The day started off with a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The California Catholic Conference organized the event and provided background information for five different bills. The delegation from the Diocese of San Bernardino went to the individual offices in teams of five, giving priority to constituents of the different legislators.
The bills addressed involved abortion, poverty, immigration, education, and the rights of the incarcerated.
For abortion, the delegation lobbied support of AB 2336, which would ban abortions performed because of the gender of the unborn child. For abortion and poverty, SB 899 would repeal the maximum family grant rule that denies parents additional state benefits upon the arrival of a new child, and AB 1579 would provide cash assistance to a woman whose income is below the poverty level upon confirmation of her pregnancy. On behalf of those living in poverty, the delegation lobbied support of SB 1189, which would give those earning an income, but still below the poverty line, a tax credit to help with their family expenses.
On the issue of immigration, the Inland delegation lobbied to restore funding for the naturalization services program in the 2014-15 state budget and allow those who already have legal status to become citizens.
For education, AB 1786 would allow low to middle income parents an individual tax deduction for K-12 education related expenses incurred on behalf of their school children, including: text books, school supplies, uniforms, summer school fees, tutoring, after school programs, and transportation. AB 2427 would allow new K-12 teachers in their first three years to claim tax credits for out-of-pocket expenses paid for the benefit of their classrooms and supplies.
For the incarcerated, SB 833 would allow for the delay in prisoner release until safe travel or transfer arrangements are made to a suitable facility. The current practice is to release prisoners between 10 pm and midnight.
All people of the Diocese of San Bernardino are encouraged to contact their representatives on these and other important issues related to Catholic voters. We are all called to be “Faithful Citizens” and express our Catholic values in the legislative process (www.faithfulcitizenship.org). To find out who your state rep is, go to http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
Michael Shawver is the director of the diocesan Office of Social Concerns.