Six Salas bills move forward

Assemblymember Rudy Salas is encouraged as six of his bills gained support in Assembly committees last week. Salas' bills cover a wide range of issues and are aimed at improving the lives and safety of working families throughout the Central Valley and California.

The bills are focused on enhancing public safety, increasing the healthcare workforce, strengthening protections for domestic violence survivors and improving educational systems.

"I am pleased that my bills have passed with strong and overwhelming support," said Assemblymember Salas.

The bills that passed their committees last week are:

Biosecurity (AB 1963). This bill promotes biosecurity and makes educational institutions more responsible by leading the way in bio-safety.

School Cybersecurity (AB 2355). This bill requires schools to report any cyber attacks to California Cybersecurity Integration Center to understand cyber threats better and protect student information.

Neighborhood Police (AB 2062). This bill provides $50 million in grants to hire police officers who agree to live and work in local, underserved communities.

Mental Health Workforce (AB 2666). This bill will help increase the number of behavioral health professionals in California while also making the workforce more reflective of the state's population by providing stipends to cover the costs of unpaid internships and license requirements.

Domestic Violence (AB 2369). This bill strengthens California's public policy of not requiring domestic violence survivors to fund their abusers, supporting survivors' legal aid and ending domestic abuse.

Independent Redistricting (AB 2494).This bill prioritizes voters' interests in Kern County by establishing a Kern County Citizens Redistricting Commission to remove the role of politicians in redrawing Board of Supervisor district boundaries.

"I am excited about all of these bills passing because that means we are moving forward with a lot of these policies that will help many Californians. In particular, we need more mental health workers, and AB 2666 will help make sure we make it easier to get more," said Salas.

The passage of these bills will help Wasco, he said.

"The city of Wasco is going to benefit greatly, especially as it relates to mental health, domestic violence, neighborhood police and cyber security. It will help local schools and citizens. I am happy it will make a difference in people's lives."

These bills will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.