Announcing TechEquity’s Legislative Priorities

What housing and labor bills are high on the list this year.
April 15, 2022
Blog
|
Policy + Elections, Legislation
bird's eye view of the California State Capitol building at dusk, with a pink/purple sky in the background

Each year, hundreds of bills are introduced into the California legislature. We sift through legislation to find and select a set of bills that address problems in our issue areas: housing and labor & workforce. 

TechEquity is advancing a bold policy agenda to address economic inequality in the housing market and on the job. We’re taking on big fights in this year’s legislative session: a statewide rental registry, repealing racist housing policies, and protecting workers by advocating for pay transparency for pay equity.  

We partner with our community members to advocate and advance campaigns throughout the legislative cycle to help successfully pass our sponsored and priority bills. Due to the sheer number of housing and labor & workforce policy initiatives, we monitor bills and adjust our position accordingly as legislation is added during the session. Here’s a rundown of our 2022 legislative agenda and how you can get involved. 

Our Sponsored Legislation

This year, we’re partnering with elected officials to develop and lead the efforts to ensure we’re holding corporate landlords accountable and closing the pay equity gap. Our efforts include writing legislation alongside lawmakers, leading coalition tables, and working with members of our community to campaign for housing and workforce and labor policies that advance equity for Californians across the state.  

SB 1162 – Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act

Contract workers often perform many of the same job functions as their directly-employed peers but get paid less. The Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act ensures that workers are compensated fairly and that lawmakers have access to the same information on contract workers. Contract work is a necessary component of how we conduct business. To learn more about The Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act, click here. 

AB 2469 – Statewide Rental Registry 

A statewide rental registry will focus on the scale and severity of the rental housing crisis. How you may ask? The bill will help cities pinpoint where housing needs are most acute, allowing local governments, affordable housing developers, and market-rate developers to identify areas for equitable development.  A rental registry is the common-sense first step to democratize data the state sorely news by developing a statewide online portal. To learn more about AB 2469, check out our FAQs here. 

Our Priority Legislation

In addition to our advocacy for our sponsored legislation, we work closely with community partners to ensure the passage of bills that align with our mission to advance structural change. We educate, engage, and activate our community to get involved and support the passage of these bills.

SCA 2 – Public Housing Projects

Did you know it’s incredibly difficult to build affordable housing, even when we want to? A provision in California’s State Constitution known as Article 34 requires voter approval before any public housing funded by public dollars is built in a city. That is why legislators have introduced SCA 2, which will repeal Article 34 and empower local governments to address housing and homelessness by making it legal to build low-income housing.  We must address California’s housing crisis and the shortage of available, affordable housing across the state. To learn more about SCA 2, click here. 

AB 2289 – Wealth Tax: False Claims Act

Working-class Californians have struggled to make ends meet through the pandemic and an inflated housing market. In contrast, the ultra-rich have benefited from a tax system that allows the wealthiest Californians to avoid income tax as long as they do not sell their stocks.  The Wealth Tax proposes a constitutional amendment that moves the tax rate to 0.4% to 1% tax on extreme wealth of $50 million or more per household and 1.5% on wealth in excess of one billion dollars. Click here to learn more about AB 2289, the Wealth Tax: False Claims Act. 

Our TechEquity Watchlist (aka Monitored Legislation)

Throughout the legislative season, hundreds of bills are introduced that are relevant to housing and workforce &  labor policy. We wish we could campaign around these critical initiatives, but we need to drive our advocacy capacity to where it’s most needed. However, we are committed to tracking these bills, taking action, and educating our members whenever possible to ensure their passage.

Interested in what bills we’re watching? Check out the bills below and click to read the full text. 

Housing Bills to Watch

  • AB 889 – Business entities: landlords: reporting requirements.
  • AB 2050 – Ellis Act Reform: Holding Period
  • AB 2053 – The Social Housing Act
  • AB 2230 – CalWORKs: temporary shelter and permanent housing
  • AB 2297 – Tenancy: fee in lieu of a security deposit (Oppose)
  • AB 2383 –  Rental housing unlawful housing practices: applications: criminal record (Oppose)
  • ACA-14 –  Homelessness and affordable housing

Workforce & Labor Bills to Watch

  • AB 1949 – Bereavement Leave 
  • AB 2095 –  Workers Metrics Program
  • AB 2182 – Discrimination: family responsibilities.
  • SB 976 – Universal Pre-School

What Can I Do to Help?

Our communities must address the structural inequity in California’s economy. But, we cannot do this without the support of tech workers. Are you ready to join the movement for justice and accelerate change? Start by signing onto our 2022 policy agenda. It’s time to mobilize and get involved in this year’s legislative session; we can’t wait to work with you!