldn’t do much. Others fear it would do too much — with unintended consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While several prior attempts to create a right to housing in California failed, this one recently passed its first committee vote. Even if it passes, the proposed amendment would still need approval from California voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What would a right to housing do?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The proposed amendment recognizes the fundamental right to “adequate housing” for everyone in California. Local and state lawmakers must work toward fulfilling that right “by all appropriate means.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s about it. What that looks like in practice and how it is enforced would be hammered out by local officials and the courts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney, one of the few state legislators who rents rather than owns a home, called the measure a “game changer” during a recent rally in front of the Capitol. He was backed by several dozen people carrying signs that read “Housing is a human right” and “Keep families home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the amendment could influence local planning decisions, such as by empowering lawsuits against zoning rules or policy decisions that restrict affordable housing development. It could also help the state enforce existing pro-housing laws, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10889597\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10889597 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A grimy, wet sidewalk lines an asphalt strip of road bordered by a cement railing, elevated alongside a neighboring building. In the foreground is an olive green tent, and beyond it, down the sidewalk, is a bright orange tent.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/floridastreet-960x720.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tents pitched on Florida Street, north of 16th Street, in the northeastern corner of the Mission District. \u003ccite>(Dan Brekke/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton and now an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, a right to housing also would require the government to regulate landlords, potentially by enacting rent control or tenant anti-harassment policies, or guaranteeing renters a right to counsel during evictions. It also would create an obligation for the government to budget for housing programs, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/housing-crisis-california-constitution-amendment/\">he wrote in a recent op-ed for CalMatters\u003c/a>. Newsom has not endorsed the right-to-housing amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What would a ‘right to housing’ cost California?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Declaring a right to housing wouldn’t immediately solve California’s homelessness crisis, Haney acknowledged, nor would it require cities to provide housing to everyone or entitle people to free housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Decades of under-building have led to soaring housing prices and more people living on the streets. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/california-exodus-housing-cost/\">The state needed to build 220,000 new homes per year\u003c/a> for two decades to meet its population’s needs, California’s Department of Housing and Community Development estimated in 2000. Last year, the state added just 113,130.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As a result, rents are unaffordable for many Californians. The median rent for a two-bedroom home in San José, for example, is $3,100, according to Zillow. It’s the same in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ann Owens, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California specializing in social inequality and housing, believes everyone has a right to housing. But she’s not sure how much good putting it in the state’s constitution will do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The resources part, I think, is where the right to housing often hits a wall,” she said. “You can have this constitutional amendment, but what happens when you don’t actually have the money to provide it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AB-2405.pdf\">vetoed a bill that would have guaranteed a right to housing (PDF)\u003c/a>, citing its estimated price tag of more than $10 billion a year. An analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee laid out billions in potential costs for state agencies to design programs and connect people with housing and other services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney’s amendment doesn’t yet have a cost estimate. California \u003ca href=\"https://calneeds.csh.org/\">would have to spend $8.1 billion a year for the next dozen years\u003c/a> to house all its unhoused residents, according to a 2022 analysis by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the California Housing Partnership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, several lawmakers expressed concern that a right to housing would go too far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/joe-patterson-1982/\">Joe Patterson, a Granite Bay Republican\u003c/a>, voted against the measure in committee last week. He said he’s “really scared” about the leeway California’s judges would have when interpreting a right to housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/jesse-gabriel-1981/\">Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Woodland Hills\u003c/a> and an attorney, worried it would subject every budget decision the Legislature makes to litigation. If legislators allocate money to clean energy or health care, he asked, could someone sue because that money wasn’t being spent on housing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The major, major heartburn I’m having right now is around enforcement and implementation of this,” he said, though he ended up voting for the amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney dismissed Gabriel’s argument as a “straw man if there ever was one.” But he promised to work with legislators, constitutional experts and housing leaders to address his colleagues’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure narrowly passed the Assembly’s housing committee and next must clear appropriations.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>California renter groups back amendment\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If this idea makes it onto the ballot and voters OK it, California would become the first U.S. state to legally recognize a right to housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would be a really big deal,” said Eric Tars, legal director for the National Homelessness Law Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not for lack of trying that it hasn’t been done before. Attempts in 2020 and in 2022 to put the right in the state constitution both failed — neither was heard in committee. And \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/12/california-homeless-housing-podcast/\">Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg proposed a right to housing\u003c/a> in his city, paired with an obligation for unhoused people to accept a bed when it was offered, but it didn’t get far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new state proposal likely will meet the same fate, said political consultant Steven Maviglio, who served as spokesperson for the campaign against \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-21-rent-control/\">California’s Proposition 21 rent control initiative\u003c/a> in 2020. Local officials likely will balk at the cost, he said, as will individual homeowners worried about tax increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see it having a very long future,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 housing and renter advocacy groups and other organizations support the amendment, which is co-sponsored by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action, ACLU California Action, Abundant Housing LA and several others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No organizations are on the record opposing the amendment, but the League of California Cities has expressed reservations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cal Cities has concerns with ACA 10, as it does not include the significant investment needed from the state to jumpstart the construction of sorely needed affordable housing throughout California,” Jason Rhine, assistant director of legislative affairs said in an emailed statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s next?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To make it onto the March 2024 primary ballot, the right-to-housing amendment must pass the Legislature before it adjourns in mid-September. To hit the November 2024 ballot, it has until June 2024. It needs a two-thirds vote in both houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After hearing the feedback from his colleagues Wednesday, Haney said it might take longer than this year to pass his measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not trying to rush this just to force it to the ballot,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it does pass, Haney hopes it will help people like Peggy Pleasant, who spoke at the committee hearing on behalf of the amendment. The Los Angeles mother lost her job in 2008 and became unhoused, sleeping with her daughter in her car until it was repossessed. She eventually found housing, but recognizes she’s one of the lucky few who did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re homeless, you lose housing, whatever, you lose family members,” Pleasant said. “But you lose your hope. And when you lose your hope, that makes you an inadequate person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "How Caste Discrimination Continues to Affect South Asian Californians",
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"content": "\u003cp>Like many recent arrivals to California, Prem Pariyar searched for work and a home within communities of fellow immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when coworkers at a South Asian restaurant in Davis refused to room with him in an apartment his employer provided, he was shocked by their reason: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952188/california-caste-discrimination\">his caste\u003c/a>. Not his race, religion, or nationality, but the centuries-old social hierarchies still prevalent in some South Asian societies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pariyar is Dalit, which means “broken” in Sanskrit and is considered the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-government-seattle-religion-9acca1a7e005231ecfff35756f211c9c\">lowest-ranking caste\u003c/a>, formerly known as “untouchables.” In Nepal, he said, his family faced violence and harassment. He thought he had escaped that here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was speechless,” he said of his coworkers’ actions, which left him depressed, traumatized and living in a van for a month in 2015 until he quit the restaurant. “Why did these people practice these kinds of things here in the U.S.?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today Pariyar, who won asylum and became a U.S. citizen, is one of California’s most vocal activists for a ban on caste discrimination. After successfully pushing for \u003ca href=\"https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/12891658/latest\">California State University to adopt a ban\u003c/a> in 2022, Pariyar, a social worker in the East Bay, is focused on getting protections for so-called lower-caste people into the state’s fair housing and employment laws.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Prem Pariyar, caste discrimination activist\"]‘I was speechless. Why did these people practice these kinds of things here in the US?’[/pullquote]\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB403\">Legislation\u003c/a> to do that is contentious. In April, it drew one of the largest public hearing turnouts for any bill before California’s Legislature this session. It would be the first statewide measure of its kind in the nation, although Seattle passed a similar ordinance in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many Californians may never know anyone who experiences caste discrimination, or even what it is, for some, it’s both hidden and inescapable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many worshipers at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/shrigururavidasstemplesacramento/\">Shri Guru Ravidass Temple\u003c/a> on the outskirts of Sacramento, the issue is about their families’ futures: Will the discrimination they experienced as Dalits in India follow them to California? Will it stop their children from achieving the American Dream?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/caste-discrimination-california-religion-ravidassia-sikhs-8646f44e891dd681807fe26c06b421c3\">Followers of the Ravidass religion\u003c/a>, which is related to Sikhism, belong to the Dalit caste but formed their distinct faith \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/03/india.new.religion/index.html\">as a move against caste discrimination\u003c/a>. On a recent Sunday, between services and a meal, members swapped anecdotes about the discrimination they encountered, including in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In social settings among other South Asians, they said, they’ve heard derogatory comments about Dalits. One man, a hospital janitor, believes he got tougher assignments because his supervisors and colleagues from upper castes played favorites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some said bosses, coworkers and classmates asked\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>probing questions — about their last names, the temple they attended, their relatives’ jobs back home — that to an outsider may seem innocuous, but are common ways to discern someone’s caste background in India.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Raj Rohl, truck driver\"]‘It was really hard for our people to get up, to get a high-paying job and higher education. We struggled a lot. We don’t want that to happen here, so our kids struggle again here to get the education they want, to get the jobs they want.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several who spoke to CalMatters work as truck drivers. In many ways, they said, the legacy of the caste system had already shaped the trajectory of their lives, because it limits the jobs and education available to them both in India and now the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was really hard for our people to get up, to get a high-paying job and higher education,” said Raj Rohl, 40. “We struggled a lot. We don’t want that to happen here, so our kids struggle again here to get the education they want, to get the jobs they want.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Honestly, we don’t really deal with that many Brahmins here,” said Raj Vadhan, 50, referring to the highest caste classification. The bill, he said, would help more with “discrimination going on at the upper-level jobs, the higher-paying jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952646\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952646\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02.jpg\" alt=\"Inside a temple there is an alter covered in white and gold fabric and a man standing in the front of the room. A vase of colorful flowers is at the head of the alter.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Priest Bhai Manhor Singh at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in Rio Linda on June 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>South Asians on the other side of the debate say the bill is unnecessary — and unfair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To tackle discrimination, we have very strong existing laws and existing protections under categories of ancestry and national origin. They can, and should, be used to deal with any issues of caste-based discrimination as they arise — and they have actually already been used,” said Samir Kalra, managing director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.hinduamerican.org/\">Hindu American Foundation\u003c/a>, an advocacy group opposing the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Creating an entire separate category and law that only applies to minority communities is inconsistent with our constitutional norms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The bill’s historical roots\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/aisha-wahab-1987/\">Aisha Wahab\u003c/a>, a first-term Democrat from Fremont, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/04/gavin-newsom-walgreens/#wm-story-1\">wants to add caste as a protected category\u003c/a> to the state Unruh Civil Rights Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the state policy that bans discrimination in public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As our state and country become more and more diverse, our laws have to go further and deeper and clarify more specifically, what is being protected,” she told CalMatters. “And caste discrimination is something that should not take place here in the United States, let alone in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Senate approved her bill, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB403\">SB 403\u003c/a>, on a 34–1 vote on May 11, but advocacy groups opposed to the measure will try again to kill or change it in the Assembly. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/brian-jones-1968/\">Senate Republican leader Brian Jones\u003c/a> of El Cajon was the lone “no” vote, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/05/california-propositions-pigs/#wm-story-2\">calling the bill “duplicative and unnecessarily divisive.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The concept of the South Asian caste system has been in the U.S. since at least 1965 when a \u003ca href=\"https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/APA/Historical-Essays/Growing-Diversity/Hart-Celler/\">federal immigration law overhaul\u003c/a> resulted in immigrants from more Asian countries receiving visas. But because those visas focused on skilled labor, the legacy of caste discrimination in India meant upper-caste Indian immigrants were able to establish themselves in the U.S. decades before lower-caste Hindus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The issue became more prominent recently, partly because the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/706808616/the-powerful-group-shaping-the-rise-of-hindu-nationalism-in-india\">rise of the Hindu nationalist movement\u003c/a> in Indian politics reinforced caste divisions as it sought to unify and strengthen the Hindu identity in India.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the earliest examples of caste making headlines in California: In 1999, federal prosecutors charged Berkeley real estate magnate Lakireddy Bali Reddy, as well as his brother, sister-in-law and sons, for smuggling Indian women into the U.S. for illegal sexual activity. Prosecutors said Reddy “took advantage of casteism and economic class to exploit these women.” He was convicted of sex trafficking and \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/11/12/lakireddy-bali-reddy-dead-berkeley\">spent eight years in federal prison\u003c/a> before dying in Oakland in 2021.[aside postID=news_11952188 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63760_AP23081730685175-qut-1020x680.jpg']Caste issues have surfaced prominently in Silicon Valley, where \u003ca href=\"https://siliconvalleyindicators.org/data/people/talent-flows-diversity/tech-talent/share-of-residents-in-technical-occupations-with-a-bachelors-degree-or-higher-by-place-of-origin/\">Indian workers with bachelor’s degrees made up 27% of tech workers in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in 2021\u003c/a>. In April 2021, the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission held informational hearings about caste discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, what is now the \u003ca href=\"https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/\">state Civil Rights Department\u003c/a> sued Cisco, the San José-based networking and cloud management company, and two engineers after an employee filed a complaint alleging he received less pay and fewer opportunities because he was Dalit. He also said the defendants retaliated against him when he spoke out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two engineers denied the allegations, saying in court filings they reject caste hierarchies and recruited the employee to Cisco with competitive pay and stock options.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>The state dropped its case against the engineers, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/calif-scraps-caste-bias-case-cisco-engineers-company-still-sued-rcna79434\">continues the suit against the company\u003c/a>. The state and Cisco are in mediation talks. Attorneys for the company and the two engineers did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Legislating conflict\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While caste discrimination is difficult for corporations to navigate, it’s also a thorny issue for politicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rohit Chopra, a professor of global media and cultural identity at Santa Clara University, said some politicians don’t want to be seen as targeting any community — including the Indian community, which has political clout. That gives the opposition a window of opportunity, particularly those in the “Hindu right,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever organizations are sort of spearheading this … they keep appropriating this right to speak for all Hindus and all Indians,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahab, the first Afghan-American lawmaker in the Legislature, is not South Asian, but represents a district that is home to many. In response to the bill, she said she has been the \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6267016/aisha-wahab-interview-caste-discrimination/\">target of threats and derogatory comments about her identity\u003c/a>, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article274935271.html\">a recall campaign\u003c/a> led by \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/tandon4congress/status/1658112022062551042\">congressional candidate Ritesh Tandon\u003c/a>, a San José-area former Cisco engineer. He says his platform includes protecting Silicon Valley jobs, addressing climate change and ending racial preferences in hiring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two South Asians in the Legislature: Democratic Assemblymembers \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/ash-kalra-1972/\">Ash Kalra\u003c/a> from San José and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/jasmeet-bains-1985/\">Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a> from Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bains, who represents a large Sikh population, signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill in mid-April, but did not respond to requests for an interview on her reasons.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Kalra, who is not a co-sponsor and represents part of Silicon Valley, declined an interview. Neither has had to vote on the bill yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naindeep Singh, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.jakara.org/\">Jakara Movement\u003c/a>, a community organizing group for Sikh Californians, said the group supports the bill because “while Sikh theology calls for caste abolitionism, still among some Sikh societies casteism is still practiced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some opponents say the bill will make them targets for discrimination, Singh argues that much of the opposition is in bad faith. “The argument that the bill singles out South Asian communities is a canard,” he said. “It is rather simple: If you don’t discriminate against others based on caste, you have little to fear with SB 403’s passage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalra, of the Hindu American Foundation, pushed back on that argument.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re already going to be assumed to be caste-ist just as a South Asian, so you are already facing suspicion. And if you are falsely accused, it’s a nightmare to go through that process,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The foundation has submitted amendments to the bill that would remove language such as “caste-oppressed,” which it says would result in racial profiling of South Asians, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amar Shergill, the former chairperson of the \u003ca href=\"https://mailchi.mp/shergilllawfirm/amarchair?fbclid=IwAR0n976oPLPphVKUk9wFhiizn2BDTW8PChbOHP_6VTprCEK9DfpFD80j6Wk\">California Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus\u003c/a> whose family is from India, said politicians have hesitated to discuss caste, but “thankfully, we are at that place now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s face it, this is a difficult issue to discuss,” he said. “Like so many issues of oppression within the community — whether it’s sex discrimination or child abuse or caste oppression — folks don’t want to talk about the pain in their own community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>It’s a small world\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The caste bill is the latest flashpoint as immigrants bring conflicts from their home country to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/immigrants-in-california/\">state is home to 10.5 million immigrants\u003c/a> — 23% of the foreign-born population nationwide, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Nearly a third of California’s population is foreign-born, and almost half of California children have at least one immigrant parent. The fall of the Soviet Union, wars and other global conflicts touched off new waves of migration to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Included in those waves are Asian Americans, who make up about 15% of the state’s population, according to the 2020 Census. In 2021, nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/california-asian-population/\">1 million in California self-identified as South Asian\u003c/a> — from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, according to an analysis by the University of Minnesota.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data on subgroups of immigrants, such as by caste, can be more difficult to track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 2016 national survey by the Oakland-based activist group Equality Labs \u003ca href=\"https://www.equalitylabs.org/castesurvey/#key-findings\">found that\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.equalitylabs.org/\">two-thirds of Dalit respondents said they had been mistreated at work\u003c/a>, one-third said they experienced discrimination during their education and one-half said they feared being “outed.” In a 2022 research paper Pariyar co-authored while studying at Cal State East Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/article/view/320/106\">24 of 27 Dalit Nepalis interviewed in the Bay Area said they had experienced some form of caste-based discrimination\u003c/a>, including two who said they were forced out by roommates or landlords when their caste was discovered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opponents of the bill say \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/search?q=carnegie%20(from%3ACoHNAOfficial)&src=typed_query\">caste discrimination reports are overstated\u003c/a> in the Equality Labs survey. They point instead to a broader 2021 survey of Indian Americans in the U.S. by the \u003ca href=\"https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/09/social-realities-of-indian-americans-results-from-2020-indian-american-attitudes-survey-pub-84667\">Carnegie Endowment for International Peace\u003c/a> in which only 5% of respondents reported experiencing caste discrimination — though the study notes that the majority of respondents who were Hindu and identified with a caste reported being from an upper caste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What is caste?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nA centuries-old class system in South Asia, determined by birth. People in the lowest social and religious class were long called “untouchables.” The concept has been in the U.S. since at least the mid-1960s when more immigrants arrived from South Asia.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>How does caste lead to discrimination?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nAt work, people in lower castes say those in higher castes give them less pay, fewer promotions and tougher assignments. In social settings, caste can limit relationships and marriages and lead to isolation. In the most extreme cases, it has led to harassment, or even violence.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What would this bill do?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB403\">Senate Bill 403\u003c/a> would add caste as a legally protected category to the state Unruh Civil Rights Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the state anti-discrimination policy in public schools. The bill bans discrimination based on caste, whether the person is in a high or low position.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What do supporters say?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/202320240SB403_Senate-Judiciary.pdf\">California has expanded protections to other marginalized groups (PDF)\u003c/a>, and discrimination based on caste is common enough that businesses and schools need clarity on what state law requires.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What do opponents say?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/202320240SB403_Senate-Judiciary.pdf\">California already bans discrimination based ancestry, national origin and religion (PDF)\u003c/a> so this bill is unnecessary. It could deepen caste divisions and could target all South Asians for legal scrutiny.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Scholars such as Audrey Truschke, a historian of South Asia and associate professor at Rutgers University, say California has set a precedent for addressing issues that affect even “micro-minorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be due to California’s diverse population, which has long forced its lawmakers to confront broader issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take, for instance, an international dispute between Armenian and Turkish people. Among California’s oldest and largest immigrant populations, Armenians first settled in Fresno as early as the 1870s and in larger numbers after World War I, following their deportation from what is now Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died from starvation or disease during the forced expulsion in 1915 and 1916 to Syria and elsewhere, in what most scholars call a genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California officially recognized the genocide in 1968. But the Republic of Turkey balked, acknowledging the deaths but denying what occurred was systemic. And due to its alliance with Turkey, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/24/us-formally-recognized-armenian-genocide-why-now-century-later/\">the United States did not recognize the conflict as a genocide until April 2021\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/adrin-nazarian-1973/\">Adrin Nazarian\u003c/a>, who pushed for a 2022 law establishing Genocide Remembrance Day in California, said he wrote the bill in a way that would not just solely acknowledge the trauma of the Armenian community\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s only respectful if we have a day of commemoration that every community can identify with,” he said. “No one’s trauma is at the end of the day greater than the others, or at least we should never treat it that way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more recent example was in 2017, when then-Assemblymember Rob Bonta authored a bill to repeal a Cold War-era \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article151145112.html\">ban on communists working for the state\u003c/a>, though it was rarely enforced. Bonta, now attorney general, said he pulled his bill out of respect for Vietnamese immigrants who had fled the communist regime in Vietnam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vincent Tran, organizing director for VietRise, an advocacy group for the Vietnamese community in Orange County, said many immigrants’ political activism is rooted in both the conflicts they fled and quality-of-life issues such as affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s part of the bigger plan to institutionalize the identity,” Tran said. “What does it mean to be Vietnamese American?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the case of caste, Dalit activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan of Equality Labs said the anti-discrimination bill is more than a statement on international politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not about, ‘We need to make a moral stand,’” she said, “It’s actually that California institutions, California workers and California renters are being impacted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Necessary, or duplicative?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At the heart of the state’s debate now: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/202320240SB403_Senate-Judiciary.pdf\">Does California already prohibit caste discrimination? (PDF)\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Cisco case shows that the state can already act on allegations of caste discrimination, though the company in court filings has contended that caste is not a protected identity.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>California’s civil rights department said current law allows renters and employees to make caste-based discrimination claims under the state’s bans of discrimination based on race or ancestry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department could not say — out of the more than 10,000 annual complaints of racial or ancestry-based discrimination — how many mention caste. Nor would it comment on how adding caste to the law would specifically affect how it handles those complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://e.infogram.com/3cdbfbc6-92b0-42d5-b15d-ab647b2c2b68?src=embed\" title=\"Employment discrimination\" width=\"550\" height=\"882\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Generally speaking, any effort to further strengthen existing civil rights protections may result in an increase in complaints filed with our office,” a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Should that occur, the Civil Rights Department will work with the Legislature to ensure any new workload is adequately resourced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Jessica Ramey Stender, policy director with \u003ca href=\"https://www.equalrights.org/\">Equal Rights Advocates\u003c/a>, which provides legal assistance to workers, said the bill is necessary to add clarity, despite existing protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key to a discrimination case, of course, is that you are treated differently or adversely based on a protected characteristic,” she said. “And so if the two workers who are being treated differently are of the same race, national origin or ancestry, they may not be able to establish a claim if (they’re) being discriminated against based on being of a different caste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guha Krishnamurthi, an associate professor of law at the University of Oklahoma who has studied the bill, said he understands the “ever-present anxiety that one might worry about being sued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re balancing the potential for frivolous cases against making sure people who are facing legitimate cases of caste discrimination have a way of remedying that,” he said. “As a lawyer who believes in the truth-finding function, I am not as worried about our system not being able to ferret out frivolous cases.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that the bill also serves an educational purpose: “It tells managers and companies, don’t do this. But it also tells HR departments — be vigilant about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952647\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11952647 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03.jpg\" alt=\"A bearded Indian man with glasses, a dark blue turban priest, and a long, light-blue tunic stands before a wall-size, colorful graphic illustration of another bearded Indian man.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Head priest Bhai Gurdeep Singh at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in Rio Linda on June 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While state law could address discrimination in the workplace, it would be far more difficult to do so in other parts of daily life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews, several Californians of Dalit descent described experiencing how other South Asians had subtly divided them based on caste. Some said it came in the form of ostracism at school — sometimes by parents of their classmates who found out about their family background — and in university groups or immigrant social circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pooja Singh, founder of Hindus for Caste Equity, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that when a health care colleague bragged about her family’s upper-caste background, she could see her promotion opportunities shrink because her boss was also from that upper-caste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I found out you could go to HR, I just didn’t even take it, because nobody would understand that,” she said. “Americans see, like, Asians fighting Asians. They think it’s personal grudges or something. They don’t understand it’s a caste issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CalMatters newsletter writer \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/lynn-la/\">\u003cem>Lynn La\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A bill to ban caste discrimination in California brings a global conflict to the Legislature. While many South Asian groups support it, some anticipate it may backfire.",
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"title": "How Caste Discrimination Continues to Affect South Asian Californians | KQED",
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"headline": "How Caste Discrimination Continues to Affect South Asian Californians",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/caste-discrimination-california/\">Sameea Kamal and Jeanne Kuang\u003c/a>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Like many recent arrivals to California, Prem Pariyar searched for work and a home within communities of fellow immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when coworkers at a South Asian restaurant in Davis refused to room with him in an apartment his employer provided, he was shocked by their reason: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952188/california-caste-discrimination\">his caste\u003c/a>. Not his race, religion, or nationality, but the centuries-old social hierarchies still prevalent in some South Asian societies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pariyar is Dalit, which means “broken” in Sanskrit and is considered the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-government-seattle-religion-9acca1a7e005231ecfff35756f211c9c\">lowest-ranking caste\u003c/a>, formerly known as “untouchables.” In Nepal, he said, his family faced violence and harassment. He thought he had escaped that here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was speechless,” he said of his coworkers’ actions, which left him depressed, traumatized and living in a van for a month in 2015 until he quit the restaurant. “Why did these people practice these kinds of things here in the U.S.?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today Pariyar, who won asylum and became a U.S. citizen, is one of California’s most vocal activists for a ban on caste discrimination. After successfully pushing for \u003ca href=\"https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/12891658/latest\">California State University to adopt a ban\u003c/a> in 2022, Pariyar, a social worker in the East Bay, is focused on getting protections for so-called lower-caste people into the state’s fair housing and employment laws.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB403\">Legislation\u003c/a> to do that is contentious. In April, it drew one of the largest public hearing turnouts for any bill before California’s Legislature this session. It would be the first statewide measure of its kind in the nation, although Seattle passed a similar ordinance in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many Californians may never know anyone who experiences caste discrimination, or even what it is, for some, it’s both hidden and inescapable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many worshipers at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/shrigururavidasstemplesacramento/\">Shri Guru Ravidass Temple\u003c/a> on the outskirts of Sacramento, the issue is about their families’ futures: Will the discrimination they experienced as Dalits in India follow them to California? Will it stop their children from achieving the American Dream?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/caste-discrimination-california-religion-ravidassia-sikhs-8646f44e891dd681807fe26c06b421c3\">Followers of the Ravidass religion\u003c/a>, which is related to Sikhism, belong to the Dalit caste but formed their distinct faith \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/03/india.new.religion/index.html\">as a move against caste discrimination\u003c/a>. On a recent Sunday, between services and a meal, members swapped anecdotes about the discrimination they encountered, including in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In social settings among other South Asians, they said, they’ve heard derogatory comments about Dalits. One man, a hospital janitor, believes he got tougher assignments because his supervisors and colleagues from upper castes played favorites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some said bosses, coworkers and classmates asked\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>probing questions — about their last names, the temple they attended, their relatives’ jobs back home — that to an outsider may seem innocuous, but are common ways to discern someone’s caste background in India.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘It was really hard for our people to get up, to get a high-paying job and higher education. We struggled a lot. We don’t want that to happen here, so our kids struggle again here to get the education they want, to get the jobs they want.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several who spoke to CalMatters work as truck drivers. In many ways, they said, the legacy of the caste system had already shaped the trajectory of their lives, because it limits the jobs and education available to them both in India and now the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was really hard for our people to get up, to get a high-paying job and higher education,” said Raj Rohl, 40. “We struggled a lot. We don’t want that to happen here, so our kids struggle again here to get the education they want, to get the jobs they want.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Honestly, we don’t really deal with that many Brahmins here,” said Raj Vadhan, 50, referring to the highest caste classification. The bill, he said, would help more with “discrimination going on at the upper-level jobs, the higher-paying jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952646\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952646\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02.jpg\" alt=\"Inside a temple there is an alter covered in white and gold fabric and a man standing in the front of the room. A vase of colorful flowers is at the head of the alter.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters02-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Priest Bhai Manhor Singh at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in Rio Linda on June 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>South Asians on the other side of the debate say the bill is unnecessary — and unfair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To tackle discrimination, we have very strong existing laws and existing protections under categories of ancestry and national origin. They can, and should, be used to deal with any issues of caste-based discrimination as they arise — and they have actually already been used,” said Samir Kalra, managing director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.hinduamerican.org/\">Hindu American Foundation\u003c/a>, an advocacy group opposing the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Creating an entire separate category and law that only applies to minority communities is inconsistent with our constitutional norms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The bill’s historical roots\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/aisha-wahab-1987/\">Aisha Wahab\u003c/a>, a first-term Democrat from Fremont, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/04/gavin-newsom-walgreens/#wm-story-1\">wants to add caste as a protected category\u003c/a> to the state Unruh Civil Rights Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the state policy that bans discrimination in public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As our state and country become more and more diverse, our laws have to go further and deeper and clarify more specifically, what is being protected,” she told CalMatters. “And caste discrimination is something that should not take place here in the United States, let alone in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Senate approved her bill, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB403\">SB 403\u003c/a>, on a 34–1 vote on May 11, but advocacy groups opposed to the measure will try again to kill or change it in the Assembly. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/brian-jones-1968/\">Senate Republican leader Brian Jones\u003c/a> of El Cajon was the lone “no” vote, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/05/california-propositions-pigs/#wm-story-2\">calling the bill “duplicative and unnecessarily divisive.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The concept of the South Asian caste system has been in the U.S. since at least 1965 when a \u003ca href=\"https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/APA/Historical-Essays/Growing-Diversity/Hart-Celler/\">federal immigration law overhaul\u003c/a> resulted in immigrants from more Asian countries receiving visas. But because those visas focused on skilled labor, the legacy of caste discrimination in India meant upper-caste Indian immigrants were able to establish themselves in the U.S. decades before lower-caste Hindus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The issue became more prominent recently, partly because the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/706808616/the-powerful-group-shaping-the-rise-of-hindu-nationalism-in-india\">rise of the Hindu nationalist movement\u003c/a> in Indian politics reinforced caste divisions as it sought to unify and strengthen the Hindu identity in India.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the earliest examples of caste making headlines in California: In 1999, federal prosecutors charged Berkeley real estate magnate Lakireddy Bali Reddy, as well as his brother, sister-in-law and sons, for smuggling Indian women into the U.S. for illegal sexual activity. Prosecutors said Reddy “took advantage of casteism and economic class to exploit these women.” He was convicted of sex trafficking and \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/11/12/lakireddy-bali-reddy-dead-berkeley\">spent eight years in federal prison\u003c/a> before dying in Oakland in 2021.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Caste issues have surfaced prominently in Silicon Valley, where \u003ca href=\"https://siliconvalleyindicators.org/data/people/talent-flows-diversity/tech-talent/share-of-residents-in-technical-occupations-with-a-bachelors-degree-or-higher-by-place-of-origin/\">Indian workers with bachelor’s degrees made up 27% of tech workers in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in 2021\u003c/a>. In April 2021, the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission held informational hearings about caste discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, what is now the \u003ca href=\"https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/\">state Civil Rights Department\u003c/a> sued Cisco, the San José-based networking and cloud management company, and two engineers after an employee filed a complaint alleging he received less pay and fewer opportunities because he was Dalit. He also said the defendants retaliated against him when he spoke out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two engineers denied the allegations, saying in court filings they reject caste hierarchies and recruited the employee to Cisco with competitive pay and stock options.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>The state dropped its case against the engineers, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/calif-scraps-caste-bias-case-cisco-engineers-company-still-sued-rcna79434\">continues the suit against the company\u003c/a>. The state and Cisco are in mediation talks. Attorneys for the company and the two engineers did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Legislating conflict\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While caste discrimination is difficult for corporations to navigate, it’s also a thorny issue for politicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rohit Chopra, a professor of global media and cultural identity at Santa Clara University, said some politicians don’t want to be seen as targeting any community — including the Indian community, which has political clout. That gives the opposition a window of opportunity, particularly those in the “Hindu right,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever organizations are sort of spearheading this … they keep appropriating this right to speak for all Hindus and all Indians,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahab, the first Afghan-American lawmaker in the Legislature, is not South Asian, but represents a district that is home to many. In response to the bill, she said she has been the \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6267016/aisha-wahab-interview-caste-discrimination/\">target of threats and derogatory comments about her identity\u003c/a>, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article274935271.html\">a recall campaign\u003c/a> led by \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/tandon4congress/status/1658112022062551042\">congressional candidate Ritesh Tandon\u003c/a>, a San José-area former Cisco engineer. He says his platform includes protecting Silicon Valley jobs, addressing climate change and ending racial preferences in hiring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two South Asians in the Legislature: Democratic Assemblymembers \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/ash-kalra-1972/\">Ash Kalra\u003c/a> from San José and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/jasmeet-bains-1985/\">Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a> from Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bains, who represents a large Sikh population, signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill in mid-April, but did not respond to requests for an interview on her reasons.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Kalra, who is not a co-sponsor and represents part of Silicon Valley, declined an interview. Neither has had to vote on the bill yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naindeep Singh, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.jakara.org/\">Jakara Movement\u003c/a>, a community organizing group for Sikh Californians, said the group supports the bill because “while Sikh theology calls for caste abolitionism, still among some Sikh societies casteism is still practiced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some opponents say the bill will make them targets for discrimination, Singh argues that much of the opposition is in bad faith. “The argument that the bill singles out South Asian communities is a canard,” he said. “It is rather simple: If you don’t discriminate against others based on caste, you have little to fear with SB 403’s passage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalra, of the Hindu American Foundation, pushed back on that argument.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re already going to be assumed to be caste-ist just as a South Asian, so you are already facing suspicion. And if you are falsely accused, it’s a nightmare to go through that process,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The foundation has submitted amendments to the bill that would remove language such as “caste-oppressed,” which it says would result in racial profiling of South Asians, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amar Shergill, the former chairperson of the \u003ca href=\"https://mailchi.mp/shergilllawfirm/amarchair?fbclid=IwAR0n976oPLPphVKUk9wFhiizn2BDTW8PChbOHP_6VTprCEK9DfpFD80j6Wk\">California Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus\u003c/a> whose family is from India, said politicians have hesitated to discuss caste, but “thankfully, we are at that place now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s face it, this is a difficult issue to discuss,” he said. “Like so many issues of oppression within the community — whether it’s sex discrimination or child abuse or caste oppression — folks don’t want to talk about the pain in their own community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>It’s a small world\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The caste bill is the latest flashpoint as immigrants bring conflicts from their home country to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/immigrants-in-california/\">state is home to 10.5 million immigrants\u003c/a> — 23% of the foreign-born population nationwide, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Nearly a third of California’s population is foreign-born, and almost half of California children have at least one immigrant parent. The fall of the Soviet Union, wars and other global conflicts touched off new waves of migration to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Included in those waves are Asian Americans, who make up about 15% of the state’s population, according to the 2020 Census. In 2021, nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/california-asian-population/\">1 million in California self-identified as South Asian\u003c/a> — from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, according to an analysis by the University of Minnesota.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data on subgroups of immigrants, such as by caste, can be more difficult to track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 2016 national survey by the Oakland-based activist group Equality Labs \u003ca href=\"https://www.equalitylabs.org/castesurvey/#key-findings\">found that\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.equalitylabs.org/\">two-thirds of Dalit respondents said they had been mistreated at work\u003c/a>, one-third said they experienced discrimination during their education and one-half said they feared being “outed.” In a 2022 research paper Pariyar co-authored while studying at Cal State East Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/article/view/320/106\">24 of 27 Dalit Nepalis interviewed in the Bay Area said they had experienced some form of caste-based discrimination\u003c/a>, including two who said they were forced out by roommates or landlords when their caste was discovered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opponents of the bill say \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/search?q=carnegie%20(from%3ACoHNAOfficial)&src=typed_query\">caste discrimination reports are overstated\u003c/a> in the Equality Labs survey. They point instead to a broader 2021 survey of Indian Americans in the U.S. by the \u003ca href=\"https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/09/social-realities-of-indian-americans-results-from-2020-indian-american-attitudes-survey-pub-84667\">Carnegie Endowment for International Peace\u003c/a> in which only 5% of respondents reported experiencing caste discrimination — though the study notes that the majority of respondents who were Hindu and identified with a caste reported being from an upper caste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What is caste?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nA centuries-old class system in South Asia, determined by birth. People in the lowest social and religious class were long called “untouchables.” The concept has been in the U.S. since at least the mid-1960s when more immigrants arrived from South Asia.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>How does caste lead to discrimination?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nAt work, people in lower castes say those in higher castes give them less pay, fewer promotions and tougher assignments. In social settings, caste can limit relationships and marriages and lead to isolation. In the most extreme cases, it has led to harassment, or even violence.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What would this bill do?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB403\">Senate Bill 403\u003c/a> would add caste as a legally protected category to the state Unruh Civil Rights Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the state anti-discrimination policy in public schools. The bill bans discrimination based on caste, whether the person is in a high or low position.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What do supporters say?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/202320240SB403_Senate-Judiciary.pdf\">California has expanded protections to other marginalized groups (PDF)\u003c/a>, and discrimination based on caste is common enough that businesses and schools need clarity on what state law requires.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>What do opponents say?\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/202320240SB403_Senate-Judiciary.pdf\">California already bans discrimination based ancestry, national origin and religion (PDF)\u003c/a> so this bill is unnecessary. It could deepen caste divisions and could target all South Asians for legal scrutiny.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Scholars such as Audrey Truschke, a historian of South Asia and associate professor at Rutgers University, say California has set a precedent for addressing issues that affect even “micro-minorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be due to California’s diverse population, which has long forced its lawmakers to confront broader issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take, for instance, an international dispute between Armenian and Turkish people. Among California’s oldest and largest immigrant populations, Armenians first settled in Fresno as early as the 1870s and in larger numbers after World War I, following their deportation from what is now Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died from starvation or disease during the forced expulsion in 1915 and 1916 to Syria and elsewhere, in what most scholars call a genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California officially recognized the genocide in 1968. But the Republic of Turkey balked, acknowledging the deaths but denying what occurred was systemic. And due to its alliance with Turkey, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/24/us-formally-recognized-armenian-genocide-why-now-century-later/\">the United States did not recognize the conflict as a genocide until April 2021\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/adrin-nazarian-1973/\">Adrin Nazarian\u003c/a>, who pushed for a 2022 law establishing Genocide Remembrance Day in California, said he wrote the bill in a way that would not just solely acknowledge the trauma of the Armenian community\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s only respectful if we have a day of commemoration that every community can identify with,” he said. “No one’s trauma is at the end of the day greater than the others, or at least we should never treat it that way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more recent example was in 2017, when then-Assemblymember Rob Bonta authored a bill to repeal a Cold War-era \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article151145112.html\">ban on communists working for the state\u003c/a>, though it was rarely enforced. Bonta, now attorney general, said he pulled his bill out of respect for Vietnamese immigrants who had fled the communist regime in Vietnam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vincent Tran, organizing director for VietRise, an advocacy group for the Vietnamese community in Orange County, said many immigrants’ political activism is rooted in both the conflicts they fled and quality-of-life issues such as affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s part of the bigger plan to institutionalize the identity,” Tran said. “What does it mean to be Vietnamese American?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the case of caste, Dalit activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan of Equality Labs said the anti-discrimination bill is more than a statement on international politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not about, ‘We need to make a moral stand,’” she said, “It’s actually that California institutions, California workers and California renters are being impacted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Necessary, or duplicative?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At the heart of the state’s debate now: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/202320240SB403_Senate-Judiciary.pdf\">Does California already prohibit caste discrimination? (PDF)\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Cisco case shows that the state can already act on allegations of caste discrimination, though the company in court filings has contended that caste is not a protected identity.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>California’s civil rights department said current law allows renters and employees to make caste-based discrimination claims under the state’s bans of discrimination based on race or ancestry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department could not say — out of the more than 10,000 annual complaints of racial or ancestry-based discrimination — how many mention caste. Nor would it comment on how adding caste to the law would specifically affect how it handles those complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://e.infogram.com/3cdbfbc6-92b0-42d5-b15d-ab647b2c2b68?src=embed\" title=\"Employment discrimination\" width=\"550\" height=\"882\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Generally speaking, any effort to further strengthen existing civil rights protections may result in an increase in complaints filed with our office,” a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Should that occur, the Civil Rights Department will work with the Legislature to ensure any new workload is adequately resourced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Jessica Ramey Stender, policy director with \u003ca href=\"https://www.equalrights.org/\">Equal Rights Advocates\u003c/a>, which provides legal assistance to workers, said the bill is necessary to add clarity, despite existing protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key to a discrimination case, of course, is that you are treated differently or adversely based on a protected characteristic,” she said. “And so if the two workers who are being treated differently are of the same race, national origin or ancestry, they may not be able to establish a claim if (they’re) being discriminated against based on being of a different caste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guha Krishnamurthi, an associate professor of law at the University of Oklahoma who has studied the bill, said he understands the “ever-present anxiety that one might worry about being sued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re balancing the potential for frivolous cases against making sure people who are facing legitimate cases of caste discrimination have a way of remedying that,” he said. “As a lawyer who believes in the truth-finding function, I am not as worried about our system not being able to ferret out frivolous cases.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that the bill also serves an educational purpose: “It tells managers and companies, don’t do this. But it also tells HR departments — be vigilant about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952647\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11952647 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03.jpg\" alt=\"A bearded Indian man with glasses, a dark blue turban priest, and a long, light-blue tunic stands before a wall-size, colorful graphic illustration of another bearded Indian man.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/CalMatters03-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Head priest Bhai Gurdeep Singh at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in Rio Linda on June 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While state law could address discrimination in the workplace, it would be far more difficult to do so in other parts of daily life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews, several Californians of Dalit descent described experiencing how other South Asians had subtly divided them based on caste. Some said it came in the form of ostracism at school — sometimes by parents of their classmates who found out about their family background — and in university groups or immigrant social circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pooja Singh, founder of Hindus for Caste Equity, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that when a health care colleague bragged about her family’s upper-caste background, she could see her promotion opportunities shrink because her boss was also from that upper-caste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I found out you could go to HR, I just didn’t even take it, because nobody would understand that,” she said. “Americans see, like, Asians fighting Asians. They think it’s personal grudges or something. They don’t understand it’s a caste issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CalMatters newsletter writer \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/lynn-la/\">\u003cem>Lynn La\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them",
"title": "80 Ranchers Ignored Emergency Water Orders and Kept Pumping. Will Tripling the Fines Stop Them?",
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"headTitle": "80 Ranchers Ignored Emergency Water Orders and Kept Pumping. Will Tripling the Fines Stop Them? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When ranchers \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/shasta-river-water-standoff/\">violated an emergency order\u003c/a> to stop pumping water from the drought-plagued Shasta River last year, state officials fined them $4,000, or roughly $50 each. Now California legislators are weighing \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB460\">a bill that would triple fines for such infractions\u003c/a> — and could allow the penalty to climb higher than a million dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, a Democrat from San Ramon, the bill cleared the Assembly in a 43-to-20 vote last week and is now awaiting discussion in Senate committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed legislation aims to give California’s water enforcers more muscle to act swiftly and levy larger penalties for water agencies, irrigation districts and landowners who violate state orders and policies by pumping from rivers and streams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='More On Water' link1='https://www.kqed.org/news/11931467/california-has-bold-plans-to-address-water-security-and-boost-supply-but-will-they-succeed,California Has Bold Plans to Address Water Security and Boost Supply']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer-Kahan introduced AB 460 after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/11/california-ranchers-drought-fine/\">CalMatters reported\u003c/a> in November that the state had imposed minimal fines on about 80 Siskiyou County ranchers — served by the Shasta River Water Association — who had violated an emergency order to stop pumping. \u003ca href=\"https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/11517500/#parameterCode=00060&startDT=2022-08-16&endDT=2022-08-26\">The river’s flows plunged by more than half\u003c/a>, threatening ecosystems and rare fish such as salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet in a public demonstration of the state’s limited powers, the ranchers kept the pumps on for eight days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paying the fines was worth it to them to take what they took, and that shows a real weakness in what we have done,” Bauer-Kahan said. “It was so clear that our law was not working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The State Water Resources Control Board’s maximum fine under existing law is $500 per day. The state also can issue a cease and desist order, which carries maximum fines of $10,000 per day, but it requires a 20-day waiting period and allows the users to seek a public hearing. Such provisions allow the violations to continue for weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The board doesn’t have the tools to act quickly,” said Michael Kiparsky, water program director at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley School of Law. “The fish don’t care if the lawyers are trying to figure out who’s right or wrong if they’re dead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952643\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/09/80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them/082922-shasta-river-water-mhn-cm-02/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11952643\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11952643 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man in jeans and a t-shirt, with a baseball cap, stands next to an empty pond with farm buildings and fields in the background.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim Scala, a rancher in Siskiyou County, looks out over his dry stock pond in Montague on Aug. 29, 2022. Scala and others defied a state order to stop pumping water from the Shasta River. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rick Lemos, a fifth-generation rancher and board member of the Shasta River Water Association, said the ranchers turned their pumps on last August because their cattle were at risk without more water. Costs from hauling water and buying hay were climbing, and the ranchers faced the prospect of selling off cattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could have kept going for $500 a day,” Lemos said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Had the Assembly bill been in force then, the ranchers could have faced daily fines between $1,500 and $10,000, plus $2,500 for every acre-foot of water diverted, which could reach more than $1,000,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Arron 'Troy' Hockaday, member, Karuk Tribal Council\"]‘The fine doesn’t fit the crime. What’s gonna stop them from doing it again this year, or next year? Or anytime they want?’[/pullquote]Lemos said if fines had reached $10,000 per day, “we definitely could have had to rethink it. That’s for damn sure.” Yet, he also added, “I’m not so sure we wouldn’t have done it again. When you got cattle out of water and you have no other options, what are you gonna do? “\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’ve got 5,000 head of cattle that are worth $1,200 apiece, and they’re starting to die, I mean, how much can you spend for eight or 10 days to remedy the problem?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law would target landowners, water agencies and districts that take water from rivers and streams, not individual consumers who turn on their taps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sponsored by conservation groups — California Trout, the Planning and Conservation League and Trout Unlimited — the bill is also supported by the Karuk and Yurok Tribes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fine doesn’t fit the crime,” Karuk Tribal Council Member Arron “Troy” Hockaday said. “What’s gonna stop them from doing it again this year, or next year? Or anytime they want? I mean, you got 80 farmers only paying $50 apiece. They’re gonna keep doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952642\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/09/80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them/082922-shasta-river-water-mhn-cm-11/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11952642\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11952642 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11.jpg\" alt=\"A larger Native man in a plaid button up shirt, with a long string of bright blue beads around his neck, stands in front of a river.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Arron ‘Troy’ Hockaday, a council member of the Karuk Tribe, looks out on the Klamath River in Happy Camp. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But water providers, builders and agricultural groups oppose the bill, saying it is so broad that even those diverting water legally could be ensnared in the expanded water board powers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If (the bill) did nothing else but raise penalties, that would stop what went on on the Shasta,” said Kristopher Anderson, the Association of California Water Agencies’ legislative advocate. But he said, by expanding other authorities, “this bill systematically stacks the deck against water right holders in favor of the water board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One new authority would be issuing interim relief orders to stop diversions or address potential harms. In urgent cases, these could take effect immediately “to prevent imminent or irreparable injury to other legal users of water, or to instream beneficial uses,” the bill says. Water users who ignore an interim relief order could face fines of $10,000 per day and $2,500 per acre-foot diverted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors, an association of public water agencies, said vague definitions in the bill such as ‘irreparable injury’ create uncertainty over what water would actually be available to suppliers in the future, which could impede development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anderson added he would prefer to see enforcement run through the courts rather than state-issued fines — an avenue that the water board could have but did not pursue with the Siskiyou County ranchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But water board officials said in the Shasta River case, seeking a court order would have kicked off a lengthy, resource-intensive battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’ve got both parties who are going to be subject to extensive litigation and litigation costs,” said Yvonne West, director of the water board’s Office of Enforcement. “We thought we could react quicker … In hindsight, we see that we didn’t gain the compliance we were hoping for from those initial actions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952641\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/09/80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them/082922-shasta-river-water-mhn-cm-13/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11952641\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952641\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13.jpg\" alt=\"A river flowing between pine trees\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Klamath River flows outside Happy Camp in August 2022. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bauer-Kahan’s bill is one of several taking aim at the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-water-solutions/#2104d2c3-4a7a-4116-b1c9-3eedc45d49c7\">byzantine, Gold Rush-era water rights system\u003c/a> that state analysts warn has \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2009/water_rights_issues_perspectives_031009.pdf\">promised more water than is available (PDF)\u003c/a>. The system, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/about_us/water_boards_structure/history_water_rights.html\">establishes priority\u003c/a> among users, is facing mounting criticism for its history of inequality and exclusion of Native peoples and people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1337\">Another bill\u003c/a> would expand the state’s powers to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/04/california-water-rights-battle-legislature/\">curtail pumping from rivers and streams\u003c/a> even by water users with claims that predate the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/board_info/water_rights_process.html\">state’s water rights law\u003c/a>, enacted in 1914. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB389\">A third bill\u003c/a> would allow the board to investigate the legitimacy of senior water rights claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All three face opposition from builders, water providers and agriculture. So far they have cleared their houses of origin and are continuing through the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California water watchers say it’s critical to bolster the state’s power to enforce water laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is the genie out of the bottle now?” Berkeley’s Kiparsky asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happens during the next drought now that it’s been very publicly demonstrated that water users can in essence treat the water board’s enforcement actions as an additional, and sometimes very modest, cost of doing business?”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Proposed legislation would expand California's authority to fine water scofflaws. But even if the cost reached $10,000 per day, some ranchers say they might still violate the rules.",
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"title": "80 Ranchers Ignored Emergency Water Orders and Kept Pumping. Will Tripling the Fines Stop Them? | KQED",
"description": "Proposed legislation would expand California's authority to fine water scofflaws. But even if the cost reached $10,000 per day, some ranchers say they might still violate the rules.",
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"headline": "80 Ranchers Ignored Emergency Water Orders and Kept Pumping. Will Tripling the Fines Stop Them?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When ranchers \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/shasta-river-water-standoff/\">violated an emergency order\u003c/a> to stop pumping water from the drought-plagued Shasta River last year, state officials fined them $4,000, or roughly $50 each. Now California legislators are weighing \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB460\">a bill that would triple fines for such infractions\u003c/a> — and could allow the penalty to climb higher than a million dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, a Democrat from San Ramon, the bill cleared the Assembly in a 43-to-20 vote last week and is now awaiting discussion in Senate committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed legislation aims to give California’s water enforcers more muscle to act swiftly and levy larger penalties for water agencies, irrigation districts and landowners who violate state orders and policies by pumping from rivers and streams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"link1": "https://www.kqed.org/news/11931467/california-has-bold-plans-to-address-water-security-and-boost-supply-but-will-they-succeed,California Has Bold Plans to Address Water Security and Boost Supply"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer-Kahan introduced AB 460 after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/11/california-ranchers-drought-fine/\">CalMatters reported\u003c/a> in November that the state had imposed minimal fines on about 80 Siskiyou County ranchers — served by the Shasta River Water Association — who had violated an emergency order to stop pumping. \u003ca href=\"https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/11517500/#parameterCode=00060&startDT=2022-08-16&endDT=2022-08-26\">The river’s flows plunged by more than half\u003c/a>, threatening ecosystems and rare fish such as salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet in a public demonstration of the state’s limited powers, the ranchers kept the pumps on for eight days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paying the fines was worth it to them to take what they took, and that shows a real weakness in what we have done,” Bauer-Kahan said. “It was so clear that our law was not working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The State Water Resources Control Board’s maximum fine under existing law is $500 per day. The state also can issue a cease and desist order, which carries maximum fines of $10,000 per day, but it requires a 20-day waiting period and allows the users to seek a public hearing. Such provisions allow the violations to continue for weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The board doesn’t have the tools to act quickly,” said Michael Kiparsky, water program director at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley School of Law. “The fish don’t care if the lawyers are trying to figure out who’s right or wrong if they’re dead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952643\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/09/80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them/082922-shasta-river-water-mhn-cm-02/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11952643\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11952643 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man in jeans and a t-shirt, with a baseball cap, stands next to an empty pond with farm buildings and fields in the background.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim Scala, a rancher in Siskiyou County, looks out over his dry stock pond in Montague on Aug. 29, 2022. Scala and others defied a state order to stop pumping water from the Shasta River. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rick Lemos, a fifth-generation rancher and board member of the Shasta River Water Association, said the ranchers turned their pumps on last August because their cattle were at risk without more water. Costs from hauling water and buying hay were climbing, and the ranchers faced the prospect of selling off cattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could have kept going for $500 a day,” Lemos said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Had the Assembly bill been in force then, the ranchers could have faced daily fines between $1,500 and $10,000, plus $2,500 for every acre-foot of water diverted, which could reach more than $1,000,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The fine doesn’t fit the crime. What’s gonna stop them from doing it again this year, or next year? Or anytime they want?’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Lemos said if fines had reached $10,000 per day, “we definitely could have had to rethink it. That’s for damn sure.” Yet, he also added, “I’m not so sure we wouldn’t have done it again. When you got cattle out of water and you have no other options, what are you gonna do? “\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’ve got 5,000 head of cattle that are worth $1,200 apiece, and they’re starting to die, I mean, how much can you spend for eight or 10 days to remedy the problem?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law would target landowners, water agencies and districts that take water from rivers and streams, not individual consumers who turn on their taps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sponsored by conservation groups — California Trout, the Planning and Conservation League and Trout Unlimited — the bill is also supported by the Karuk and Yurok Tribes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fine doesn’t fit the crime,” Karuk Tribal Council Member Arron “Troy” Hockaday said. “What’s gonna stop them from doing it again this year, or next year? Or anytime they want? I mean, you got 80 farmers only paying $50 apiece. They’re gonna keep doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952642\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/09/80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them/082922-shasta-river-water-mhn-cm-11/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11952642\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11952642 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11.jpg\" alt=\"A larger Native man in a plaid button up shirt, with a long string of bright blue beads around his neck, stands in front of a river.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-11-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Arron ‘Troy’ Hockaday, a council member of the Karuk Tribe, looks out on the Klamath River in Happy Camp. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But water providers, builders and agricultural groups oppose the bill, saying it is so broad that even those diverting water legally could be ensnared in the expanded water board powers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If (the bill) did nothing else but raise penalties, that would stop what went on on the Shasta,” said Kristopher Anderson, the Association of California Water Agencies’ legislative advocate. But he said, by expanding other authorities, “this bill systematically stacks the deck against water right holders in favor of the water board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One new authority would be issuing interim relief orders to stop diversions or address potential harms. In urgent cases, these could take effect immediately “to prevent imminent or irreparable injury to other legal users of water, or to instream beneficial uses,” the bill says. Water users who ignore an interim relief order could face fines of $10,000 per day and $2,500 per acre-foot diverted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors, an association of public water agencies, said vague definitions in the bill such as ‘irreparable injury’ create uncertainty over what water would actually be available to suppliers in the future, which could impede development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anderson added he would prefer to see enforcement run through the courts rather than state-issued fines — an avenue that the water board could have but did not pursue with the Siskiyou County ranchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But water board officials said in the Shasta River case, seeking a court order would have kicked off a lengthy, resource-intensive battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’ve got both parties who are going to be subject to extensive litigation and litigation costs,” said Yvonne West, director of the water board’s Office of Enforcement. “We thought we could react quicker … In hindsight, we see that we didn’t gain the compliance we were hoping for from those initial actions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952641\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/06/09/80-ranchers-ignored-emergency-water-orders-and-kept-pumping-will-tripling-the-fines-stop-them/082922-shasta-river-water-mhn-cm-13/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11952641\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952641\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13.jpg\" alt=\"A river flowing between pine trees\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/082922-SHASTA-RIVER-WATER-MHN-CM-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Klamath River flows outside Happy Camp in August 2022. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bauer-Kahan’s bill is one of several taking aim at the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-water-solutions/#2104d2c3-4a7a-4116-b1c9-3eedc45d49c7\">byzantine, Gold Rush-era water rights system\u003c/a> that state analysts warn has \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2009/water_rights_issues_perspectives_031009.pdf\">promised more water than is available (PDF)\u003c/a>. The system, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/about_us/water_boards_structure/history_water_rights.html\">establishes priority\u003c/a> among users, is facing mounting criticism for its history of inequality and exclusion of Native peoples and people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1337\">Another bill\u003c/a> would expand the state’s powers to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/04/california-water-rights-battle-legislature/\">curtail pumping from rivers and streams\u003c/a> even by water users with claims that predate the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/board_info/water_rights_process.html\">state’s water rights law\u003c/a>, enacted in 1914. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB389\">A third bill\u003c/a> would allow the board to investigate the legitimacy of senior water rights claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All three face opposition from builders, water providers and agriculture. So far they have cleared their houses of origin and are continuing through the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California water watchers say it’s critical to bolster the state’s power to enforce water laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is the genie out of the bottle now?” Berkeley’s Kiparsky asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>More than 100,000 California tenants whose applications for COVID-era rental assistance were denied or delayed by the state’s housing department will get another shot at relief, thanks to a \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CA-Rent-Relief_Housing-is-Key_ERAP_Signed-Settlement.pdf\">new legal settlement between the state and a coalition of anti-poverty and tenant rights groups (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More aid isn’t guaranteed. But under the terms of the settlement signed at the end of last month, \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CA-Rent-Relief_Housing-is-Key_ERAP_Signed-Settlement.pdf\">California’s Housing and Community Development Department agreed to audit its past denials (PDF)\u003c/a> and improve multilingual access for tenants who don’t speak English as a first language.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Blake Phillips, renter\"]‘I got so far behind because of this program that it literally destroyed my life.’[/pullquote]It also agreed to flesh out the appeal process for applicants and provide more detailed explanations when it denies an application. And it committed to providing more data on the race, ethnicity and location of those who were denied help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s housing department received \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/06/california-eviction-moratorium-deal/\">$5.2 billion in federal relief funds\u003c/a> in 2021 to help struggling tenants keep up with rent while the state’s economy ground to a halt during the height of the pandemic. The program ended in March 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But later that summer, the advocacy groups Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, PolicyLink and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Petition-for-Writ-of-Mandate_Filed.pdf\">sued the department (PDF)\u003c/a> in Alameda County Superior Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their lawsuit alleged the state rejected many renters without providing an adequate explanation and offered little or no recourse to those who felt their requests were wrongly denied. According to the coalition’s analysis of state data, \u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/ca-rental-assistance\">the department rejected more than 130,000 applications (PDF)\u003c/a>, nearly 30% of the total.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement brings that case to a close. The housing department admitted to no fault, but agreed to pay $1.1 million in attorney fees for the advocacy groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Providing relief to California renters and landlords affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has always been our priority,” the department said in an unattributed written statement. “We are committed to working with our partners to bring resolution and support to those remaining in the application pipeline.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the first year of the pandemic, the state distributed \u003ca href=\"https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/dashboard.html#\">more than $4.5 billion to pay down the rent\u003c/a> of more than 360,000 households, according to a summary provided by the state. The average amount of assistance was $12,246.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the summer of 2022, Gov. Gavin \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/07/01/this-program-was-truly-a-blessing-facts-from-californias-nation-leading-4-billion-state-rent-relief-program/\">Newsom touted the program\u003c/a> as the “largest and most successful eviction protection and rent relief program in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Waiting for COVID rent relief\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Under the settlement, the department also agreed to clear its pending applicant pool within six months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Faizah Malik, an attorney with Public Council representing the nonprofits, stressed at a Monday press conference that “over 100,000 households are still waiting for a decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are pleased now to have reached this landmark settlement that will vastly improve the process for the remaining pending applications and our hope is that it will lead to more relief getting into the hands of Californians who need it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two tenants whose applications were pending also spoke at the Monday press event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to go back to the street,” said Mario Hercules, speaking through a Spanish interpreter, who explained he still had $14,000 in rental debt. “I don’t want to be in a shelter and I don’t want to be homeless.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11942106,news_11947933,news_11949679\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Blake Phillips said he maxed out his credit cards to pay his rent while awaiting support from the state. “Imagine what I need now,” he said. “I got so far behind because of this program that it literally destroyed my life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/ca-rental-assistance\">About 150,000 tenants reported facing imminent eviction\u003c/a> at the time they filled out the application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole purpose of this really massive federal investment of funds was to prevent people from being evicted and yet there was no effort made to track evictions and who was actually kept in their house because of this money,” said Madeline Howard with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, another legal organization representing the coalition.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>California’s renter assistance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tenant and anti-poverty advocates have been criticizing the state’s rental assistance efforts since the early days of the pandemic. Many tenants said they \u003ca href=\"https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/072/973/original/TT_2021-22_ERAP_Survey.pdf\">faced language barriers (PDF)\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2021/05/california-simplify-rent-relief-application/\">lacked the technological know-how\u003c/a> and access needed to fill out an application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the substantial sum of cash, many eligible applicants complained of a lack of public outreach, saying they \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/07/california-rent-relief-newsom/\">simply weren’t aware that the program existed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once applications began to roll in, the state’s housing department was \u003ca href=\"https://ktla.com/news/california/audit-california-has-been-slow-to-hand-out-pandemic-rental-aid-risks-forfeiting-millions/\">slow to process them and then get aid out the door\u003c/a>, according to a report by the state auditor’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tenant rights advocates echoed that complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, a study co-produced by some of the parties to this week’s settlement claimed that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2022/03/california-rent-relief-wait/\">only 16% of the nearly half a million applicants seeking rent relief from the state had actually received help\u003c/a>. Another finding: Those who did get a check reported a median wait time of roughly four months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the state’s housing department disputed those figures at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement applies to anyone who sought assistance from the state’s Housing is Key program prior to April 1, 2022 and whose application is pending or was denied after June 6, 2022. Tenants who have questions about the status of their application can call the program’s hotline at (833) 430-2122 or visit the \u003ca href=\"https://hornellp-ca.neighborlysoftware.com/CaliforniaCovid19RentRelief/Participant\">program’s application page\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than 100,000 California tenants whose applications for COVID-era rental assistance were denied or delayed by the state’s housing department will get another shot at relief, thanks to a \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CA-Rent-Relief_Housing-is-Key_ERAP_Signed-Settlement.pdf\">new legal settlement between the state and a coalition of anti-poverty and tenant rights groups (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More aid isn’t guaranteed. But under the terms of the settlement signed at the end of last month, \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CA-Rent-Relief_Housing-is-Key_ERAP_Signed-Settlement.pdf\">California’s Housing and Community Development Department agreed to audit its past denials (PDF)\u003c/a> and improve multilingual access for tenants who don’t speak English as a first language.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It also agreed to flesh out the appeal process for applicants and provide more detailed explanations when it denies an application. And it committed to providing more data on the race, ethnicity and location of those who were denied help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s housing department received \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/06/california-eviction-moratorium-deal/\">$5.2 billion in federal relief funds\u003c/a> in 2021 to help struggling tenants keep up with rent while the state’s economy ground to a halt during the height of the pandemic. The program ended in March 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But later that summer, the advocacy groups Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, PolicyLink and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Petition-for-Writ-of-Mandate_Filed.pdf\">sued the department (PDF)\u003c/a> in Alameda County Superior Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their lawsuit alleged the state rejected many renters without providing an adequate explanation and offered little or no recourse to those who felt their requests were wrongly denied. According to the coalition’s analysis of state data, \u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/ca-rental-assistance\">the department rejected more than 130,000 applications (PDF)\u003c/a>, nearly 30% of the total.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement brings that case to a close. The housing department admitted to no fault, but agreed to pay $1.1 million in attorney fees for the advocacy groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Providing relief to California renters and landlords affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has always been our priority,” the department said in an unattributed written statement. “We are committed to working with our partners to bring resolution and support to those remaining in the application pipeline.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the first year of the pandemic, the state distributed \u003ca href=\"https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/dashboard.html#\">more than $4.5 billion to pay down the rent\u003c/a> of more than 360,000 households, according to a summary provided by the state. The average amount of assistance was $12,246.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the summer of 2022, Gov. Gavin \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/07/01/this-program-was-truly-a-blessing-facts-from-californias-nation-leading-4-billion-state-rent-relief-program/\">Newsom touted the program\u003c/a> as the “largest and most successful eviction protection and rent relief program in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Waiting for COVID rent relief\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Under the settlement, the department also agreed to clear its pending applicant pool within six months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Faizah Malik, an attorney with Public Council representing the nonprofits, stressed at a Monday press conference that “over 100,000 households are still waiting for a decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are pleased now to have reached this landmark settlement that will vastly improve the process for the remaining pending applications and our hope is that it will lead to more relief getting into the hands of Californians who need it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two tenants whose applications were pending also spoke at the Monday press event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to go back to the street,” said Mario Hercules, speaking through a Spanish interpreter, who explained he still had $14,000 in rental debt. “I don’t want to be in a shelter and I don’t want to be homeless.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Blake Phillips said he maxed out his credit cards to pay his rent while awaiting support from the state. “Imagine what I need now,” he said. “I got so far behind because of this program that it literally destroyed my life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/ca-rental-assistance\">About 150,000 tenants reported facing imminent eviction\u003c/a> at the time they filled out the application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole purpose of this really massive federal investment of funds was to prevent people from being evicted and yet there was no effort made to track evictions and who was actually kept in their house because of this money,” said Madeline Howard with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, another legal organization representing the coalition.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>California’s renter assistance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tenant and anti-poverty advocates have been criticizing the state’s rental assistance efforts since the early days of the pandemic. Many tenants said they \u003ca href=\"https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/072/973/original/TT_2021-22_ERAP_Survey.pdf\">faced language barriers (PDF)\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2021/05/california-simplify-rent-relief-application/\">lacked the technological know-how\u003c/a> and access needed to fill out an application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the substantial sum of cash, many eligible applicants complained of a lack of public outreach, saying they \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/07/california-rent-relief-newsom/\">simply weren’t aware that the program existed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once applications began to roll in, the state’s housing department was \u003ca href=\"https://ktla.com/news/california/audit-california-has-been-slow-to-hand-out-pandemic-rental-aid-risks-forfeiting-millions/\">slow to process them and then get aid out the door\u003c/a>, according to a report by the state auditor’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tenant rights advocates echoed that complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, a study co-produced by some of the parties to this week’s settlement claimed that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2022/03/california-rent-relief-wait/\">only 16% of the nearly half a million applicants seeking rent relief from the state had actually received help\u003c/a>. Another finding: Those who did get a check reported a median wait time of roughly four months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the state’s housing department disputed those figures at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement applies to anyone who sought assistance from the state’s Housing is Key program prior to April 1, 2022 and whose application is pending or was denied after June 6, 2022. Tenants who have questions about the status of their application can call the program’s hotline at (833) 430-2122 or visit the \u003ca href=\"https://hornellp-ca.neighborlysoftware.com/CaliforniaCovid19RentRelief/Participant\">program’s application page\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California's Undocumented Workers to Finally Receive Aid for Storm Damages",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982887/california-is-still-at-risk-of-flooding-maybe-rivers-just-need-some-space\">California\u003c/a> will send $95 million to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/floods\">flood\u003c/a> victims in a long-awaited program to assist undocumented residents suffering hardship and damage from the recent months of storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The money will be available in many affected counties starting in June, according to the state’s Department of Social Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement comes two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised flood victims that help would come from the state’s Rapid Response Fund. Since then, his office provided few details despite repeated queries and criticism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Newsom, said state officials were trying to ensure the program would be accessible to a population that is often hard to reach, while also protecting taxpayer funds from fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program is going to serve folks who might be reticent to take advantage of public benefits for fear of it affecting their immigration status, and this is a population that moves around a lot because of farm work or other issues,” Stack said. “We’re trying to make sure folks can access this program without hurdles, and do it the right way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eligible households could qualify for up to $4,500 — each qualifying adult receiving $1,500 and children receiving $500. Stack said a percentage of the $95 million will go to launching and administering the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Alex Stack, spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom\"]‘We’re trying to make sure folks can access this program without hurdles, and do it the right way.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funds would be available to residents living or working in counties that were federally designated major disaster areas and that were approved for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Applicants for the state funds must show they are not eligible for FEMA assistance but experienced hardship from storms beginning in December 2022 to April 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/03/california-homeless-encampments/\">Newsom’s office said the state would use its Rapid Response Fund to assist undocumented workers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2023/03/storm-flood-california-aid-cannabis-farmworkers/#more-info\">residents who do not qualify for individual aid from FEMA\u003c/a> because of their immigration status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originally the Legislature allocated $175 million to that fund for the 2022–2023 fiscal year, to assist with migrants at the Southern California border and to fund other needs. Now state grants are expected to go to nonprofit organizations to provide financial assistance to people recovering from floods or storms, the governor’s office said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nonprofit organizations will interview applicants in person “to minimize the risk of fraud” and provide preloaded debit cards or a check, said Scott Murray, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement follows weeks of inquiries from CalMatters and others about assistance to undocumented residents affected by the storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local elected leaders say hundreds of residents don’t qualify for FEMA funding because of their immigration status but have lost work or sustained damage to homes and vehicles. Many agricultural workers suddenly \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/02/california-safety-net/\">lost work income\u003c/a> due to flooded fields yet must provide for their families and pay for medical care, advocates said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Newsom’s March statements about Rapid Response, state officials had been tight-lipped about when funds would be available. As of Wednesday, the state had not announced which nonprofit organizations it would send grants to.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Less than rapid\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Luis Alejo, a Monterey County supervisor, has been outspoken about needing more state and federal assistance for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pajaro\">Pajaro\u003c/a>. This small, mostly farmworker community was severely flooded when a levee failed in March. On May 4, Alejo tweeted photos of damage in the community, noting there still was no on-the-ground assistance for undocumented flood victims and little word from the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/SupervisorAlejo/status/1654289338040188928?s=20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here we are, going into the end of May, and there’s still no Rapid Response Fund money,” Alejo told CalMatters on May 22. “Maybe we’ve got to take out the ‘rapid,’ because it doesn’t feel rapid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/melissa-hurtado-1988/\">Melissa Hurtado\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Bakersfield, said farmworkers and others impacted by flooding in her district also need assistance. During a recent visit to the still-flooded Tulare Lake region, Hurtado learned that 1,300 farmworkers in Kings County had been laid off, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Folks that have been impacted by the floods and the drought are really struggling,” Hurtado said. “They’re really struggling to get the resources they need to be fine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some nonprofit officials said the state has contacted them about being contractors or subcontractors, to help reach people who need funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Undocumented workers are, by law, ineligible for federally funded programs such as unemployment benefits or disaster aid from FEMA.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Luis Alejo, Monterey County supervisor\"]‘Maybe we’ve got to take out the ‘rapid,’ because it doesn’t feel rapid.’[/pullquote]To counter that, in 2020 Newsom allocated $75 million to disaster relief for undocumented Californians affected by COVID but who were ineligible for federal aid programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hurtado said some of her constituents already were discouraged by long delays in other forms of promised financial assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, she said, it’s rare to find a farmworker who didn’t wait in long lines earlier this year to receive a $600 check or debit card\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/ffwr\">Farm and Food Workers Relief Grant Program\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>, \u003c/strong>for having worked in frontline agricultural or food industry jobs in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some who waited never received the funds, she said, while \u003ca href=\"https://lacooperativa.org/fraud-alert-scammers-pretending-to-be-workers-of-farmworker-organizations-charging-a-bogus-fee-to-process-600-direct-relief-payments/\">others were targeted by scammers who posed as farmworker organization employees\u003c/a> charging fees to “process” the $600 relief payments.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who gets flood help\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>People who live or work in Kings County — which encompasses the town of Corcoran and a large swath of the floodwaters filling the resurgent Tulare Lake — still do not qualify for individual assistance from FEMA, regardless of undocumented status. Neither the county nor the state applied for Kings County to receive that assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kings County got approval only for FEMA’s public assistance program, which reimburses local and state government agencies for such expenses as emergency response, debris removal and restoration of damaged public facilities and infrastructure. But it doesn’t provide options for individuals. This means Kings County residents will not qualify for the state’s program either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952089\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A flooded field full of crops is pictured. The ground is muddy and full of water. Plants manage to still poke out above.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Water covers Whitley Avenue in the reemerging Tulare Lake outside Corcoran on May 3, 2023, in the Central Valley. Residents of Kings County, which encompasses the town of Corcoran and a large swath of the floodwaters filling Tulare Lake, still do not qualify for individual assistance from FEMA, regardless of undocumented status. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, qualifying families and individuals living in other flooded counties, such as Kern, Tulare, Madera and Monterey, can apply for FEMA help to repair damaged homes or property. Because the White House declared major disasters in several California counties, those residents also can seek help from state and federal disaster assistance centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preliminary numbers from FEMA show many who thought they qualified for emergency assistance didn’t initially get it. As of May 30, FEMA approved for assistance:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>about 43% of Californians who applied due to the December and January storms.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>that includes 39% of applicants in Merced County, where the unincorporated community of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-14/planada-california-january-storms-rain-flooding-recovery\">Planada flooded in January\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>40% of those who applied after the February and March storms.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>including 35% of applicants in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, including Alejo’s district and the town of Watsonville.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>plus a little more than 47% of applicants in Kern County and 53% of applicants in Tulare County, in Hurtado’s district.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Pending legislation\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Funds for the state’s program — called the Storm Assistance for Immigrants Project — will be available through May 31, 2024, or until all funds are exhausted. Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and applicants can only seek help from the nonprofit organization assigned to their county or area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials also urged storm victims — including those unsure about their eligibility — to seek guidance in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/13/DisasterAssistanceGuideforImmigrantCaliforniansSpanishFinal.pdf\">state’s disaster resource guide (PDF)\u003c/a> for immigrants on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/\">social services department’s website\u003c/a>. It says households with at least one member with legal status can qualify for federal aid.[aside postID=news_11944295 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63704_03192023_kqed_pajarobridge-107-qut-1020x678.jpg']\u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230515/30-days-left-register-fema-disaster-assistance\">The deadline for individuals to register with FEMA for disaster assistance is June 5.\u003c/a> Once registered, they can access a number of other programs such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230515/disaster-legal-services-available-california-residents-after-recent-storms\">legal services\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230504/disaster-unemployment-assistance-available-california-residents-affected\">unemployment assistance\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230515/crisis-counseling-available-california-residents-affected-recent-storms-and\">crisis counseling\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local and state officials say more needs to be done. Hurtado said she has repeatedly sponsored legislation to help farmworkers and other immigrant workers survive severe climate changes in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alejo said he supports \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB513\">pending legislation\u003c/a>, called the California Individual Assistance Act,\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>which would establish a grant program to financially assist local agencies, community-based organizations and individuals affected by disasters. The bill faces a vote in the Assembly this week and requires two-thirds approval to pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re waiting months after a storm to get any help to the victims, then we’re not serving our residents,” Alejo said. “The plan is not being carried out by whatever program that is there in philosophy, but it’s not on the ground helping anyone out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California's long-awaited program will send $95 million to assist undocumented residents who suffered hardships and flood damages from recent months of storms.",
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"title": "California's Undocumented Workers to Finally Receive Aid for Storm Damages | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982887/california-is-still-at-risk-of-flooding-maybe-rivers-just-need-some-space\">California\u003c/a> will send $95 million to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/floods\">flood\u003c/a> victims in a long-awaited program to assist undocumented residents suffering hardship and damage from the recent months of storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The money will be available in many affected counties starting in June, according to the state’s Department of Social Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement comes two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised flood victims that help would come from the state’s Rapid Response Fund. Since then, his office provided few details despite repeated queries and criticism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Newsom, said state officials were trying to ensure the program would be accessible to a population that is often hard to reach, while also protecting taxpayer funds from fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program is going to serve folks who might be reticent to take advantage of public benefits for fear of it affecting their immigration status, and this is a population that moves around a lot because of farm work or other issues,” Stack said. “We’re trying to make sure folks can access this program without hurdles, and do it the right way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eligible households could qualify for up to $4,500 — each qualifying adult receiving $1,500 and children receiving $500. Stack said a percentage of the $95 million will go to launching and administering the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We’re trying to make sure folks can access this program without hurdles, and do it the right way.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funds would be available to residents living or working in counties that were federally designated major disaster areas and that were approved for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Applicants for the state funds must show they are not eligible for FEMA assistance but experienced hardship from storms beginning in December 2022 to April 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/03/california-homeless-encampments/\">Newsom’s office said the state would use its Rapid Response Fund to assist undocumented workers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2023/03/storm-flood-california-aid-cannabis-farmworkers/#more-info\">residents who do not qualify for individual aid from FEMA\u003c/a> because of their immigration status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originally the Legislature allocated $175 million to that fund for the 2022–2023 fiscal year, to assist with migrants at the Southern California border and to fund other needs. Now state grants are expected to go to nonprofit organizations to provide financial assistance to people recovering from floods or storms, the governor’s office said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nonprofit organizations will interview applicants in person “to minimize the risk of fraud” and provide preloaded debit cards or a check, said Scott Murray, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement follows weeks of inquiries from CalMatters and others about assistance to undocumented residents affected by the storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local elected leaders say hundreds of residents don’t qualify for FEMA funding because of their immigration status but have lost work or sustained damage to homes and vehicles. Many agricultural workers suddenly \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/02/california-safety-net/\">lost work income\u003c/a> due to flooded fields yet must provide for their families and pay for medical care, advocates said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Newsom’s March statements about Rapid Response, state officials had been tight-lipped about when funds would be available. As of Wednesday, the state had not announced which nonprofit organizations it would send grants to.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Less than rapid\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Luis Alejo, a Monterey County supervisor, has been outspoken about needing more state and federal assistance for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pajaro\">Pajaro\u003c/a>. This small, mostly farmworker community was severely flooded when a levee failed in March. On May 4, Alejo tweeted photos of damage in the community, noting there still was no on-the-ground assistance for undocumented flood victims and little word from the state.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>“Here we are, going into the end of May, and there’s still no Rapid Response Fund money,” Alejo told CalMatters on May 22. “Maybe we’ve got to take out the ‘rapid,’ because it doesn’t feel rapid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/melissa-hurtado-1988/\">Melissa Hurtado\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Bakersfield, said farmworkers and others impacted by flooding in her district also need assistance. During a recent visit to the still-flooded Tulare Lake region, Hurtado learned that 1,300 farmworkers in Kings County had been laid off, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Folks that have been impacted by the floods and the drought are really struggling,” Hurtado said. “They’re really struggling to get the resources they need to be fine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some nonprofit officials said the state has contacted them about being contractors or subcontractors, to help reach people who need funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Undocumented workers are, by law, ineligible for federally funded programs such as unemployment benefits or disaster aid from FEMA.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘Maybe we’ve got to take out the ‘rapid,’ because it doesn’t feel rapid.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To counter that, in 2020 Newsom allocated $75 million to disaster relief for undocumented Californians affected by COVID but who were ineligible for federal aid programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hurtado said some of her constituents already were discouraged by long delays in other forms of promised financial assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, she said, it’s rare to find a farmworker who didn’t wait in long lines earlier this year to receive a $600 check or debit card\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/ffwr\">Farm and Food Workers Relief Grant Program\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>, \u003c/strong>for having worked in frontline agricultural or food industry jobs in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some who waited never received the funds, she said, while \u003ca href=\"https://lacooperativa.org/fraud-alert-scammers-pretending-to-be-workers-of-farmworker-organizations-charging-a-bogus-fee-to-process-600-direct-relief-payments/\">others were targeted by scammers who posed as farmworker organization employees\u003c/a> charging fees to “process” the $600 relief payments.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who gets flood help\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>People who live or work in Kings County — which encompasses the town of Corcoran and a large swath of the floodwaters filling the resurgent Tulare Lake — still do not qualify for individual assistance from FEMA, regardless of undocumented status. Neither the county nor the state applied for Kings County to receive that assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kings County got approval only for FEMA’s public assistance program, which reimburses local and state government agencies for such expenses as emergency response, debris removal and restoration of damaged public facilities and infrastructure. But it doesn’t provide options for individuals. This means Kings County residents will not qualify for the state’s program either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952089\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A flooded field full of crops is pictured. The ground is muddy and full of water. Plants manage to still poke out above.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS65150_020_KQED_TulareLakeCorcoran_05032023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Water covers Whitley Avenue in the reemerging Tulare Lake outside Corcoran on May 3, 2023, in the Central Valley. Residents of Kings County, which encompasses the town of Corcoran and a large swath of the floodwaters filling Tulare Lake, still do not qualify for individual assistance from FEMA, regardless of undocumented status. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, qualifying families and individuals living in other flooded counties, such as Kern, Tulare, Madera and Monterey, can apply for FEMA help to repair damaged homes or property. Because the White House declared major disasters in several California counties, those residents also can seek help from state and federal disaster assistance centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preliminary numbers from FEMA show many who thought they qualified for emergency assistance didn’t initially get it. As of May 30, FEMA approved for assistance:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>about 43% of Californians who applied due to the December and January storms.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>that includes 39% of applicants in Merced County, where the unincorporated community of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-14/planada-california-january-storms-rain-flooding-recovery\">Planada flooded in January\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>40% of those who applied after the February and March storms.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>including 35% of applicants in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, including Alejo’s district and the town of Watsonville.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>plus a little more than 47% of applicants in Kern County and 53% of applicants in Tulare County, in Hurtado’s district.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Pending legislation\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Funds for the state’s program — called the Storm Assistance for Immigrants Project — will be available through May 31, 2024, or until all funds are exhausted. Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and applicants can only seek help from the nonprofit organization assigned to their county or area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials also urged storm victims — including those unsure about their eligibility — to seek guidance in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/13/DisasterAssistanceGuideforImmigrantCaliforniansSpanishFinal.pdf\">state’s disaster resource guide (PDF)\u003c/a> for immigrants on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/\">social services department’s website\u003c/a>. It says households with at least one member with legal status can qualify for federal aid.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230515/30-days-left-register-fema-disaster-assistance\">The deadline for individuals to register with FEMA for disaster assistance is June 5.\u003c/a> Once registered, they can access a number of other programs such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230515/disaster-legal-services-available-california-residents-after-recent-storms\">legal services\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230504/disaster-unemployment-assistance-available-california-residents-affected\">unemployment assistance\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230515/crisis-counseling-available-california-residents-affected-recent-storms-and\">crisis counseling\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local and state officials say more needs to be done. Hurtado said she has repeatedly sponsored legislation to help farmworkers and other immigrant workers survive severe climate changes in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alejo said he supports \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB513\">pending legislation\u003c/a>, called the California Individual Assistance Act,\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>which would establish a grant program to financially assist local agencies, community-based organizations and individuals affected by disasters. The bill faces a vote in the Assembly this week and requires two-thirds approval to pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re waiting months after a storm to get any help to the victims, then we’re not serving our residents,” Alejo said. “The plan is not being carried out by whatever program that is there in philosophy, but it’s not on the ground helping anyone out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Scrambles to Save Its Home Insurance Industry After State Farm Opts Out of Selling New Policies",
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"content": "\u003cp>State Farm made national headlines last week when it said it would stop selling new home insurance policies in California. As California’s largest single provider of bundled home insurance policies — the company had \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/120-company/04-mrktshare/2021/upload/Top25grps2021wa_Revised.pdf\">20% of the market in 2021 (PDF)\u003c/a> — the news struck some as the beginning of a fresh emergency, with insurers abandoning a fire- and flood-ravaged state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the retraction of California’s biggest home coverage provider is only the latest development in a wildfire-fueled crisis that has smoldered beneath the surface of the state’s insurance market for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Seren Taylor, vice president, Personal Insurance Federation of California\"] ‘State Farm sort of publicly said what they were doing, but I think for the last few years, we’ve all seen insurers restricting and pulling back their business in California.’[/pullquote]After the disastrous fires of 2017 and 2018, the number of Californians who were told by their insurers that their policies wouldn’t be renewed \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/200-wrr/upload/CDI-Fact-Sheet-Residential-Insurance-Market-Policy-Count-Data-December-2022.pdf\">jumped up by 42% (PDF)\u003c/a> to almost 235,000 households. The two severe wildfire years wiped out decades of industry profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, American International Group \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/wildfire-risk-in-california-drives-insurers-to-pull-policies-for-pricey-homes-11642593601?mod=article_inline\">let thousands of customers know their home insurance policies would not be renewed\u003c/a>, and Chubb, a high-end insurer, said it would continue to non-renew some of its customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And late last year, thousands of condo owners also found themselves among the uninsurable as the state’s regulated insurers \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-02-10/san-diego-lawmakers-urge-state-to-help-condo-owners-hit-by-soaring-insurance-costs\">dropped suburban homeowner association members\u003c/a> in droves across San Diego County’s wildfire-prone shrubland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11937459,science_1980493,news_11933739\" label=\"Related Posts\"]“State Farm sort of publicly said what they were doing, but I think for the last few years, we’ve all seen insurers restricting and pulling back their business in California,” said Seren Taylor, vice president of Personal Insurance Federation of California, an industry trade group that counts State Farm as a member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials emphasized that State Farm’s current policyholders will not lose coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important to note that current customers will not lose their insurance,” wrote Michael Soller, deputy insurance commissioner at California’s Insurance Department, in an email to CalMatters. This decision will affect people who are shopping for home insurance, in that they will have one fewer provider to choose from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Farm in a press release blamed high construction costs that make it extra expensive to rebuild after a home is destroyed in California, growing natural disaster risk — particularly from wildfires — and “a challenging reinsurance market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies frequently purchase their own insurance — known as “reinsurance” — to minimize the risk of getting hit with millions of dollars of costs all at once, as might happen during a catastrophic wildfire or a major hurricane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/insurers-are-facing-a-steep-rise-in-reinsurance-rates-11667858056\">Reinsurance premiums have spiked\u003c/a> in recent years in disaster-prone states like fire-ravaged California and storm-battered Florida, Louisiana and Texas. California law prohibits insurers from passing along the cost of reinsurance to customers. Industry groups are lobbying to change that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is tough for legislators,” said John Norwood, a lobbyist for independent insurance brokers. “Because the solution is prices going up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How California regulates home insurance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>High rebuild costs, increasingly severe wildfires and high prices of reinsurance all are risks that insurance companies might be willing to take on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But only for the right price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increases in insurance premiums in California are approved or denied by the state’s elected insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara. Industry groups have long argued that Lara’s office has not allowed providers to set prices commensurate with the cost of doing business in fire-prone California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have very inexpensive home insurance in California,” compared to other states, said Michael Wara, director of the climate and energy policy program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “But the thing is, five years ago, we realized, ‘Oh, yeah, actually in California you can burn down 50,000 houses overnight.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences of a continued drip-drip decline of insurers from California could be far more costly in the long run, warns Dan Dunmoyer, president of the California Building Industry Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an illustration, he points to California history. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake dealt roughly $42 billion in damage across Southern California, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2014-jan-17-la-oe-ones-northridge-quake-insurance-20140117-story.html\">many home insurers opted to stop doing new business\u003c/a> in California entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because home insurance is a basic requirement for most home loans, the exodus of insurers caused the state real estate industry to grind to a halt, Dunmoyer recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole world stopped,” he said. “That’s the worst-case scenario. We’re not quite there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can California block State Farm’s retreat?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are various ideas circulating — some more drastic than others— about what the state can do to keep State Farm in the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog on Tuesday argued that \u003ca href=\"https://consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/insurance-commissioner-lara-must-use-prop-103-authority-to-reverse-state-farms-pullback/\">Insurance Commissioner Lara\u003c/a> has the power to order State Farm to reverse its decision. That authority, the group said, comes from Proposition 103, a voter-backed initiative passed in 1988 that gave the department the power to approve or deny premium increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wara, from Stanford Law, said the idea was a “nonconstructive approach to this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the entire insurance industry likely would sue the state if the California insurance department were to assert that authority, and the lawsuit would take several years to resolve. He said he finds it “hard to believe” that a court would force the industry to keep issuing new insurance policies during the years the case was in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is a recipe for the entire market falling apart, potentially overnight,” Wara said. “That would undo not just the insurance market, but everybody that has a home mortgage in California, everybody that wants to buy or sell a home in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Last resort for California homeowners\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Another sword hanging over the state’s insurance industry: The possible demise of the FAIR Plan, the limited insurance plan Californians can turn to when no standard private company will cover them. It’s funded by levies on private insurance companies that do business in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of other insurers have stopped selling,” said Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a consumer group. “If you talk to an agent or broker today, they’re going to tell you it can be pretty hard to find insurance” outside of the FAIR Plan, Bach said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the risk of catastrophic wildfire ramps up across California, that risk falls disproportionately on the FAIR Plan. And if an especially severe fire season renders the plan bankrupt, the tab will fall on those insurers still doing business in the state in proportion to their share of the market, said Wara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Farm, as the largest insurer, would have to chip in the most. That’s one reason the company might have decided to not issue new policies anywhere in California rather than just limiting new policies to places with low wildfire risk. “State Farm is saying ‘we want less of that,’” Wara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That problem isn’t unique to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Texas, the increasing severity of Gulf Coast hurricanes has driven tens of thousands of homeowners onto that state’s chartered backstop insurer, leading to \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/growing-insurance-crisis-spreads-to-texas/\">talk of an inevitable crisis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Florida, the crisis may already have arrived. This week, Florida’s insurance commissioner authorized a \u003ca href=\"https://thecapitolist.com/citizens-insurance-secures-1-25-billion-in-credit-ahead-of-hurricane-season/\">$1.25 billion line of credit\u003c/a> to that state’s insurer of last resort — now the single largest insurer — in preparation for the coming storm season.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>State Farm made national headlines last week when it said it would stop selling new home insurance policies in California. As California’s largest single provider of bundled home insurance policies — the company had \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/120-company/04-mrktshare/2021/upload/Top25grps2021wa_Revised.pdf\">20% of the market in 2021 (PDF)\u003c/a> — the news struck some as the beginning of a fresh emergency, with insurers abandoning a fire- and flood-ravaged state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the retraction of California’s biggest home coverage provider is only the latest development in a wildfire-fueled crisis that has smoldered beneath the surface of the state’s insurance market for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>After the disastrous fires of 2017 and 2018, the number of Californians who were told by their insurers that their policies wouldn’t be renewed \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/200-wrr/upload/CDI-Fact-Sheet-Residential-Insurance-Market-Policy-Count-Data-December-2022.pdf\">jumped up by 42% (PDF)\u003c/a> to almost 235,000 households. The two severe wildfire years wiped out decades of industry profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, American International Group \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/wildfire-risk-in-california-drives-insurers-to-pull-policies-for-pricey-homes-11642593601?mod=article_inline\">let thousands of customers know their home insurance policies would not be renewed\u003c/a>, and Chubb, a high-end insurer, said it would continue to non-renew some of its customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And late last year, thousands of condo owners also found themselves among the uninsurable as the state’s regulated insurers \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-02-10/san-diego-lawmakers-urge-state-to-help-condo-owners-hit-by-soaring-insurance-costs\">dropped suburban homeowner association members\u003c/a> in droves across San Diego County’s wildfire-prone shrubland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“State Farm sort of publicly said what they were doing, but I think for the last few years, we’ve all seen insurers restricting and pulling back their business in California,” said Seren Taylor, vice president of Personal Insurance Federation of California, an industry trade group that counts State Farm as a member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials emphasized that State Farm’s current policyholders will not lose coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important to note that current customers will not lose their insurance,” wrote Michael Soller, deputy insurance commissioner at California’s Insurance Department, in an email to CalMatters. This decision will affect people who are shopping for home insurance, in that they will have one fewer provider to choose from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Farm in a press release blamed high construction costs that make it extra expensive to rebuild after a home is destroyed in California, growing natural disaster risk — particularly from wildfires — and “a challenging reinsurance market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies frequently purchase their own insurance — known as “reinsurance” — to minimize the risk of getting hit with millions of dollars of costs all at once, as might happen during a catastrophic wildfire or a major hurricane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/insurers-are-facing-a-steep-rise-in-reinsurance-rates-11667858056\">Reinsurance premiums have spiked\u003c/a> in recent years in disaster-prone states like fire-ravaged California and storm-battered Florida, Louisiana and Texas. California law prohibits insurers from passing along the cost of reinsurance to customers. Industry groups are lobbying to change that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is tough for legislators,” said John Norwood, a lobbyist for independent insurance brokers. “Because the solution is prices going up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How California regulates home insurance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>High rebuild costs, increasingly severe wildfires and high prices of reinsurance all are risks that insurance companies might be willing to take on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But only for the right price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increases in insurance premiums in California are approved or denied by the state’s elected insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara. Industry groups have long argued that Lara’s office has not allowed providers to set prices commensurate with the cost of doing business in fire-prone California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have very inexpensive home insurance in California,” compared to other states, said Michael Wara, director of the climate and energy policy program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “But the thing is, five years ago, we realized, ‘Oh, yeah, actually in California you can burn down 50,000 houses overnight.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences of a continued drip-drip decline of insurers from California could be far more costly in the long run, warns Dan Dunmoyer, president of the California Building Industry Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an illustration, he points to California history. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake dealt roughly $42 billion in damage across Southern California, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2014-jan-17-la-oe-ones-northridge-quake-insurance-20140117-story.html\">many home insurers opted to stop doing new business\u003c/a> in California entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because home insurance is a basic requirement for most home loans, the exodus of insurers caused the state real estate industry to grind to a halt, Dunmoyer recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole world stopped,” he said. “That’s the worst-case scenario. We’re not quite there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can California block State Farm’s retreat?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are various ideas circulating — some more drastic than others— about what the state can do to keep State Farm in the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog on Tuesday argued that \u003ca href=\"https://consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/insurance-commissioner-lara-must-use-prop-103-authority-to-reverse-state-farms-pullback/\">Insurance Commissioner Lara\u003c/a> has the power to order State Farm to reverse its decision. That authority, the group said, comes from Proposition 103, a voter-backed initiative passed in 1988 that gave the department the power to approve or deny premium increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wara, from Stanford Law, said the idea was a “nonconstructive approach to this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the entire insurance industry likely would sue the state if the California insurance department were to assert that authority, and the lawsuit would take several years to resolve. He said he finds it “hard to believe” that a court would force the industry to keep issuing new insurance policies during the years the case was in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is a recipe for the entire market falling apart, potentially overnight,” Wara said. “That would undo not just the insurance market, but everybody that has a home mortgage in California, everybody that wants to buy or sell a home in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Last resort for California homeowners\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Another sword hanging over the state’s insurance industry: The possible demise of the FAIR Plan, the limited insurance plan Californians can turn to when no standard private company will cover them. It’s funded by levies on private insurance companies that do business in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of other insurers have stopped selling,” said Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a consumer group. “If you talk to an agent or broker today, they’re going to tell you it can be pretty hard to find insurance” outside of the FAIR Plan, Bach said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the risk of catastrophic wildfire ramps up across California, that risk falls disproportionately on the FAIR Plan. And if an especially severe fire season renders the plan bankrupt, the tab will fall on those insurers still doing business in the state in proportion to their share of the market, said Wara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Farm, as the largest insurer, would have to chip in the most. That’s one reason the company might have decided to not issue new policies anywhere in California rather than just limiting new policies to places with low wildfire risk. “State Farm is saying ‘we want less of that,’” Wara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That problem isn’t unique to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Texas, the increasing severity of Gulf Coast hurricanes has driven tens of thousands of homeowners onto that state’s chartered backstop insurer, leading to \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/growing-insurance-crisis-spreads-to-texas/\">talk of an inevitable crisis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Florida, the crisis may already have arrived. This week, Florida’s insurance commissioner authorized a \u003ca href=\"https://thecapitolist.com/citizens-insurance-secures-1-25-billion-in-credit-ahead-of-hurricane-season/\">$1.25 billion line of credit\u003c/a> to that state’s insurer of last resort — now the single largest insurer — in preparation for the coming storm season.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>There’s a toxic history to the shiny decorative finishes so ubiquitous on the wheels and bumpers of classic cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chrome plating is important to a variety of consumer products from vintage automobiles to aerospace components to plumbing fixtures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But hexavalent chromium — a highly hazardous substance emitted by chrome-plating businesses — is 500 times more carcinogenic than diesel exhaust, putting it in the crosshairs of regulators for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved a landmark ban on use of the substance by the chrome plating industry. The ban requires companies, who opposed the action, to use alternative materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban came after more than two hours of debate and public comment. Board members, while signaling their empathy for the potentially impacted vintage car platers, said public health was paramount.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jane Williams, executive director, California Communities Against Toxics\"]‘The problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.’[/pullquote]Air board member Hector De La Torre compared the ban to a 1976 rule phasing out lead in gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no mass produced leaded gasoline, not just in California, in the United States, so that changed as a result of an action that was taken here,” De La Torre said. “So there is precedent for taking a leap like that — for the health and safety of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule will make California the first state to ban the substance more commonly known as chromium 6. Decorative plating businesses will have until 2027 to discontinue their use. Larger chrome plating plants, which use the toxin for industrial durability purposes, will have until 2039.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban comes after years of activists’ efforts to limit use of the chemical, which the state identified as a toxic air pollutant in 1986. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said the ruling is significant because Los Angeles County has a large concentration of chrome platers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board said 113 chrome plating facilities operate with hexavalent chromium in California, and over 70% of them are in overburdened and disadvantaged communities, many near homes and schools, though industry representatives said in public comments that the board’s numbers were inaccurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it’s not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery,” said Williams. “But the problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industrial components are plated by being submerged in baths containing chromium 6 though decorative and functional plating deploy different processes. Emissions occur in the form of bubbles that rise to the top of the tanks and can be released in mists, drops and spills that can settle on floors, equipment and other surfaces. Once dry, dust can be released by open doors and vents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Leiker, executive director of the Metal Finishing Association of California, said the air board’s rule amounts to an unfair ban on an industry that has proven it can use the toxic substance safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951007\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11951007\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage car's chrome plated bumper.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chrome plating on a vehicle. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to state data indicating that the state’s larger chrome platers produce less than 1% of emissions, with the majority coming from burning fossil fuels, cement production and other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The issue we have here is that our industry of course is in agreement with fair regulation, but what we have here is a ban,” Leiker said. “This is just a universal ban across the whole industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less-toxic trivalent chromium is available as an alternative, and the air board hopes decorative chrome platers will widely adopt it following the ban. The problem, decorative chrome-platers say, is that trivalent chromium lacks the ornamental shine of chromium 6 — that glow ubiquitous among the lustrous lowriders synonymous with the likes of Art Leboe or the gleaming hot rods featured in \u003cem>American Graffiti\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trivalent chromium is not “period correct,” wrote Art Holman, a managing partner of Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento, in recent public commentary to the air board. Holman wrote that he fears customers will ship their products to other states to be plated, “adding more chrome emissions due to transportation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile trivalent chromium does not meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. Leiker said that the air board is hoping the military will adopt new materials. But the uncertainty is a big risk for an industry that often relies on long lead times and multiyear contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is going to put our industry out of business, with a loss of jobs and a large exodus of manufacturing,” he said. “Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature has set aside $10 million to assist the industry make the change but some board members said the money was likely not enough.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Bryan Leiker, executive director, Metal Finishing Association of California\"]‘Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.’[/pullquote]The air board in 1988 adopted its first emissions standards for chromium 6 use in the plating industry, requiring facilities to equip their tanks with fume suppressants, filters or other pollution control devices. Over the intervening decades, those rules have been revised to further restrict and regulate hexavalent chromium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin has some presence in popular culture. The court battle over the presence of the chemical in drinking water in the San Bernardino County town of Hinkley was dramatized in the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But environmental advocates and residents of Los Angeles’ lower-income, industrial neighborhoods and cities have long raised concerns. Residents of the southeast industrial city of Bell Gardens sued a chrome plating company, Chrome Crankshaft, in 1999, accusing it of producing emissions that had resulted in diseases including cancer, according to \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-20-me-65377-story.html\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, air monitoring in the southeast industrial city of Paramount was expanded after chromium 6 was discovered in much higher levels than other parts of Los Angeles County in 2016. The Paramount Unified School District detected chromium 6 in air samples inside two classrooms there. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said that air quality has improved significantly since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Callard, a spokesman for Paramount, said the city had not detected significant samples of chromium 6, including at the schools, since it took over monitoring of the substance in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The state Air Resources Board voted Friday to ban the substance known as chromium 6, giving platers several years to switch to an alternative the platers say won't produce the same chrome shine.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Air board member Hector De La Torre compared the ban to a 1976 rule phasing out lead in gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no mass produced leaded gasoline, not just in California, in the United States, so that changed as a result of an action that was taken here,” De La Torre said. “So there is precedent for taking a leap like that — for the health and safety of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule will make California the first state to ban the substance more commonly known as chromium 6. Decorative plating businesses will have until 2027 to discontinue their use. Larger chrome plating plants, which use the toxin for industrial durability purposes, will have until 2039.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban comes after years of activists’ efforts to limit use of the chemical, which the state identified as a toxic air pollutant in 1986. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said the ruling is significant because Los Angeles County has a large concentration of chrome platers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board said 113 chrome plating facilities operate with hexavalent chromium in California, and over 70% of them are in overburdened and disadvantaged communities, many near homes and schools, though industry representatives said in public comments that the board’s numbers were inaccurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it’s not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery,” said Williams. “But the problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industrial components are plated by being submerged in baths containing chromium 6 though decorative and functional plating deploy different processes. Emissions occur in the form of bubbles that rise to the top of the tanks and can be released in mists, drops and spills that can settle on floors, equipment and other surfaces. Once dry, dust can be released by open doors and vents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Leiker, executive director of the Metal Finishing Association of California, said the air board’s rule amounts to an unfair ban on an industry that has proven it can use the toxic substance safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951007\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11951007\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage car's chrome plated bumper.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chrome plating on a vehicle. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to state data indicating that the state’s larger chrome platers produce less than 1% of emissions, with the majority coming from burning fossil fuels, cement production and other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The issue we have here is that our industry of course is in agreement with fair regulation, but what we have here is a ban,” Leiker said. “This is just a universal ban across the whole industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less-toxic trivalent chromium is available as an alternative, and the air board hopes decorative chrome platers will widely adopt it following the ban. The problem, decorative chrome-platers say, is that trivalent chromium lacks the ornamental shine of chromium 6 — that glow ubiquitous among the lustrous lowriders synonymous with the likes of Art Leboe or the gleaming hot rods featured in \u003cem>American Graffiti\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trivalent chromium is not “period correct,” wrote Art Holman, a managing partner of Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento, in recent public commentary to the air board. Holman wrote that he fears customers will ship their products to other states to be plated, “adding more chrome emissions due to transportation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile trivalent chromium does not meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. Leiker said that the air board is hoping the military will adopt new materials. But the uncertainty is a big risk for an industry that often relies on long lead times and multiyear contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is going to put our industry out of business, with a loss of jobs and a large exodus of manufacturing,” he said. “Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature has set aside $10 million to assist the industry make the change but some board members said the money was likely not enough.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
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