The following represents a summary of some of the bills the California Catholic Conference has been following in 2009.  For a complete list, click Major and Significant Legislation.

2009 Assembly Bills

AB 52 Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program (Portantino) - VETOED: A bill we supported, failed this year.  This bill was an enhancement of a 2007 bill AB 34 (Portantino) which directed the Department of Health to establish the program by January 1, 2010 to the extent that public or private funds were available and a one-year extension on the establishment date.  It is unclear what will happen to the program.

AB 66 Public Work Permits (Anderson) - SIGNED/CHAPTERED: This bill now authorizes a principal of a public or private school to issue work permits or to designate another administrator to issue work permits for pupils that attend their school, using that school's calendar. The CCC has always held a SUPPORT position on the bill, and, as a member of the California Association of Private School Organizations (CAPSO) has been a main proponent and advocate for this much needed legislation. This is a big victory for our Catholic Private Schools, who will now have more control and authority over the distribution of work permits for students enrolled in our schools.

AB 132 School Safety: Immigration Investigations (Mendoza) - VETOED: This bill would have specified that except as required by federal and state law, school officials and employees shall not collect information or documents or inquire about the immigration status of pupils or their family members. It also encouraged schools to provide appropriate counseling for pupils who may be affected by enforcement activities of immigration agents. The CCC was registered in strong support of this bill. This bill was sponsored by the California Teachers Association (CTA), who may very likely reintroduce this bill again next session. They also had a very long list of supporters who are also very likely continue to advocate for this piece of legislation.

AB 442 Notaries Public (Arambula) - VETOED: The Matricula Consular card would have been recognized as a form of identification to allow Notaries Public to perform services. Currently the Matricula is accepted as identification by major banks to enable remittances and opening of bank accounts. The in-person application process and technological innovations to the actual card by the Mexican government prevent counterfeit activity.

AB 494 Farm Worker Housing (Caballero) - SIGNED/CHAPTERED: Farm owners that are interested in allocating a piece of their land dedicated to farm worker housing would be exempt from local and county restrictions, increasing the availablity of farm workers housing.

AB 543 Perinatal Care-Nurse Family Partnership (Ma) - VETOED: The expansion of the Nurse Family Partnership Program would have assisted more low-income, first-time mothers to improve the health and well-being of their children.

AB 611 Emergency Services (Fong) - Vetoed: The bill aimed to improve the limited English proficiency of emergency preparedness programs. Families and individuals would have receive appropriate direction to services to assure their safety during a disaster. According to the governor a program already addresses the limited English proficiency population and provides the necessary training to its worker.

AB 719 Transitional Food Stamps for Foster Youth (Lowenthal) - SIGNED/CHAPTERED: The measure provides 12 months of federal food stamps for youth leaving foster care. This will give young people a better chance at a productive life.

AB 769 State Preschool (Torres) - VETOED: This bill would have expanded priority for state-funded preschool programs to children who have a biological parent who is, or who has been within the previous six months, a dependent or ward of the juvenile court. It was sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). The Governor's veto message states that this bill was vetoed due to the significant fiscal pressures on the already strapped state budget, specifically, Proposition 98, which funds K-16 public education. The veto message also states that children of those under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system already may access child care on a priority basis under current law, to the extent that they are at risk of abuse or neglect.

AB 988 Human Trafficking - U-Visas (Brownley) - VETOED: U-visas give certain victims of crime time to file appropriate asylum requests and the bill would have allowed training of law enforcement in the process. The governor's veto message said the state was not the appropriate provided of training in this case.

AB 1048 Child protection: safe surrender (Torrico) - 2-YEAR BILL: The safe surrender bill was made a two-year bill because of a threatened veto from the Governor, who has vetoed identical bills in years' past.The governor does not want to extend the age for safe surrender of a newborn from 72 hours to one week or one month because of the irreparable harm that could come to the infant. We have supported the legislation because we hold that it is never "too late" to save a life.

AB 1049 Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Safely Surrendered Baby Fund (Torrico) - VETOED: A companion bill to AB 1048 would have allowed voluntary contribution to the safe surrender program through personal income taxes, was vetoed. The Governor gave a "boilerplate" reason: "After careful and deliberate consideration, I do not believe it is necessary to sign this bill at this time."

AB 1288-E-Verify-Vetoed (Fong) - VETOED: The measure would have prohibited cities, counties and special districts from requiring employers to use the Employment Verification System also known as E-Verify. The Governor noted, "The bill raises the potential for increased claims and litigation by placing new requirements in the Labor Code without also defining how the requirements will be enforced."

2009 Senate Bills

SBX 318 Corrections Budget Bill (Ducheny) - PASSED: This bill was stalled during the budget negotiations earlier this summer when it was decided to cut $1.2 billion from the Department of Corrections. After much debate both houses agreed to pass a less than stellar plan which didn't address the reform that many had hoped for. The Governor signed the bill but it still leaves California's budget with a $200 million shortfall and it stops far short of solving the overcrowding crisis in state prisons.

SB 54 Family law: out-of-state marriages (Leno) - SIGNED/CHAPTERED: The bill, recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages-which we opposed-was signed by the Governor. He claimed that out-of-state marriages solemnized during the same five-month time period in which they were legal in California ought to have the same recognition as granted by the California Supreme Court in their May 2009 decision.

SB 471 California Stem Cell and Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development Act of 2009 (Romero) - SIGNED/CHAPTERED: We opposed because of the ideological emphasis on embryonic stem cell. It was signed by the Governor, who was a big supporter of Proposition 71.