Category Archives: AAUW CA

Public Policy News

December Public Policy News By Kathy Papst

I want to begin by thanking the members who supported Public Policy by attending the October presentation on Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and Prop. 50. It was an eye-opener to learn about the Constitution and The Bill of Rights, and how they led to where we are today.

Unfortunately, I will not be attending the December Holiday Luncheon. In my absence I will share the debut of my Public Policy information board. Members and guests will be able to see what is currently happening with California legislation and the goals for California AAUW. Public Policy is the heartbeat of branch goals and activities. I hope that our newer members get involved with working on a committee or other ways of supporting this important part of AAUW goals.

The next time that I see you it will be 2026. So, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all!

2025 Legislative Session Ends with Some Big Wins and Tough Losses for AAUW California

By Amy Hom and Missy Maceyko, Co-chairs AAUW California Public Policy

The 2025 legislative session has closed in California.

Kathy Van Osten, AAUW California’s Legislative Advocate, summarized the session this way: “In 2025, 917 bills were sent to the Governor, of which he signed 794 bills and vetoed 123 bills. The 2025 Legislative Session was tumultuous as policymakers worked to address the impacts of ravaging urban wildfires in Los Angeles, to pass a State Budget that closed a $12 billion deficit, and to address a multitude of impacts created by the violent upheaval of federal funding and policies that have or will decimate services for Californians, that threaten existing or future projects in the State, and that threaten our educational institutions.”

With these issues in mind, AAUW California put together our 2025 Legislative Agenda, taking a support position on 26 bills, and for the first time in our recent history, taking an opposition position on 7 bills. With the blessing of the Public Policy Committee and the AAUW California Board, we were proud to advance this agenda, which confronted some of the most pressing issues that we face as a state, and a nation, around gender equity and social justice. We were also proud to take strong opposition positions this year, given the large number of bills introduced at the start of the session that were antithetical to AAUW California’s values and Public Policy Priorities.

While our A-priority support bills did not fare well this session, we are happy to report that we had a great deal of success with the rest of our support-bills as well as with stopping the opposition bills from advancing.

First the bad news: Our A-priority support bills were vetoed or gutted.

  • SB 771 was vetoed. This A-priority bill, authored by Senator Henry Stern and sponsored by AAUW California, would have held social media companies liable if their algorithms aid or abet individual users who are breaking the law and intimidating or threatening others in online spaces. The Governor vetoed the bill, indicating that current civil rights laws have not been tested in the courts with respect to algorithms’ complicity in hate crimes, and that until existing law is deemed insufficient by the courts, SB 771 is premature.
  • SB 418 was vetoed. This A-priority bill, authored by Senator Caroline Menjivar, would have prohibited a health service provider from denying coverage for services based upon race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including sexual preference or gender identity, intersex traits, and pregnancy. The Governor vetoed the bill, citing a concern that the bill’s requirement to cover prescribed hormone therapy without utilization management (UM) is likely to drive up the cost of health care.
  • AB 1098 was gutted and amended. This A-priority bill, authored by Assemblymember Mike Fong, would have prohibited a postsecondary educational institution from discriminating against a student based on their current, potential, or past pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions. According to the author’s office, the bill had run into significant opposition from the public universities, and they chose not to continue to move the bill this year. Instead, the bill language was gutted and replaced with language that establishes the Office of the Interagency Council on Education within the Governor’s Operations Agency. The amended bill was signed into law.

Now, the good news: Of our fourteen support bills that made it to the Governor’s desk, eleven were signed into law. Below are some important wins:

  • AB 621 – signed into law! This B-priority bill, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, heightens penalties for companies whose platforms distribute deepfake pornography.
  • SB 669 – signed into law! This B-priority bill, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, authorizes up to five rural hospitals throughout the state to partner with licensed birth centers to provide perinatal services in rural communities.
  • AB 260 – signed into law! Authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, this bill protects access to medication abortion.
  • SB 627- signed into law! Authored by Senator Scott Wiener, this bill bans law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings during their duties. This is the first such law enacted in the nation!

And of the seven bills that AAUW California opposed, four have become 2-year bills and three have died:

  • AB 579 is dead! This A-priority bill, authored by Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, would have stated categorically that parents’ refusal to acknowledge a child’s gender identity can never be considered a form of abuse or neglect, and therefore cannot be considered in a custody dispute.
  • AB 25 is dead! Authored by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, this bill would have required an elections official to verify the citizenship of voters and authorized the official to require a person to provide documentation of citizenship for that purpose.
  • AB 1012 is dead! Authored by Assemblymember Bill Essayli, this bill would have prohibited the provision of Medi-Cal to people without legal immigration status.

To see the full results of the 2025 Legislative Agenda, please go to the Bill Tracking Report. The  November issue of Public Policy News includes a Legislative Agenda Scorecard.

AAUW California Updates

AAUW California Update

From Amy Hom and Missy Maceyko, Co-chairs, AAUW California Public Policy Committee: Please click HERE for the May issue of Public Policy News. There is an article about Lobby Days 2025 – “AAUW California Mobilizes to Advance Priority Legislation”. AIso in this issue we announce the launch of our Trans Allyship Guide and provide some actions you can take to be a trans ally.

From Lata Murti, Co-chairs, AAUW California State Board Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: There is now a DEI Statement on the AAUW California website’s home page! You can access it HERE. AAUW California continues to stand strong in our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

If you missed AAUW California’s 2025 Annual Event, Pivoting 4 Our Future, you can find a recording of it HERE. A copy of the agenda and a summary of the 4 pivots can be found HERE. Note that the discussions in the breakout rooms were not recorded.

National AAUW Update

National AAUW has released its 2025 Strategy. You can find it HERE. Also, AAUW has announced two new targeted funds we can give to now– the Public Policy Fund (4337) and the Defend Higher Education Fund (4513), as well as the Greatest Needs Fund. You can find these HERE.

Sacramento Branch Inc.-Uniquely Ours

Sacramento Branch Inc. – Uniquely Ours By Donna Holmes

If you want something done, ask a busy woman!  Our branch is especially successful despite any struggles we might have.  We support every single program: Tech Trek, Speech Trek, Start Smart, College/University alliance, Scholarship and NCCWSL, all without giving up a variety of interest and book groups.

As I have said before, our branch is the perfect place to say yes.  The support and friendships I have gained from saying yes have been invaluable, and I cherish them even more since becoming a widow.  So, thanks to our branch’s culture I applied to be an AAUW-California director.  Thought I would be doing Funds, but it came out differently.  Here is the lowdown:

  1. Charmen Goehring, our outgoing Funds director, will be California State President. Charmen has been President-Elect this past year as well as DEI Director at the state level.
  2. Michelle Baer (Joined AAUW June 2021) and Donna Holmes, Co-Directors – Communications. Michelle will be taking over the tech side from Sandi Gabe, managing the State website, etc.  I will be on the creative side – a stretch for me!
  3. Marty McKnew, currently our branch Parliamentarian & Governance Chair, is adding that role for the State.
  4. We also want to recognize Lana Widman for her service as Speech Trek Coordinator for the State through June of this year.

So, out of 11 elected board positions, our branch holds three going forward as well as parliamentarian, which is a non-voting appointed position. Join a State Committee and ‘play’ with us, deadline is May 31, 2024.

President’s Message

President’s Message By Nancy McCabe

Welcome Spring! A couple of activities to note this past March:

AAUW Sacramento Branch was well represented at Sacramento County’s Inaugural Women and Girls Festival on March 9. This was the first time in Sacramento that so many people have gathered to celebrate women and girls at a festival organized by women, with women, for women. Mahnaz Khazari, Jan Stuter, Terry Chekon and I hosted an AAUW table at Sac City College. It was also a learning experience that we need a more dynamic presentation to engage passersby, with interesting handouts and perhaps a spinning wheel with prizes.

You can see highlights of the event in these <photos>.

On March 16, the AAUW California Gov Trek Committee hosted the 2024 Gov Trek Finale! Here are the results:

The student campaign team that won the highly contested 2024 Gov Trek mock election competition: Team Vote Eliana. This team includes four high school girls from San Ramon, two from Roseville-South, and one from Santa Cruz County. Congratulations to the members of those branch communities and these up-and-coming leaders! The team members will receive internships and awards.

Watch the Gov Trek Finale and Campaign Competition recording and share it with your branch members HERE.

To view each campaign video, click the team name.
 Grand Prize: Vote Eliana
 Best Candidate Speech: Gov Trek Girlies
 Best Campaign Management: Melissa 4 Riverside
 Best Campaign Ad & Flier: Abby for Senate 
 Best Voter Outreach Plan: Vote Delisha
 People’s Choice Award: Gov Trek Girlies

President’s Message

President’s Message By Nancy McCabe

The Jan. 31 email from AAUW California Public Policy News outlined the basic tenets of the new School Board Project. This involves monitoring local school board meetings to determine whether they are adhering to the state’s 2016 framework in history and social sciences, which requires schools to strongly emphasize student inquiry and reflects on the contributions of many diverse groups.

“Effective school boards are equity driven, making intentional governance decisions that combat institutional discrimination and bias (both explicit and implicit) and eliminate disparities in educational outcomes based on socioeconomic status, gender orientation, disability or family background.” These are a lot of governmental words that spell out problems that you basically “know them when you see them.”

We are being asked to monitor school board meetings in our area for adherence to these policies, which in common parlance are banning books, and gender or racial discrimination. We share with CHAR seven school districts in our county — Elk Grove, Folsom-Cordova, Natomas, Robla, Sacramento City, San Juan and Twin Rivers. We need a member to pick a district where you have an interest — where you live or have a child or grandchild — and attend their meetings and report issues to our contact person Sue Miller, a member of the Roseville branch.

Anne Just, who has a lot of knowledge of school boards, has agreed to chair this project, but she needs a co-chair, as she is a traveler. If you are concerned about the direction that some groups are attempting to take public schools, please read the above referenced article and contact Anne with your interest. Be assured that California AAUW has assembled a toolkit for us to use — we aren’t reinventing the wheel! You can find the latest AAUW California Public Policy News <here>.

Thank you for your interest and involvement in the education of our children. Let’s give them an equal start in their educational journey.

AAUW PRIORITIES

AAUW PRIORITIES By Kathy Papst

As Director of Priorities, I have a responsibility to make sure that our branch members really understand the mission for AAUW. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find more members to volunteer for the committees under the umbrella of PRIORITIES. I hope that some of you will take the opportunity to investigate why we are still here after 100-plus years. We can be a force for change for women and girls in California, and even the nation.

The website for AAUW California has a tremendous amount of information regarding the 2023- 25 gender equity through advocacy platform. There are four areas of interest that are priorities for change.

  • Social and Racial Justice for All Members of Society
  • Equal Access to Quality Public Education for All Students
  • Increased Representation of Women in Leadership Roles
  • Economic Security for All Women

These and other issues are on an informational card available on the website by emailing office@aauw.ca.org or you can download them <here> and print them on your home printer.

Legislation supported by AAUW is divided into four levels:

  • A LEVEL Priority
  • B LEVEL
  • C LEVEL
  • WATCH BILLS

In 2023, 19 out of 22 supported bills made it to the Governor’s desk and were SIGNED, which is an 86.3% success rate.

There are so many opportunities to become involved without going to a lot of meetings or becoming a chairperson. I want to encourage our members to keep abreast of what is going on in the branch and in California. If you have any questions about legislation or the mission, please do not hesitate to call or email. If you want to get involved, but are worried about the time involved or what you would need to do, think about pairing up with someone else and taking turns to report to the members. Please get involved, especially in this election year. Thank you.

Did You Know? 

Did You Know?

CA Public Policy News By Amy Hom and Melissa Maceyko

Co-chairs, AAUW California Public Policy Committee

Please click <here> for the January issue of Public Policy News. It includes

  • Information on the next Branch Public Policy meeting
  • Information on Lobby Days
  • Key links to public policy resources
  • An article about Parents’ Rights

From the IBC Fund Luncheon

One of our AAUW Fund recipients, Krystal Lau, is a published author. She wrote a book for children, “My Elastical Fantastical Bubble” and  shared a link to her story here: https://literacycloud.org/stories/3093-my-elastical-fantastical- bubble/

April Program Quiz Answers

Banned Books and the Right to Read Anything!

Quiz answers

  1. c) Satanic Verses was banned in 14 countries = blasphemy against Islam. There are a lot of Islamic countries.
  2. b) China has banned 33; Singapore, 32; Indonesia, 24; Australia, 22, and the US, 20.
  3. d) All of the above.
  4. c) Spain

It’s AAUW’s Art Contest Time!

AAUW’s annual art contest is officially under way, and we invite members to submit a high-res image of their original painting, photography, sculpture, collage or other artwork. We will be accepting submissions through January 31, 2024. Your work could be among the winning entries!

Starting in February, AAUW members will select their favorite entries via ranked-choice voting. The winners will be featured on a collection of notecards sent to all members this spring. The back of each card will include the winning artist’s biography, a fact about AAUW and a highlight of the artist’s local branch affiliation when applicable.

For more information on submitting artwork, or to peruse last year’s art gallery, please visit the AAUW Art Contest page <here>.

Sunshine Chair

Pat Winkle is our Sunshine Chair and needs to hear from you if you know members who might appreciate a get well, sympathy or “thinking of you” card. As she doesn’t know everyone, she needs your help in remembering our friends. Her contact information is in the directory.

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles.

New AAUW CA Project – School Boards – and Printable Articles

New AAUW CA Project – School Boards Observation
Submitted by Liz Jordan

AAUW CA has approved a new project, the AAUW CA School Board Project, which is to enable monitoring school boards and how they may be affected by organizations whose objective is to ban books and censor educational materials. This is happening in numerous other states and may also be underway in CA.

The AAUW California Public Policy Committee has been approached by an organization called Equality California, whose mission is to “… bring the voices of LGBTQ+ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people.”  Their current and most immediate concern is the country-wide wave to install extremely regressive members on school boards, by organizations whose objective is to ban books and censor educational materials that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups.

AAUW California shares this concern.  We recognize the intersectionality of the challenges faced by all women – be they straight, white women; women of color; or lesbian, bisexual or transgender women – and support the struggles of all our sisters.

As an organization that was founded on the principle of advancing educational opportunities for women and girls, we also share Equality California’s alarm at the speed and breadth of educational policies that are taking those efforts backwards.  We, like they, want to do everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen in California.

Equality California has called on us to join their efforts to assess the current climate in California, and to help them identify and support non-partisan school board candidates who can counter this trend.  Their organization is looking for qualified progressive candidates whom they will train and financially support to run in the most vulnerable districts.  The state Public Policy Committee has voted to engage, and the AAUW California Board of Directors has approved our decision.  Now it’s your turn – we need your help!  With over 9,000 members, we are in a unique position to provide “eyes and ears” on the ground to assist this project.  We are calling on each of you – the public policy leaders for your branches – to get us started by completing a brief survey – which you can find here https://forms.gle/fQj7JyBdiLLLwsTC6 – by the end of May. Once we have the results, we can determine additional ways in which you can each be of service.  Working together, we CAN make a difference!

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles.

Public Policy

Public Policy News By Liz Jordan

AAUW CA Promotes its Priorities with the Legislature, Prepares for a Vote on New Ones

By Ginny Hatfield, Amy Hom and Kathi Harper, AAUW CA Public Policy Committee       

If you participated in this year’s Lobby Days on March 21 and 22, you know it was a whirlwind of activity.  Over two jam-packed days, 120 AAUW CA members from 50 branches met with 46 Assembly offices and 23 Senate offices.  Most of the meetings took place via Zoom and the majority took place without a hitch.  For the first time, some of our members met in person in Sacramento.

While most meetings were conducted with legislative staff, we were able this year to schedule 10 meetings with the members themselves — six Assemblymembers and four Senators.  In addition, Kathi Harper, AAUW CA Public Policy Chair, and Kathy Van Osten, our AAUW CA Legislative Advocate, met with the Governor’s staff and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon’s office.

We were happy to learn that our organization was known to many of the legislative staff and legislators with whom our members met.  Some had spoken to branches in their districts; others were familiar with our public policy priorities and expressed alignment and support for them; and a handful were appreciative of the background we provided about our mission and programs. A sterling endorsement came from none other than Alf Brandt, policy consultant for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, whose mother was an AAUW member in the 1940’s in Orange County.  He credits her involvement in AAUW “making me the man I am today.”

The reception of our “Top 3” bills — AB 1394, SB 287 and AB 549 – was generally favorable, especially the two social media bills.  Both staff and legislators could identify with the pervasive problem of having children who are or will be targeted by social media.  AB 549 needed a bit more explaining, as some were unfamiliar with CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.  You can find more information on these and all the bills we are supporting here: https://www.aauw-ca.org/documents/2023/03/bill-tracking.pdf/.

During our Lobby Days event, we were able to get our message across to those who make our laws and to highlight AAUW, our mission, accomplishments and the benefits we bring to our communities throughout CA.  It was an empowering exercise in advocacy and for those of you who participated, AAUW CA thanks you!

Adding this reminder: it’s time to vote on the updates to the Public Policy Priorities for 2023-25.   In response to input from 466 members, the state Public Policy Committee has recommended and the Board has approved 11 changes, which can be viewed here: https://www.aauw-ca.org/2023-proposed-public-policy-priorities/.  Highlighted additions include support for: civics education, access to diverse staff and curriculum, safe infrastructure and access to technology in our schools, gun violence prevention, and a fourth pillar to support women in leadership roles. Voting opens April 22. Make sure you make your voice heard!

AAUW CA And National Tidbits

AAUW CA And National Tidbits

National and state elections are around the corner.  If your email address is correct in the Community Hub (National’s Members Only page) you will receive an online ballot.

National Election Details California State Election Details
  • April 5 |voting opens (online voting is encouraged)
  • May 15 | Online voting ends at 5:00 pm ET
  • May 17 | Vote results announced online
  • April 22 |voting opens (online voting is encouraged)
  • May 13 | Online voting ends at midnight PT
  • May 17 | Vote results announced online
  • Annual State meeting features ACADEMY AAUWARDS!

SAVE THE DATE: April 22, 2023, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 over Zoom

AAUW California’s Annual State meeting, open to all members, is on April 22, 2023, from 9-4 on Zoom. This year’s theme is the Academy AAUWards! Join the re- carpet interviews, listen to inspiring keynote speakers, and watch the Speech Trek and Gov Trek finalists. Cheer on your fellow members and branches for all sorts of AAUW awards, get a public policy update, and meet the board candidates. And, every awards event worth its swag bag has after–parties! Join our Zoom-style parties to hang out with your friends! Look for more information soon!

Celebrating AAUW California, its branches, and its members will be the most fun event of the spring! Don’t miss out on the Academy AAUWards on April 22nd! Get ready to mingle!

  • VIRTUAL GOV TREK HAS BEGUN!

On January 28th we launched our inaugural virtual Gov Trek session with just over 60 future leaders and 40 volunteers in attendance from across California!

AAUW California 2023 Gov Trek’s inaugural session started with a video address from fellow Californian SPEAKER EMERITA NANCY PELOSI.  We were privileged to have the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives greet us as we begin our journey together to explore careers in public office and elected positions.  https://youtu.be/szcsrAj0Ir4

Five distinguished women leaders addressed Gov Trek participants in the Women in Leadership Panel. They discussed elective office and public service at different levels of government, including the skills and challenges involved with them, and other related career paths in leadership and political participation. The speakers were:

  • Kathleen Van Osten, AAUW California Advocate and Lobbyist
  • Ellen Montanari, Deputy Campaign Manager, Rep Mike Levin
  • Regina Luzincourt, Lobbyist and Former Press Secretary, State Senator Parker
  • Shana Hazan, VP San Diego Unified School Board
  • Griselda Ramirez, Senior Director of Community Engagement, Partnerships, and Strategic Initiatives, Office of San Diego County Board of Supervisor Chair, Nora Vargas.

Click HERE to watch Gov Trek Session 1. The speaker sessions will be recorded and available to AAUW California members on the website HERE in the Student Program Materials section.

  • Ratify the ERA!

On February 1, lawmakers introduced new legislation to remove the arbitrary ratification deadline preventing enactment of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  You can lend your voice by becoming a Two-Minute Activist.  This link will take you to the national website where you can send an email directly to your representatives, urge congress to act, once and for all, to ensure women and men are guaranteed equality under the law.

Urge Congress

Also, you can sign up to be mobile activist!  To be a Two-Minute Activist Mobile, text “AAUW” to 21333 to receive timely, targeted action opportunities straight to your cell phone via text message.

  • Spring Shopping with AAUW

Check out the cool new branded items in the online ShopAAUW store, including stainless steel tumblers, wireless charging pads, pens, journals and more!

  • Power Partnership: AAUW & Ms. (free one year subscription!)

As part of a special partnership, a free, one-year subscription to the legendary Ms. Magazine is available to all members. Sign up to get yours today.

·       Special Panel Event: Closing the Digital Gender Gap

Join AAUW on Wednesday, March 15, at 2 p.m. ET. for an engaging online panel discussion about the “digital gender gap.” Learn from an expert panel how women are still being left behind from pursuing the most promising tech fields of the future—and how we can work to change that. The event is part of the 67th NGO Committee on the Status of Women and UN Commission on the Status of Women.

 

·       Two Can’t-Miss Inclusion & Equity Webinars

AAUW’s national Inclusion & Equity Committee is pleased to offer two engaging and informative webinars this spring. On Thursday, April 6, from 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET, we’ll share information with local branches and states as they prepare to celebrate Diversity Month in April and the World Day for Cultural Diversity on May 21. Then, on Wednesday, May 10, from 7:30 pm–9:00 pm ET, we’ll provide a hands-on learning opportunity for AAUW members to explore aspects of diversity and intersectionality. Please join us!