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NEWS ARTICLE

California Democratic lawmaker plans to propose new human trafficking law

FOX40 News Reports: Assemblymember Mia Bonta is "confident her bill will make a difference for survivors of sex trafficking."

Sep
13
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

KQED: How Would You Change California’s Referendum Process?

Listen: Assemblymember Mia Bonta joins Kim Alexander and Guy Marzorati to discuss a bill that would change some of the language you see on the referendum portion of your 2024 ballot.

Sep
8
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Thousands of health care workers call on Kaiser to increase wages, staffing

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) joined workers demanding a better contract as they marched around Kaiser's Oakland Medical Center. Other elected officials, including Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Assemblymember Mia Bonta, also showed their support. 

“It’s a very simple equation. In order to have strong patient care, you need to be able to have workers that are able to feel secure in their jobs and to make sure they are receiving a $25 an hour wage, a living wage,” said Bonta.  

Sep
4
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

New bill would shift restitution from juveniles to State

AB 1186, introduced by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, includes alternatives to youth paying the restitution themselves, such as participating in an educational or employment program. The average restitution amount, according to Wallace, is about $1,500 but they have worked with youth who’ve owed as low as $400 and as high as $60,000.

Aug
23
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

From Highways To Healthy Communities, Transforming How California Invests In Transportation

AB 1525: The Accelerating Communities through Transportation Act intended to do just that. The Greenlining Institute, a racial equity advocacy nonprofit, partnered with Assembly member Mia Bonta on the bill. This legislation would have required that at least 60 percent of transportation dollars go to projects benefiting disadvantaged populations, in a way that would shift dollars away from harmful highway projects and towards walking, biking, and transit projects that would meet communities’ nee

Aug
20
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

How attack on Pelosi, violent threats to Bay Area lawmakers inspired an unusual bill

State Assemblymember Mia Bonta, the bill’s author, told SFGATE during a phone interview that she felt such measures are necessary given the rising rate of political violence across the United States. “We’ve somehow exchanged political discourse for political hate, and oftentimes people who are public servants and public figures are at the wrong end of that kind of vitriol,” she said.

Aug
10
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

In California, a prescription could pay for your fresh fruits and veggies

“I remember opening the fridge and seeing only celery and peanut butter and my mother telling me we were on a ‘special diet’. I did not realize at the time we were food insecure,” said Assemblymember Mia Bonta, an Oakland Democrat who proposed this bill. “Too many Californians, particularly Californians of color, are living with largely preventable chronic conditions.” 

Aug
9
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Assemblymember Mia Bonta Seeking Student Interns

KTVU Fox 2 San Francisco Reports: Assemblymember Mia Bonta's recruiting of local student interns — a "great opportunity for college students or recent graduates interested in politics."

Aug
9
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

How California can protect anyone seeking an abortion or gender-affirming care

AB793 by Assembly Member Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, enhances that protection by making sure so-called “reverse warrants,” “geofence warrants” or “keyword warrants” can’t be used against those legally exercising bodily autonomy under California law. 

Jun
24
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Alameda Family Services Named 2023 Non-Profit of the Year by Assemblymember Mia Bonta

California Assemblymember Mia Bonta named Alameda Family Services (AFS) the 2023 California Nonprofit of the Year for her assembly district. Bonta and her assembly staff congratulated AFS officials and gave them their award at a ceremony in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 7.

Jun
16
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Mia Bonta Announces Ambitious Legislative Agenda

She said her primary goals are to uplift collective community challenges and the state’s most vulnerable through legislation that supports gun violence prevention, digital equity, reproductive rights, criminal justice reform, cradle-to-career approaches to supporting youth, and affordable housing.

Jun
9
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Bradford, Bonta and Education Advocates Champion Funding for Diverse School Leaders

The DELPI Coalition, a wide-ranging network of education organizations, joined Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) in Sacramento on May 1 to advocate for the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative (DELPI), a new investment in the credentialing, placement, and retention of 300 diverse and culturally responsive TK-12 school administrators. 

May
10
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Leader ‘Identifies’ Opportunities For Collaboration

Each of the five Black women serving in the California Legislative Black Caucus talk about the importance of diversity and seeing others who “look like them” in the political space.

That has added meaning for Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), featured in the fourth installment of our “A Powerful Sisterhood” series highlighting the contributions of past and present Black women lawmakers in California.

May
4
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

Bay Area Lawmakers Push State To Shore Up Cash-Strapped Transit Agencies

The letter urges lawmakers to restore prior commitments to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) and to extend pandemic relief, such as waiver of financial penalties and flexibility in state funds, through 2025. 

Jan
9
2023
NEWS ARTICLE

LGBTQ Agenda: CA lawmakers introduce bill to help with security issues

Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) on December 6 introduced Assembly Bill 37, which would expand on current law by allowing candidates and elected officials to use campaign funds for the protection of themselves, their families, or their staff, according to a news release from Bonta's office. "This protection includes security systems and security personnel. AB 37 will mirror what is currently allowed on the federal level."

Dec
7
2022
NEWS ARTICLE

$5 Million in State Funding, New Housing Website, Helps Oakland Double Down on Housing Teachers

Now, thanks to a state budget request championed by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, the state of California is committing $5 million to TRiO to support more than 100 teachers over nine years, who will impact more than 40,000 students.

Oct
6
2022
NEWS ARTICLE

After Times investigation, law passed to force California to clear pot convictions faster

“It is unimaginable and unacceptable that years after we legalized cannabis, Californians are still waiting to get their records cleared,” the bill’s author, Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), said in a statement. “We have a moral obligation to get this right.”

Sep
22
2022
NEWS ARTICLE

CA leaders say they're ready to help solve Oakland's crime wave

Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assemblywoman Mia Bonta were in the Bay Area Wednesday to promote a new branch in the state Department of Justice to stop gun violence. At the press conference, both addressed the issue of crime in Oakland.

Sep
21
2022
NEWS ARTICLE

‘He held my hand.’ Bontas share abortion story, push for California reproductive rights

Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, revealed at a news conference Tuesday that she had an abortion at age 21, as she was finishing her degree at Yale University and starting her first job.

The Assembly Democratic Caucus held the briefing to highlight how restricting access to abortion disproportionately impacts people of color…

May
11
2022
NEWS ARTICLE

OP-ED: Assemblymember Mia Bonta Says No to Closing Schools, No to Cutting School Resources

I am proud to represent the children, the educators, the parents, the people of Oakland in this moment. I am here today to stand in solidarity with Oakland’s children, our school district, our Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell, our school board — because right now they need us more than ever.

Dec
26
2021
NEWS ARTICLE

Election of Mia Bonta boosts female California lawmakers to all-time high

Women now make up nearly a third of the California Legislature — an all-time record, according to an advocacy group that recruits female candidates. The milestone comes with Tuesday’s swearing-in of Assemblywoman Mia Bonta after a special election last week in the San Francisco Bay Area’s 18th Assembly District.

Sep
28
2021
NEWS ARTICLE

Mia Bonta explains how a name shaped her — and it isn’t Bonta

Bonta’s father was a socialist, her mother a Democrat, and they met as members of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican empowerment group Bonta likened to the Black Panthers.

“They wanted to give me a strong name,” Bonta told me, “so I was literally named after a revolutionary.”

Jun
13
2021