California Black Media

California 2024 Budget Agreement Includes Funding for Reparations Bill Implementation, Victim Services and More

The 2024 California budget agreement has earmarked $103 million in one-time funding for victims’ services programs. This allocation is designed to compensate for federal funding cuts and ensure continued support for crime victims.

Published

3 months ago

July 9, 2024

Oakland Post

Shutterstock: Activist in Washington D.C. Oct. 16, 2021.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr.
California Black Media

Grace Glaser of VALOR, a member of the California VOCA Advocacy Alliance, a statewide coalition of organizations dedicated to supporting survivors of crime, advocates, and their communities, praised this move, stating, “Gov. Newsom and the Legislature have temporarily stitched [the safety net] back together with their commitment to one-time backfill funding, ensuring that for now, victims will receive support during the most traumatic and dangerous times of their lives.”

While grateful for the current funding, Glaser emphasized the need for ongoing financial commitment to ensure long-term stability for victims’ services.

The budget also allocates $12 million to support the implementation of reparations legislation enacted into law this session. This funding aims to help address historical injustices and promote equity and justice for Black Californians.

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) Chair, told California Black Media: “I consider the governor’s allocation of $12 million for reparations resources a win. While the Legislative Black Caucus is committed to getting our legislative work on Reparations fully funded, I believe this is a positive start, especially during a challenging budget year. As I’ve always emphasized, this is a multi-year effort to implement the legislative recommendations in the report.”

The 2024 CLBC Reparation Priority Bill Package includes 14 measures being considered by the Assembly and Senate. Additionally, CLBC Vice Chair Sen Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) has proposed two reparations-focused bills not included in the package.

Bradford expressed gratitude for the allocation of $12 million in the state budget for reparations, despite the state’s current financial challenges.

“This money will start to stand up the infrastructure to pay for future reparations. We, as the California Legislative Black Caucus, made the case that the harms of slavery and racist public policies aren’t healed,” Bradford said. “This clearly states that reparations do matter and will be a priority in California going forward. This is just the beginning.”

The 2024 Budget agreement reached between Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) comes at a time when the state faces significant fiscal challenges.

In his statement announcing the agreement, Newsom highlighted the budget’s role in establishing “long-term fiscal stability,” addressing both the immediate shortfall and strengthening resilience for the future.

The budget plan includes $297.9 billion in total expenditures, with $211.5 billion from the General Fund. It preserves significant reserves, with the Budget Stabilization Account projected to hold $22.2 billion at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The agreement addresses a $46.8 billion deficit through a combination of reductions, revenue increases, and fund shifts. About $16 billion in cuts come from state operations and various programs.

The budget maintains core programs like Medi-Cal, behavioral health services, and Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment grants.

Budget committee hearings and legislative votes on 19 budget-related bills are scheduled to be completed by June 27. June 30 is the deadline to pass all budget bills.

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California Black Media

Study: UC 4-Year Grad Rate Doubles That of CSU

Graduation rates at the University of California have increased by 10 points over the last ten years putting the college system on track to achieve its 2030 graduation goals, according to a report on college completion in the state released by the Public Policy Institute of California. Recent data indicated that the UC system has a graduation rate of 73% for four-year students and a six-year graduation rate of 86%, according to the institution’s data. The system will increase the four-year graduation rate to 76% and the six-year rate to 90% by 2030. However, students at California State University are lagging behind with a graduation rate of 36% for four-year students and a 62% for six-year graduation rate. The graduation rates for students in the UC system are more than double that of students at CSU. Consequently, it is unlikely that CSU will meet its graduation goal of graduating 40% of four-year students and 70% of six-year students by 2025.

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock Photo

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Recent data indicated that the UC system has a graduation rate of 73% for four-year students and a six-year graduation rate of 86%, according to the institution’s data. The system will increase the four-year graduation rate to 76% and the six-year rate to 90% by 2030.

However, students at California State University are lagging behind with a graduation rate of 36% for four-year students and a 62% for six-year graduation rate. The graduation rates for students in the UC system are more than double that of students at CSU. Consequently, it is unlikely that CSU will meet its graduation goal of graduating 40% of four-year students and 70% of six-year students by 2025.

The report revealed that nonprofit institutions have relatively high completion rates compared to a high number of for-profit and private colleges that have lower graduation rates.

Researchers stated that longstanding equity gaps in college completion persist indicating that Black and Latino students graduate at lower rates of 52% and 64% The data is varied in comparison to White and Asian students who graduate at higher rates of 75% and 83%, respectively.

Nonetheless, the report showed that Black students in the UC system graduated at a rate of 78% in four years, nearly double the graduation number of Black students in the CSU system with a rate of 47 percent.

“Campus and regional disparities are stark,” the report stated regarding the varying graduation rates at the different college locations.

“Despite progress, equity gaps at UC remain nearly as large as they were in 2018. At CSU, gaps have widened over time; however, many campuses have made progress in closing them,” the report stated about the equity gaps in the college systems.

The state has set a goal to achieve a graduation rate of 70% by 2030.

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State of Black California: Oakland Tour Stop Rescheduled

The 2024 State of Black California Tour stop in Oakland has been rescheduled from Sept. 28 to Dec. 13, at the Oakland Museum of California. Registration for the event is closed after reaching maximum capacity, according to CBBF’s website.   Registration for the Oct. 5 tour stop in Moreno Valley is closed as well. Al Sharpton will be a guest speaker at that event.

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

At the State of Black California event in Sacramento on Sept. 14. From left to right: Asm. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), Asm. Chris Holden (D-Sacramento) and Asm. Mia Bonta (Oakland).

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The 2024 State of Black California Tour stop in Oakland has been rescheduled from Sept. 28 to Dec. 13, at the Oakland Museum of California. Registration for the event is closed after reaching maximum capacity, according to CBBF’s website.

Registration for the Oct. 5 tour stop in Moreno Valley is closed as well. Al Sharpton will be a guest speaker at that event.

The series, co-hosted by the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), has made stops in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and Sacramento.

The State of Black California series creates space for Black Californians to engage the public and policymakers on the issues that impact the Black community. It will also provide conversations about the status of reparations legislation.

The CBFF is a five-year, $100 million measure to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustainable investments and effective resources needed to remove systemic and institutional racism. CBFF was the benefactor of $3.5 million in state funds last year, distributed to various Black networks in the state.

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California Black Media

Sen. Laphonza Butler Helps Secure Nomination of Central California Federal Judge Michelle Williams Court

Last week, U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped to secure the nomination of Judge Michelle Williams Court as Judge for the Central District of California with a vote of 49-44. In her new role, Court became the third Black woman and fifth in the court’s history to serve as an Article III Judge in the state’s Central District. Since 2012, Court worked for the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County.

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

Judge Michelle Williams Court. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

In her new role, Court became the third Black woman and fifth in the court’s history to serve as an Article III Judge in the state’s Central District.

Since 2012, Court worked for the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County.

In 2023, she was a supervising judge in the court’s civil division. Before being a judge, she worked as an attorney, then later became the vice president and general counsel at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm specializing in human rights and poverty justice.

Court dedicated her career as a lawyer to civil rights and social development. She led and contributed to several projects at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California. The judge earned her Juris Doctor in 1993 from the Loyola Law School at the Loyola Marymount University, and she received her bachelor’s in 1988 from Pomona College.

“The Central District of California serves roughly seventeen million people, making it the largest federal district by population in the entire United States. The judges who serve these Californians are currently facing an unprecedented number of filings, making the need to fill the court’s vacancies all that more urgent. It is commonly said that ‘justice delayed is justice denied,’ and at this moment the people of California’s Central District are indeed being denied justice as a direct result of these judicial vacancies,” said Butler in her statement on the Senate Floor urging her colleagues to approve Court’s nomination.

Butler also praised Court’s commitment to justice and track record of serving the state of California.

“Her nomination is an important step towards building trust in our legal system by ensuring that our federal courts reflect and represent the diversity of the people it serves,” he said regarding Judge Court’s career serving in the state’s justice system.