Bay Area Reporter :: Woman of color to become area s 5th state legislator ebar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ebar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
No matter the outcome of the special election for the East Bay s 18th Assembly District seat, one thing is now guaranteed. A woman of color is set to represent Alameda, San Leandro, and a portion of Oakland in the California Legislature come September.
The winner will bring the number of female Bay Area state lawmakers up to five, as the rest of the 23 legislative seats that circle the region are held by men. And should social justice attorney Janani Ramachandran be elected, she will be the first LGBTQ state legislator from the East Bay.
Ramachandran, 29, would also be the first legislator who identifies as queer and first out API female state legislator. Of South Indian ancestry, she would also be California s first South Asian assemblywoman.
The first LGBTQ rights legislation to be passed by the state Legislature this year now awaits signage by California Governor Gavin Newsom. He has until early July to sign it into law or veto the bill.
Assembly Bill 439, authored by Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), would allow for the option of nonbinary as the gender identity on death certificates. It is similar to the 2017 legislation Senate Bill 179, authored by lesbian Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), which authorized people to use nonbinary on their birth certificates, court documents, and driver s licenses.
The first bill focused on LGBTQ rights to pass out of its house of origin this legislative session, when the Assembly voted for it 62-2 on April 19 with 12 members not voting, the Senate approved the bill June 21 on a 32-6 vote with two abstentions. The Assembly voted a second time on the amended bill June 24, passing it with 63 votes and 16 abstentions.
While two bills regarding health care for transgender and intersex individuals were tabled this year in light of limited support, a bevy of LGBTQ legislation is advancing in the California Legislature.
Aguiar-Curry helps push for broadband investment
Shares
SACRAMENTO Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, and state Sen. Lena A. Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, led a group of 17 members of the California Legislature in calling upon Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leadership to support a major investment in broadband infrastructure and service for Californians without reliable, affordable internet. The effort comes as Newsom considers adjustments to his January budget proposal for the fiscal year 2021-22 in the annual “May Revision.”
The letter calls for a $500 million allocation in funds from the American Rescue Plan to support the deployment of broadband municipal fiber networks by local governments. The group calls for a significant $3 billion investment to further target and support broadband infrastructure deployment by local agencies, nonprofits and internet providers who apply under the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) program.