A bill to make menstrual products free + Newsom remembers beloved mountain lion, P-22
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
SKINNER BILL WOULD REQUIRE FREE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS IN STATE BUILDINGS
State buildings would be required to provide free menstrual products to the public, under a new bill introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, on Monday.
SB 59, dubbed “Equity, Period” by the senator, would make such products available in women’s and all-gender restrooms, as well as at least one men’s restroom per building.
“We expect restrooms in public spaces to provide basic essentials for health and sanitation, but this expectation fails to recognize that more than half of our state’s population needs more than toilet paper and hand washing supplies,” Skinner said.
Skinner, who chairs the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, added that toilet paper is expected to be free to everyone and menstrual products should be treated the same way.
The bill builds on previous legislative efforts to increase access to such products, including ending the tax on them and making them available, free of charge, in the State Capitol, public schools serving grades 6 through 12, community colleges and the California State University system.
The bill is co-authored by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguilar-Curry, who serves as vice chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus.
NEWSOM OBSERVES PASSING OF P-22
Many Californians were saddened over the weekend to learn that P-22, the famous Los Angeles-area mountain lion, had to be euthanized. California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the cougar in a statement Saturday for surviving “on an island of wilderness in the heart of Los Angeles.”
“The iconic mountain lion’s incredible journey helped inspire a new era of conserving and reconnecting nature, including through the world’s largest wildlife overpass in Liberty Canyon,” Newsom said.
Newsom’s father, William Newsom, was a founder of the Mountain Lion Foundation and a champion of permanent protections for the species.
The governor’s office touted the more than $150 million in funding for wildlife crossings, including $10 million for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Southern California.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Friendly reminder: The way we treat people during the holidays is the way we should treat each other every day.”
- Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, via Twitter.
Best of The Bee:
The Central Valley Flood Protection Board approved a blueprint to fortify the region against catastrophic flooding, which scientists predict will be a consequence of climate change in California, via Ari Plachta.
Striking graduate student employees across the University of California will vote this week on whether to ratify tentative contracts, potentially ending a month-long work stoppage and securing double-digit wage increases for tens of thousands of workers. Not everyone is happy about the deal, though. Groups of workers on each campus are campaigning for a “no” vote on the tentative agreements. They argue strikers shouldn’t settle for contracts that they say inadequately address California’s high cost of living, via Maya Miller.