Five Bad Bills to be Heard in Committee Hearings in Sacramento

On Tuesday, April 25, there are five bills being heard in committees at the California state capitol that either threaten religious liberty, devalue human life, or redefine the Biblical definition of gender. If you can’t make it to the hearings yourself, please call the legislators on these committees and let them know what you think about these bills. And if your legislator is hearing one of these bill, make a special effort to call them first. These legislators represent you and you can’t expect them to advocate for your views if you don’t tell them what you think.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. – Room 112 to hear the following:

• SB 179: Change Your Gender Bill  This bill completely changes the meaning of the words “male” and “female,” from a physical description of reality, to a description of feelings and self identification. And it also officially recognizes a third gender, “non-binary” for those who don’t want to identity exclusively as either sex. Specifically, the SB 179 allows people to change the gender listed on their driver’s licenses or birth certificates to one of three options, by simply filling out a form; no questions asked; no proof required.
• SB 219: LGBT Bill of Rights for Long-term Care facilities Opens nursing homes up for a lawsuit if their staff don’t use the gender pronoun preferred by a resident. (Gender pronoun list could contain as many as 50 options) Gender would have to be determined by self identification, not biology. As a result, anyone claiming to be a woman or a man would have to be treated like their preferred sex in regards to rooming situations and bathroom usage. Any sex between residents, or between residents or visitors can not be prohibited. There are no exemptions for religious institutions.
• Here are the names and numbers of the Senate Judiciary Committee members:
  Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (Chair) (Dem – Santa Barbara ) (916) 651-4019
  Senator John M. W. Moorlach (Rep – Irvine) (Vice Chair) (916) 651-4037
  Senator Joel Anderson (Rep – San Diego) (916) 651-4038
  Senator Robert M. Hertzberg (Dem – Los Angeles) (916) 651-4018
  Senator Bill Monning (Dem – San Luis Obispo) (916) 651-4017
  Senator Henry I. Stern (Dem – Ventura) (916) 651-4027
  Senator Bob Wieckowski (Dem – Santa Clara) (916) 651-4010

• SB 309: Personalized State License plate to celebrate abortion rights
• Here are the names and number of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee members:
  Senator Jim Beall (Dem – Santa Clara) (Chair) (916) 651-4015
  Senator Anthony Cannella (Rep – Merced) (Vice Chair) (916) 651-4012
  Senator Benjamin Allen (Dem – Los Angeles) (916) 651-4026
  Senator Toni G. Atkins (Dem – San Diego) (916) 651-4039
  Senator Patricia C. Bates (Rep – Laguna Niguel) (916) 651-4036
  Senator Ted Gaines  (Rep – Rocklin) (916) 651-4001
  Senator Mike McGuire (Dem – Marin County) (916) 651-4002
  Senator Tony Mendoza (Dem – Los Angeles) (916) 651-4032
  Senator Mike Morrell (Rep – San Bernardino) (916) 651-4023
  Senator Richard D. Roth (Dem – Riverside) (916) 651-4031
  Senator Nancy Skinner (Dem – Alameda) (916) 651-4009
  Senator Bob Wieckowski (Dem – Santa Clara) (916) 651-4010
  Senator Scott D. Wiener (Dem – San Francisco) (916) 651-4011

• AB 569: Outlaw Codes of Conduct for Religious institutions : This bill is specifically outlaws employment codes of conduct for employees that prohibit abortion or contraception. This includes all churches, religiously affiliated schools, and non-profits. There is a very narrow exemption for ministers. The author also intends to use the law to outlaw codes of conduct prohibiting sex outside of marriage.
• Here are the names and the numbers of the Assembly Judiciary Committee members:
  Asm. Mark Stone (Dem – Santa Clara) (Chair) (916) 319-2029
  Asm. Jordan Cunningham (Rep – San Luis Obispo) (Vice Chair) (916) 319-2035
  Asm. Ed Chau (Dem – Los Angeles) (916) 319-2049
  Asm. David Chiu (Dem – San Francisco) (916) 319-2017
  Asm. Cristina Garcia (Dem – Los Angeles) (916) 319-2058
  Asm. Chris R. Holden (Dem – San Bernardino) (916) 319-2041
  Asm. Ash Kalra (Dem – San Jose) (916) 319-2027
  Asm. Kevin Kiley (Rep – Roseville) (916) 319-2006
  Asm. Brian Maienschein (Rep – San Diego) (916) 319-2077
  Asm. Eloise Gómez Reyes (Dem – San Bernardino) (916) 319-2047
  Asm. Philip Y. Ting (Dem – San Francisco) (916) 319-2019

• AB 888: Requires private colleges receiving Cal Grants to report student disciplinary actions
  This bill is specifically targeting four Christian Universities in California (Biola University, Fresno Pacific University, Simpson University, and William Jessup University) who have codes of conduct and policies prohibiting sexual activity outside Traditional marriage (one man and one woman), and define gender by biology instead of self identification.  This bill will require all colleges who receive Cal Grants to report disciplinary action taken against students, the reason for the discipline, and whether that student falls into a protected category under California law. The author says he is concerned students are being discriminated against because of their gender identity and sexual orientation for religious reasons.
   
• Here are the names and numbers of the Assembly Higher Education Committee members:
  Asm. Jose Medina (Dem – Riverside) (Chair) (916) 319-2061
  Asm. Catharine B. Baker (Rep – Livermore) (Vice Chair) (916) 319-2016
  Asm. Dr. Joaquin Arambula (Dem – Fresno) (916) 319-2031
  Asm. Richard Bloom (Dem – Santa Monica) (916) 319-2050
  Asm. Rocky J. Chávez (Rep – Oceanside) (916) 319-2076
  Asm. Steven S. Choi, PhD. (Rep – Irvine) (916) 319-2068
  Asm. Jacqui Irwin (Dem – Thousand Oaks) (916) 319-2044
  Asm. Kevin Kiley (Rep – Roseville) (916) 319-2006
  Asm. Marc Levine (Dem – Marin County) (916) 319-2010
  Asm. Evan Low (Dem – Santa Clara County) (916) 319-2028
  Asm. Sharon Quirk-Silva (Dem – Fullerton) (916) 319-2065
  Asm. Miguel Santiago (Dem – Los Angeles) (916) 319-2053
  Asm. Shirley N. Weber (Dem – San Diego) (916) 319-2079