2026 California Policy Priorities
Each year, the Alliance focuses on a slate of policies that advance race and gender justice by transforming systems failing our boys and men of color, their families and communities.
To see our 2025 California policy priorities, click here or expand the boxes below.
Community Safety & Justice
AB 1537 (BRYAN) – NO SIDE JOBS FOR ICE
This bill would prohibit local and state law enforcement officers from being employed in, casual, part-time, contract-based or any form of secondary employment for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, their contractors, or any entity that assists with or engages in federal immigration enforcement.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC, ICE Out of CA Coalition
AB 1932 (ELHAWARY) – CRISES ACT 2.0: COMMUNITY RESPONSE INITIATIVE TO STRENGTHEN EMERGENCY SYSTEMS
Police are still sent to respond to mental health crises, domestic disputes, homelessness, and community conflicts, even when community-based responders would be safer and more effective. This campaign seeks a $30M budget ask to expand CRISES Act pilot programs statewide, fund non-police emergency response teams, and grow local alternatives to 911. The goal is to reduce unnecessary police contact and build community-led safety infrastructure.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC, Anti Police-Terror Project, Black Lives Matter LA, Black Arts Movement Business District CDC, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Justice Teams Network, Silicon Valley De-Bug, Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Leadership & Justice
AB 1646 (BRYAN) – THE HUG ACT
The Hugs Act ensures that youth incarcerated in California’s juvenile facilities have the right to engage in appropriate physical contact with their loved ones during in-person visitation, including hugging at the beginning and end of visits and holding hands. The bill establishes a clear statewide standard affirming that appropriate physical contact during visitation is a protected right, not a privilege.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Hang Out Do Good, Hoops 4 Justice , Legal Services for Prisoners with Children/All of Us or None, Urban Peace Institute, W. Haywood Burns Institute
AB 1647 (BRYAN) – PROTECT YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUVENILE COURT
This bill creates clarity and permanence around longstanding constitutional protections recognized by the California Supreme Court to ensure fairness in juvenile transfer hearings. A juvenile transfer hearing determines whether a young person will remain in the juvenile system or be prosecuted in adult court. The juvenile system emphasizes rehabilitation and developmentally appropriate care, while adult prosecution carries lifelong consequences.
Co-sponsors: ABMoC, A New Way of Life, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Hang Out Do Good, Haywood Burns Institute, Hoops 4 Justice, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children/All of Us or None, National Center for Youth Law, Urban Peace Institute, The Voice of Transfer Youth
AB 2126 (ELHAWARY) – PEER EMPLOYMENT EQUITY REFORM (PEER) ACT
The bill would reduce unnecessary hiring barriers for current and former foster youth seeking to become peer partners in community-care licensed settings. The bill establishes an automatic background check exemption for peer applicants who are current or former foster youth and whose low-level, non-violent offenses occurred before age 21.
Co-sponsors: ABMoC, California Alliance for Child and Family Services (CACFS), The Children’s Partnership (TCP), County Welfare Directors’ Association
AB 1886 (ELHAWARY) – END ENDLESS PROBATION 2.0
AB 1376 (2024) limited youth probation, but excluded foster youth, youth in placements, and youth exiting STRTPs and secure youth facilities. A 2026 clean-up bill would ensure all system-involved youth receive regular, mandatory review timelines and clear discharge processes. This priority completes unfinished reforms to prevent indefinite supervision and support successful reentry.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, Burns Institute, National Center for Youth Law
Economic Security
AB 805 (FONG) – CAREER APPRENTICESHIP BRIDGE PROGRAM
AB 805 establishes the Career Apprenticeship Bridge (CAB) Program within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to better coordinate youth apprenticeships for in- and out-of-school youth ages 16–24. The bill creates a framework for approved industry pathways, paid pre-apprenticeships with supports, cross-agency partnerships, and a streamlined youth apprenticeship data system.
Co-sponsors: ABMoC, California Opportunity Youth Network, Unite LA
RENEWING THE CALIFORNIA YOUTH LEADERSHIP CORPS (CYLC)
The California Youth Leadership Corps is a critical workforce and leadership pipeline for youth organizers, community health workers, climate leaders, and legal advocates. A $60 million investment is needed to sustain and expand paid, credit-bearing programs across additional community colleges, with mentoring and leadership development rooted in community needs. Without action, California risks dismantling a proven learn-and-earn model serving opportunity youth.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC
RENEWING THE CA OPPORTUNITY YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
COYA is already delivering results—$46+ million awarded to 80 grantees to connect opportunity youth to paid, high-road careers through pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathways. But the need is bigger than current investments. An additional $65 million over three years is critical to expand access, deepen CBO-labor partnerships, and meet statewide demand.
Co-sponsors: ABMoC, California Opportunity Youth Network, Youth Will
Education Equity
FROM PRISONS TO CLASSROOMS: SHIFTING CA’S PRIORITIES FROM PUNISHMENT TO OPPORTUNITY
California is spending nearly $14 billion on corrections in the proposed 2025–2026 state budget—far more than it invests in expanding access to higher education or strengthening economic opportunity. This campaign seeks to advance the California Justice Reinvestment Initiative (CJRI) to formally redirect state savings from prison
closures into the California State University and University of California systems.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, California Faculty Association
Healing Together Campaign Priorities
FUNDING COMMUNITY-BASED, CULTURALLY-CENTERED VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS
This campaign aims to create a California Violence Prevention Fund, which would include SA/DV prevention programs, culturally-specific and community-based innovative interventions, as components of the funding structure.
Co-Sponsors: ABMoC, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, California Faculty Association
To see our 2024 policy agenda click here, and for our 2023 policy priorities, please see here.