SACRAMENTO, CA – Assembly Bill 150, authored by Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), was approved today by the California State Assembly. The bill seeks to improve high school graduation rates and post-secondary education success for foster youth and other highly-mobile youth.

Over the past decade the Legislature has passed numerous bills to improve graduations rates among foster youth. While rates have improved, currently only 58 percent of highly-mobile youth graduate from high school compared to 84 percent of all other students statewide.

“Foster youth experience too many hurdles in life and graduating high school shouldn’t be one of them,” said Assemblymember Jim Cooper. “AB 150 will streamline transfers of educational credits to ensure highly-mobile youth aren’t required to take courses they’ve already completed and can graduate without delay.”

On average, highly-mobile youth transfer school districts eight times while in care, losing up to six months of their education with each move. Currently, when foster youth transfer to a new school district, existing law does not specify whether partial credits earned in a given subject area in one district are required to be combined with partial credits for similar coursework completed in another district. This ambiguity in law creates additional unnecessary hurdles for our most vulnerable youth, often leading to students duplicating coursework and delaying their ability to graduate on time.

“The Alliance for Children’s Rights appreciates Assemblymember Cooper’s leadership and support to improve high school graduation rates and post-secondary educational and vocational success for all highly mobile youth, including foster youth,” said Kristin Power, Government Relations Director for the Alliance for Children’s Rights. “We’re thrilled the Assembly passed AB 150 to help prevent administrative barriers from impacting highly-mobile youth’s progress toward graduation.”

California high schools serve approximately 164,000 highly-mobile students, of which 17,000 are foster youth and 92,000 are homeless youth. AB 150 clarifies that all credits earned in a given subject area, including partial credits, shall be combined to maximize the credit for coursework completed in order to meet graduation requirements.

AB 150 will next be heard in the California State Senate.

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Assemblymember Cooper represents the Cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), released the following statement in response to the death of an unidentified homeless individual in the City of Elk Grove:

“Today is a sad day for the City of Elk Grove and the people of the 9^th Assembly District.

According to a tweet by Elk Grove Police, at approximately 2:30pm today, police responded to a call for service regarding a welfare check of a person who was lying under a pile of sleeping bags in the greenbelt area on Bond Road. Officers arrived and determined the homeless person was deceased.

This unfortunate death of one of our homeless citizens comes on the same day that a bill that would have declared that California children and families have a right to safe, decent and affordable housing died in committee.

According to a recent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2019 report to Congress, the city and county of Sacramento ranks number one among major cities in the U.S. with 1,132 homeless persons in families with children, of which more than 50 percent are unsheltered.

Last year, the state allocated $1 billion to help address California’s homelessness challenge and again this year, Governor Newsom has proposed another $750 million. While I commend the state for providing funding, the state needs to address the root causes of homelessness. It is critical that funding be allocated towards mental health, substance abuse, and conservatorship for those who are greatly disabled. Since the Great Recession, the state has failed to increase funding for these vital programs that directly help families and children and the causes of homelessness.

We can do better. We must do better. Today’s passing of a homeless individual in Elk Grove is preventable and we as lawmakers should be looking closely at policy proposals, including right to housing bills. Partnering with counties and cities to pass meaningful legislation that protects families that suffer from homelessness is of the utmost importance.

My deepest sympathies, thoughts, and prayers are with the unidentified individual’s friends and family who lost his life today in Elk Grove. I pledge to continue fighting for those who suffer from homelessness in our region. As the Capitol of the great State of California, we must do better.”

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Assemblymember Cooper represents the Cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi.

SACRAMENTO, CA – On Friday, January 17, Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) and Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) introduced Assembly Bill 1958. The bill would help protect Sacramento’s critical flood protection infrastructure by maintaining, inspecting, and protecting levee integrity and stability throughout California.

“Sacramento is no stranger to flooding, we’ve seen levees break and how devastating it can be to our community,” said Assemblymember Cooper. “Protecting the integrity of our flood control infrastructure is vital. I’m proud to partner with my colleague, Assemblymember McCarty, to introduce legislation that will help protect California residents from potential damages to levees that could result in levee failures and flooding,” added Cooper.

Sacramento is among one of the most flood-prone cities in the nation and is surrounded by nearly 1,600 miles of levees that protect over a million residents and billions of dollars in assets. Recent media reports have highlighted a new threat to California’s levee system; increased unauthorized excavations. These unauthorized excavations in some cases, have resulted in significant damage to levees resulting in thousands of dollars in damage and potentially catastrophic harm to the integrity and stability of the state’s flood control system.

“Floods are a constant threat to Sacramento, and ensuring our local levees are secure is essential to protecting our residents, said Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento). “This bill supports our 200-year flood protection plan, making us better prepared to prevent future floods in the region.”

AB 1958 would prohibit a person from concealing, defacing, destroying, modifying, cutting, altering, or physically or visually obstructing any levee that is part of the State Plan of Flood Control. This bill would authorize the Central Valley Flood Protection Board or its designee, or a local agency that maintains the levee to inspect and remove any physical or visual obstructions placed or alterations made to any levee and for these provisions to be enforced by a peace officer.

AB 1958 will be heard by the Assembly in the coming months.

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Assemblymember Cooper represents the Cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), Chair of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration, released the following statement after Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget:

“I am encouraged by Governor Newsom’s plan to continue balancing our budget, strengthening our rainy day fund, and reducing pension liabilities, while at the same time continuing to address California’s homelessness challenge.

I, too, share the Governor’s commitment to education, especially early childhood education and school nutrition. Thousands of students in my district depend on a variety of school nutrition programs. I applaud the Governor’s proposed 40-percent increase in funding for school meals and the state’s largest K-12 per-pupil funding in history. Boosting our education funding and investing in healthy programs for children is one of the most important investments our state can make.

Additionally, as Chair of Budget Subcommittee No. 4, I will continue working with my colleagues to ensure that California provides adequate services for our most vulnerable and at-risk populations including seniors and low-income residents.”

 

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Assemblymember Cooper represents the Cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi.

 

SACRAMENTO, CA – In a ceremony today, Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), presented City of Sacramento officials with a $750,000 check that will help fund Sacramento’s Summer Night Lights Program, which provides greater opportunities and after-school programs for at-risk youth and underserved families in South Sacramento.

“I am really proud of the investments the Legislature passed to support South Sacramento,” said Assemblymember Jim Cooper. “Funding for Sacramento’s Summer Night Lights Program is essential to keep our young ones healthy, active, and safe in one of Sacramento’s most underserved communities,” added Cooper.

“I want to thank Assemblymember Cooper for not only recognizing the needs of our young people in South Sacramento but providing the resources to address them to make a positive impact in their lives,” said Sacramento City Councilmember Larry Carr.

Sacramento’s Summer Night Lights operates every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night from June 9 – August 18 offering free food, activities, educational and resourceful workshops targeted at parents, young adults, and children. In addition, the program promotes law enforcement and community interactions to build a better understanding and relationship between the two.

By creating a safe environment, Summer Night Lights Program has fostered community growth and trust, resulting in a reduction in violence and increase in kids and families participating in the program.

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Assemblymember Cooper represents the Cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi.

 

LODI, CA – In a ceremony today, Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), presented City of Lodi officials with a $500,000 check that will help pay for much-needed cybersecurity upgrades to the City of Lodi’s infrastructure. The money was allocated after Cooper organized and led an effort for the funding to be included in this year’s California 2019-2020 State Budget.

“Cyber warfare is plaguing cities across the US including the City of Lodi who fell victim to an attack,” said Assemblymember Cooper. “As your legislator I take this issues seriously. Our personal data is just that, our data. I want to ensure cyber thieves can no longer jeopardize our personal information.”

“Cyber threats are an increasing threat to police fire and public services throughout our country,” said Lodi Mayor Mark Chandler. “Criminals are increasingly targeting municipalities in ransomware attacks. The attacks can shut down phone lines, police computer systems, water electric and wastewater systems if successful. Attacks have cost millions of dollars in communities as large as Atlanta and Baltimore. Lodi appreciates Assemblymember Cooper’s recognition of the severity of the threat and assistance in Lodi’s efforts to secure its public services against that threat,” added Chandler.

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Assemblymember Cooper represents the Cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi.