STATE NEWS
From the Capitol
Governor Signs 3 of CSEA’s Sponsored Bills
The 2023-2024 two-year legislative session wrapped up in September with Governor Newsom signing thousands of bills over the course of just a few weeks. This year, CSEA sent four sponsored bills to Governor Newsom’s desk. These proposals continue CSEA’s tradition of fighting for classified school employees by advocating for laws that strengthen our public education system and bolster workers’ rights. CSEA worked closely alongside our union siblings to sponsor and support legislation that will make a real difference in the lives of working people and their families.
“In spite of the state’s precarious budget outlook, CSEA was still able to advance important priorities aligned with our mission of improving the lives of our members, students, and community. I’m proud that our advocacy paid off, and I look forward to beginning work on a new legislative bill package this winter,” said Legislative Committee Chair Steve Lopez of Garvey Chapter 292.
Of the four sponsored bills CSEA sent to Governor Newsom, three were signed
- AB 2971 (Maienschein) ensures that community college classified employees are included in a statewide workgroup that will propose classified school employee staffing ratios.
- SB 98 (Portantino) requires the legislative staff to report on the impact of a transition from attendance-based school funding to enrollment-based funding.
- SB 1288 (Becker) requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a working group, including classified employees, that will guide districts on the issue of artificial intelligence in schools.
Despite CSEA’s best efforts, Governor Newsom vetoed AB 2088 (McCarty)—our second attempt at requiring districts to offer new part-time jobs to existing classified employees already working part-time in that job classification. District management organizations lobbied aggressively against the bill before the Governor—defending their egregious practice of splitting jobs to avoid paying full-time benefits.
In addition to championing our sponsored legislation, CSEA successfully killed all 16 of the bills we opposed this year, safeguarding classified employees from harmful anti-worker and anti-public education policies. With the ongoing support of our membership and the political power that we build each election, we expect to continue to win legislative battles and make a difference in the lives of our members, students, and community.
