ACLU News

A bill that would reform California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession and significantly reduce incarceration costs for counties cleared an important legislative hurdle Tuesday. SB 649, authored by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), was approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee on a 4-2 vote, and moves now to the full Senate for consideration.

The School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266), authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, has passed the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 5-2. The School Success and Opportunity Act addresses the exclusion of transgender students from classes and activities, and clarifies existing anti-discrimination law to provide clear protections to transgender students.

A federal appeals court ruled on April 16 that the California Department of Transportation’s equal opportunity program for contracting businesses fairly and constitutionally ensures that minority- and women-owned businesses have equal ground to compete for federal contracts.

On April 9, the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee voted to pass AB 154 - the Early Access to Abortion Bill - by a vote of 9 to 4. The bill is expected to move to the Assembly Health Committee later this month. While other states and Congress are moving to restrict access to reproductive health care, in California women's health and rights groups have come together to support legislation that would increase access to early abortion care in this state.

On March 20, the ACLU-NC filed a lawsuit charging that warrantless cell phone searches at the time of arrest violate the constitutional rights not only of arrestees but also of their family, friends, co-workers, and anyone whose information is in their phones. The suit is filed on behalf of a local resident whose cell phone was searched by the SFPD without a warrant after he was arrested while engaging in peaceful civil disobedience.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano has introduced the School Success and Opportunity Act, Assembly Bill 1266, co-authored by Senator Mark Leno and Senator Ricardo Lara. The bill will ensure that California public schools understand their responsibility for the success and well-being of all students, including transgender students, and will allow transgender students to fully participate in all school activities, programs, and facilities.

Sen. Mark Leno has introduced new legislation, sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of California and a number of other organizations, that reforms California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession.

On the 40th Anniversary of the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, state leaders, women's health and rights groups, announced the introduction of a bill that would improve abortion access. Over the last two years, 135 laws restricting abortion were passed across the country. But here in California we do things differently. Women in rural and urban areas around our state still face challenges in access to abortion. AB 154 would improve abortion access in California by expanding the number of trained health professionals who can provide early abortions.

On January 11, 2013, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation that challenges unconstitutional provisions in Proposition 35. The law requires anyone who is a registered sex offender to turn over a list of all their Internet identifiers and service providers to law enforcement.