JLOCC is one of the Junior Leagues in California that is a member of California State Public Affairs Committee (CalSPAC) – a non-partisan advocacy and education organization charged with promoting legislation favorable to its member Leagues’ community projects and focus areas and tracking all legislation that would affect those projects and areas.  California’s CalSPAC is composed of two delegates from each of the 17 member Junior Leagues in California, representing over 10,000 voting women and over 80 community projects in the areas of Education, Family Support, Health, Violence Prevention, and Human Trafficking that are supported by over $1 million annually in project funds, grants, and gifts.

Since 1971, CalSPAC has represented the interests of its member Leagues and community partners at the national, state, and local levels. CalSPAC is composed of two delegates from the following 17 Junior Leagues across the state: Bakersfield, Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey County, Napa-Sonoma, Oakland-East Bay, Orange County, Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula, Pasadena, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin County, San Jose, and Santa Barbara.

The members of the SPAC delegation advocate for specific legislation relevant to member League issues; educate home Junior League members about advocacy and public policy; and coordinate the exchange of information from community-based league projects to policymakers.

Since 1992, SPAC has sponsored seven bills and co-sponsored three bills that are now California Law; sponsored two California Resolutions; and co-sponsored one Congressional Resolution. Please visit our CalSPAC page on our website for more information on this important Junior League initiative in California.

This year, JLOCC supports the following legislation being advanced in the California Legislature:

Foster Youth:

SB 213 Placement of children: criminal records check. (Author Mitchell): This bill is an efficiency bill that aligns the qualifications between the Federal and State for foster placements.  This would remove some of the red tape within the State to place foster youth.

AB 754 Foster youth: enrichment activities. (Author Acosta): This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster youth’s skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit documentation that describes how the grant was used and the actual cost, supported by copies of receipts, of the program, product, or service, and directly related costs, purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.

Supporting this bill is tied to the efforts associated with the work that the JLOCC does at The Academy to further help foster youth.  Regular education in the classroom is only a component of the efforts needed for students who are college bound.  This would remove any barriers to help foster youth who may not have the means to participate in extracurricular activities or other classes beyond the scope of required education standards.

AB 1515 Planning and zoning: housing (Author Daly): The Housing Accountability Act, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, a housing development project very low, low-, or moderate-income households or an emergency shelter unless the local agency makes specified findings. Under the act, the local agency may disapprove or condition approval of a housing development project or emergency shelter if, among other reasons, the housing development project or emergency shelter is inconsistent with both the jurisdiction’s zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation, as provided. The act makes various findings and declarations relating to its provisions.

This bill would specify that a housing development project or emergency shelter is deemed consistent with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision if there is sufficient evidence that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the housing development project or emergency shelter is consistent. The bill would make additional findings related to the Housing Accountability Act in this regard.

Supporting this bill is tied to supporting the foster youth of Orange County as many come from a homeless environment.  The JLOCC previously supported AB 1699 (2015-2016: Author Kim) that helped with providing transitional living services for designated homeless youth– which died because the Author was able to achieve benefit through the approval of the state budget that directed $10M to LA, SD, Santa Clara, SF (city and county) and now also OC, Fresno, San Bernardino, and El Dorado. In OC, there are over 30K students that are homeless or housing insecure which is a 236% increase over the last 10 years.

AB 1567 Public postsecondary education: California State University: California Community Colleges: foster youth (Author Holden): The bill would require each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges, upon determination, through receipt of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or through another means, that a student enrolled at, or applying to, that campus is a current or former foster youth and is eligible for financial aid, to enroll that student in appropriate campus support programs, as specified, notify that student of his or her eligibility for financial aid and of his or her enrollment in campus support programs, and provide that student with instructions for accessing the benefits for which he or she has qualified.

Supporting this bill is tied to the efforts by the JLOCC associated with the Foster Youth focus area.  Community projects that could be impacted include the Academy in preparation for getting the youth ready to graduate and go to college.

Human Trafficking:

SB 69 Sex Offenders: GPS monitoring: removal (Author Bates): This bill would make it a felony for a person to willfully remove or disable an electronic, global positioning system, or other monitoring device, if the device was affixed as a condition of parole, postrelease community supervision, or probation as a result of a conviction of certain specified sex offenses, if the person intended to evade supervision and either does not surrender, or is not apprehended, within one week of the issuance of a warrant for absconding, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. The bill would require the terms of probation or parole of a person who has committed a violation of these provisions to include participation and completion of a sex offender management program. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Supporting this bill is tied to the efforts by the JLOCC associated with the Human Trafficking focus area.  In November, the OC District Attorney convicted a Human Trafficker to the largest sentence to date of 255 years.  This person had removed their GPS monitoring device and was able to commit acts of trafficking. Had the person been caught for their removal, the HT would have been prevented. Also, the JLOCC previously supported the bill, which failed due to the Governor’s efforts to reduce the crowded jail system.

SB 75 Violent Felonies (Author Bates): This bill further defines among other crimes, the offenses of vehicular manslaughter, human trafficking involving a minor, assault with a deadly weapon, solicitation of murder, rape under various specified circumstances, and grand theft of a firearm as violent felonies for purposes of imposing specified sentence enhancements. The bill would also make conforming changes.

SB 225 – Human trafficking: notice (Author Stern): Existing law requires specified businesses and other establishments to post a notice, as developed by the Department of Justice, that contains information relating to slavery and human trafficking, including information regarding specified nonprofit organizations that a person can call for services or support in the elimination of slavery and human trafficking. This bill requires the notice to specify that a person can also text specified nonprofit organizations for services and support and, by April 1, 2018, would require the department to revise and update the notice, as specified.

Supporting this bill is tied to the efforts by the JLOCC associated with Human Trafficking.  We continue to educate the community at large and this adds another layer of technology for ease and support for people to report suspicious activity whether they are a victim or observer.

AB 260 – Human trafficking (Santiago): Similar to SB 225 however, expands the list of businesses that are required to post information about Human Trafficking to include hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts inns, and other similar lodging establishments, other than personal residences.

Supporting this bill is tied to the efforts by the JLOCC associated with Human Trafficking.  We continue to educate the community at large and this adds community that is integral to the ability for these violent crimes to occur.  Additionally, the JLOCC previously supported legislation that established the required information to be in the current list of businesses.

Foster Youth & Human Trafficking:

AB 27 – Violent felonies: sex offenses (Authors Melendez and Gonzalez): This bill additionally defines violent felonies as rape, sodomy, penetration with a foreign object, or oral copulation, if the victim was unconscious, if the victim was incapable of giving consent due to intoxication, if the victim was incapable of giving legal consent because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, if the victim submitted to the act under the belief that the person committing the act was someone known to the victim other than the accused, or if the act was accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to use the authority of a public

Supporting this bill is tied to the efforts associated with protecting the vulnerable youth populations in Orange County, including but not limited to, foster youth and human trafficking victims.

Categories: JLOCC News, Our Members, Public Affairs