SACRAMENTO – As the first bill in her 2025 legislative package, Majority Leader Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) has announced Senate Bill (SB) 12, legislation to establish a new state agency dedicated to Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. The Agency, and its Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs would provide a permanent governmental framework focused on streamlining services, creating grant programs, and engaging stakeholders to enhance support for immigrant and refugee families in California.
A group of elected officials and advocates gathered at La Plaza de Culturas y Artes in Los Angeles on Thursday to announce a life-lasting memorial to honor the victims of the 1930s deportations.
LOS ANGELES — On Thursday, Sens. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) officially launched the Mexican Repatriation Memorial Project in Los Angeles.
Sacramento, Calif. – On October 7, 2024, Majority Leader Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) issued the following statement on marking one year since the October 7th attacks:
"Latinos and Indigenous Mesoamericans are vibrant and diverse communities, each with unique health needs," said Majority Leader Gonzalez. “Every Latino deserves to be seen, heard, and represented in our healthcare system, especially in the data that drives resource allocation. With the Latino and Indigenous Health Disparities Reduction Act our state is making significant strides toward health equity for all Californians. I am grateful to Governor Newsom for signing this bill into law, and also extend my heartfelt thanks to the many community advocates who have championed this cause and continue to fight tirelessly for health equity in our communities.”
“This law puts California on track to funding our obligation to pay for the safe cleanup and remediation of the oil operations in Long Beach. I am thankful to Mayor Richardson and our partners in Long Beach for helping advance this proactive legislation and to the Governor for signing it into law,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez.
Sacramento, Calif. – On September 22, 2024, The Climate Resilient Schools Act by Majority Leader Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) was vetoed by Governor Newsom for the second consecutive year after successfully passing the Legislature with a strong majority vote. The legislation would have created a roadmap for California school districts to access federal funding to upgrade school facilities amidst a changing climate and increasingly severe weather.
Our childhoods have unfolded in a California that is on fire.
We’ve lost school days. Our friends have lost homes. Our communities live in constant fear of destruction. As we navigate adolescence in a California fundamentally altered by climate change, our schools should be sanctuaries. But due to outdated infrastructure built for an era before climate change, they cannot keep us healthy when extreme weather strikes.
The passage of a landmark state law in 2022 to ban new drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, child care centers and hospitals and establish new health protections for existing wells seemed to be the victory they sought. They never imagined it might take nearly another decade for it to take full effect.
