Capitol Briefs: Forums, private foster agencies and bills, bills, bills

Private foster agencies lose tentative ruling: A tentative opinion by a California appellate court has found that the judgement in a sexual abuse case that came down shortly before a critical insurer ran from foster family agencies was reasonable.

In December 2023, a jury issued a $24.7 million judgement against Alternative Family Services of Northern California and its insurer the Nonprofit Insurance Alliance after it found them liable for a foster father sexually abusing three foster children.

That judgement came after insurance providers gambled by rejecting settlement offers and opted for a jury trial. Shortly thereafter, the alliance approached Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) about carrying a bill to address what was portrayed as juries holding private foster family agencies for unforeseeable harms.

When Pellerin introduced the language through a gut-and-amend in June 2024, some child welfare advocates said it created an entirely different negligence standard for children abused in homes overseen by private foster care agencies.

In July of that year, the Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill to remove language that concerned the advocates. After the Legislature returned from summer recess, the alliance announced that it would be sending out notices of nonrenewal for all coverages of private foster care agencies in California. The alliance’s president and CEO said that without the changes it had requested foster family agencies were “uninsurable.”

That’s set off an insurance crisis for the agencies that continues to this day. The alliance insured 90 percent of all foster family agencies in the state. They’ve struggled to find coverage ever since.

Last year, an organization representing them, the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, helped secure bridge funding for the struggling agencies. The organization is seeking $30 million in this year’s budget to continue keep its members afloat.

While the crisis unfolded, Alternative Family Services appealed the initial judgement that set this all in motion. The judgement found the agency 60 percent liable for the sexual abuse of the foster children because it was responsible for vetting and supervising the abusive foster father.

The children and the agency are scheduled for oral arguments before the First Appellate District next week. But the court issued a tentative opinion on April 10, finding that the agency’s argument for a reduction in liability “provides inadequate protection to foster children, one of the State’s most vulnerable populations,” noting the “important role FFAs play in our foster case system.”

Latino Caucus unveils legislative package: The California Latino Legislative Caucus unveiled it’s 2026 bill package, a collection of 15 bills addressing, among several things, health care, immigrant rights and food security. A sampling of the bills include:

AB 1896, a measure authored by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles) that would bar former federal immigration agents from being employed in state government. It is pending in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

AB 2301, a bill from Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria (D-Fresno) that would require the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing pilot program in 10 community colleges around the state. It is pending in the Assembly Higher Education Committee.

AB 2379, a bill from Assemblymember Jose Solache (D-Lakewood) that would require the state to notify all licensed and license-exempt family daycare home providers of a person’s rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and to designate a statewide entity to develop and provide a training program about those rights. It is now in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Hispanic Chamber gubernatorial forum: The ongoing parade of gubernatorial forums continued this week, with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce playing host on Tuesday to candidates Matt Mayan, Betty Yee, Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer and Antonio Villaraigosa. Candidates were asked to address major issues impacting California’s economy, Latino communities, and small businesses. Julian Canete, President and CEO of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce said, “California cannot succeed if our small businesses and emerging communities do not thrive.”

Candidates started off by highlighting their personal struggles in starting small businesses in California. San Jose Mayor Matt Mayan said he has firsthand experienced how time consuming it could be working through regulations and permit laws instead of spending the time running a business.

The discussion then centered around issues such as affordability, housing, childcare, and healthcare. Speakers argued that strict regulations and environmental laws such as CEQA are among the barriers to halting housing development in California. Mayan believes “overhauling CEQA” is a potential solution.

Childcare was identified as another major concern during the discussion. Candidates agreed that childcare is a huge cost burden for working couples. Betty Yee, former California State Controller, said this would be something she prioritizes because the economy would not thrive if people (particularly women) are not able to participate in the workforce because of a lack of affordable childcare.

While Yee advocated for universal childcare and expanding subsidies, Republican Steve Hilton disagreed, arguing that expanding subsidies would result in increased taxes. Antonio Villaraigosa, former Speaker of the California State Assembly, said he believes California needs to make it easier for healthcare facilities to open, and the state needs to stop over-regulating these facilities as well.

Tom Steyer, billionaire investor, says it’s unfair that large companies rely on tax loopholes by paying low property taxes based on old property values from the 1970s. He is hoping to get rid of these tax loopholes and utilize this money to fund childcare programs.

In regard to healthcare, Steyer said he believes single-payer health care is the solution to the problem. He said other countries prove that the cost of single-payer health care would be significantly cheaper for the state. Villaraigosa, on the other hand argued single-payer health care is not feasible for California’s economy.

A few more bills of interest: As always, we like to showcase a few bills we found interesting from this week.

AB 1798, authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), which would ban the use of genetic testing for underwriting purposes. The Assembly Insurance Committee endorsed the proposal on an 11-5 vote, sending it to the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee for a scheduled hearing on April 21^st.

AB 1999, authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), which would, among several things, allow “retired veterinary professionals to volunteer their skills at shelters, streamlining licensure for out-of-state veterinarians who wish to work in shelters, and updating Veterinarian Client-Patient-Relationship (VCPR) statute to allow veterinarians to provide care without re-establishing an existing VCPR.” After passing on a 19-0 vote the measure moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 928, authored by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), which would require that a California State University faculty member and an instructor of record for a course must be human beings. The Senate Education Committee approved the bill on a 7-0 vote, sending it to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This week’s edition of Capitol Briefs was compiled by Capitol Weekly editor Rich Ehisen, associate editor Brian Joseph and intern Jasleen Kaur.