Your letters to state legislators have made a difference in many pieces of legislation this year, as this letter from Elizabeth "Libby" Sholes, our California Church IMPACT advocate in Sacramento, illustrates. If you phoned a representattive or wrote an email, made a visit to your legislators office or went to a town hall meeting in response to a notice from Libby, you can feel good about putting your faith into action to bring greater social justice and improve the lives of those most in need in our midst. You did it!! Click on "read more" (below) to read the text of her letter and see all the times your voice made a difference.


Dear Friends:
The Legislative session for 2005-2006 has now officially closed. Lest you ever think you don't make a difference, allow me to tell you what your work accomplished. It is important that you speak, but it is clear that your voice from a faith perspective carries greater than usual weight.

Bills you helped to pass:

SB 840, the universal health care bill so many of you supported, would not have passed both chambers without you. Yes, there were lots and lots of advocates, but the tenuous middle ground legislators were strengthened and given heart by your advocacy from faith principles. It was not a sure thing‚ but we know that several legislators moved to support this historic legislation because of you.

AB 774 (Chan-Oakland) This bill to curtail hospital overcharging of the uninsured has often been in a precarious position, but your intervention got it passed last night.

SB 1322 (Cedillo-LA) This bill on adding emergency shelter to our supports for the homeless was almost certainly doomed. However, at least two legislators, Assembly members Judy Chu and Lois Wolk, changed their minds because of calls from churches and our members! This bill passed entirely because of you!

SB 1534 (Ortiz-Sacramento) This bill clarified the right of the state of California to offer non-emergency health care to anyone in California. The federal government had given states this right under federal law, but immigrant fear has been a stumbling point. We overcame that with letters and calls, and the bill passed. This is a major victory for human rights.

AB 2911 (Nunez/Perata) The Assembly version of joint bills by the Assembly Speaker and the Senate Pro Tem provides significant pharmaceutical discounts to those with inadequate insurance coverage, including those receiving Medicare Part D who are caught in the doughnut hole‚ period. It provides the state's buying power capacity to lower drug costs then passes those savings on to the public while protecting access for people receiving Medi-Cal and other public assistance. Your voice prevailed over that of the drug companies who don't want such a program.

AB 2060 (De La Torre-Los Angeles) This bill offers citizenship assistance so that immigrants may obtain citizenship more readily and with far better preparation. The faith voice was a very important component of its passage.

AB 2302 (Committee on Judiciary) This bill provides that translators for civil proceedings will be supported from the judiciary funds the same as translators for criminal proceedings. This bill was largely doomed before you got involved, and it passed last night with a solid vote.

AB 2536 (Montanez-San Fernando) This bill will provide overtime pay for everyone who looks after our children. This had been a glaring omission in laws governing especially domestic workers. The faith community‚s advocacy for the labor rights of this group of working people obtained the bill passage.

SB 160 (Cedillo-Los Angeles) The „California Dream Act‰ provides that all students in California public schools, regardless of immigration status of their parents, are entitled to in-state tuition since they have clearly been residents, often for years. Again, our affirmation of human justice and support for education for all youth over-rode
angry opposition to immigrants.

SB 1569 (Kuehl-Santa Monica). This bill extends all of California and federal services for refugees to liberated victims of human trafficking. Our witness against human trafficking has played a significant role in obtaining not just passage of this bill but bi-partisan support. That is a significant accomplishment!

These are just the most momentous contributions you have made to legislation that will change many people‚s lives for the better. Think about a child growing up in California whose parents may not be
documented who now can go to college. Think about a young girl, taken as a sex worker and stolen from her home, who now is not only freed from those conditions but who will be able to establish a stable and safe alternative until she can get an education and a new life. Think of the homeless people whose lives you have altered by your witness and advocacy.

We are learning, across the boards, that our voices matter because you take the time to make these differences. Thank you! We could not have accomplished half so much without you!