California’s LGBTQ-friendly towns + AT&T, Verizon called to blackout hearing + Paid family leave

Hannah Wiley

Hello there, alerters! Happy Wednesday to all and wow, am I glad to be back from the frigid cold of the east coast. It feels great to return to your inboxes!

THE RAINBOW STATE

California’s long been considered a trailblazer of LGBTQ policies, and a new report says that work is paying off with strong nondiscrimination policies in 57 cities throughout the state.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Equality Federation Institute released a report on Tuesday that ranked cities across the country on a scale of 0 to 100 for their LGBTQ-friendly efforts, with more than a dozen California jurisdictions earning a perfect score.

The report rated more than 500 small to large cities across the country. All 50 state capitals and the 200 largest U.S. cities were evaluated.

California averaged 79 out of 100 points, a stark comparison to the national average of 60.

The report considered local laws, policies and services for LGBTQ community members and workers. Cities that earned an A+ rating have passed nondiscrimination laws, elected an openly LGBTQ official, offer HIV and AIDS services, report hate crimes and support the transgender community, among other things.

Those that earned an A+? Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Monica and West Hollywood all scored 100 percent on the analysis.

Those with less impressive rankings: Brisbane (53), Fresno (55), Visalia (62), Stockton (60) and Modesto (60).

“These policies are not only the right thing to do, but they are also critical in driving economic success by attracting residents, visitors and businesses that place a high value on inclusivity,” said Alphonso David, president of Human Rights Campaign.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The California Public Utilities Commission, and the general public, have a lot of questions for everyone involved in the Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s recent power shutoffs.

In case you missed it, the utility isn’t a fan favorite as of late. Its effort to mitigate the company’s wildfire liability led to mass blackouts that have left millions of Californians in the dark during heightened wildfire risk.

On Monday, PG&E faced scrutiny from the Legislature. Today, the commission is questioning communications companies.

Executives from AT&T, Charter/Time Warner, Comcast/Xfinity, Frontier Communications, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless are scheduled to appear before the commissioners, according to a press release for the hearing, where they’ll answer questions related to infrastructure, timely responsiveness, consumer protection and public alerts and warnings.

In a Nov. 13 letter to the companies, commission President Marybel Batjer raised concerns that “failures in the communications network” during wildfires and power shutoffs pose more than a “mere convenience.”

“It endangers lives,” Batjer wrote. “Californians rely on their phones and the Internet, whether using wireline or wireless technologies, to receive emergency notifications, to contact family and friends, and to reach first responders. Your customers have a reasonable expectation that these critical telecommunications services will be operational even during a power outage.”

How did the companies maintain communication services for customers? Did they institute a support system during the blackouts, i.e. supplemental service, charging stations and Wi-Fi access at centers during the shutoffs? How did they coordinate with emergency responders?

Those are the questions the executives will likely face today from 10 a.m. to noon in San Francisco. The event is available via webcast here.

A FAMILY MATTER

Today the Senate and Assembly Select Committees on Women in the Workplace are hosting a hearing on the status of California’s 15-year-old Paid Family Leave Program.

State Sen. Hannah Beth Jackson and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, chairwomen of the committees and two Democrats who’ve long championed women’s issues in the Capitol, will lead the “critical look” into the “barriers and benefits” of the program.

Employees can currently take partial paid leave to care for a sick family member or newborn baby under the law. They’re paid up to 70 percent of their earnings for six weeks, though that time frame will expand to eight weeks by July 2020.

“Paid family leave is a hallmark workplace protection, but it isn’t realistic for many low- and middle-income workers,” Gonzalez said, via a press release for the hearing. “We must make sure California’s working families aren’t taking such a steep pay cut when they become new parents.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom in October vetoed Gonzalez’s bill to expand paid leave to teachers in traditional and charter schools, as well as community colleges.

Perfect timing — In a hearing, the California Budget and Policy Center noted that the program needs updating.

The center recommended steps to modify the program to guarantee job security and ensure payments are large enough or low-income workers to keep paying their bills.

Noteworthy, via the analysis: “A full-time worker earning California’s minimum wage of $12 per hour would receive a payment that is equal to 60 percent of earnings – just $290 per week.”

Among the center’s suggestions:

  • Bump the pay rate to 100 percent.

  • Expand the leave duration to 12 weeks.

  • Single parents should get double time as two-parent households.

“The reality is that workers across the state may need paid leave benefits to balance career and caregiving responsibilities to both welcome a new child to the family and care for sick family members,” the report said. “California’s state leaders now have an opportunity to update and improve California’s paid family leave so that workers with low wages can utilize this vital program and benefit from these gains.”

The hearing begins at 11 a.m. in room 3191 and can be watched Tuesday.

For your radar — The Legislative Analyst’s Office plans to release its annual state budget review today at noon. The report will offer a review of the upcoming budget and analyze California’s current and future fiscal standing. Capitol Bureau reporter Sophia Bollag (could reach 303,000) will have updates as the day progresses.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I am committed to building a state government that better reflects the great diversity of California and am proud to make this historic nomination.”

- Gov. Gavin Newsom, after nominating Judge Teri L. Jackson as associate justice of the First District Court of Appeal. Jackson will be the first African-American woman to serve in the post.

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