UNITE-LA is proud to co-sponsor three bills during this legislative session. Please sign up to receive email updates on these bills through the California Legislative Information website.

AB 805 (Fong) - Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program

AB 805 seeks to expand high-quality, earn-and-learn career pathways for in-school and out-of-school youth statewide.

This bill would establish the Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program to strengthen and expand youth apprenticeship opportunities across California. The bill would implement key recommendations from the 2025 California Youth Apprenticeship Committee report. The recommendations would establish a coordinated, cross-sector youth apprenticeship system for young people ages 16-24.

The bill would also direct the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) to identify regional intermediaries and support local apprenticeship expansion. It would require DAS to examine and report on barriers to employer participation in youth apprenticeship, and mandate outcome reporting to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.

We welcome individual and organization sign-on letters. Please fill out this Google form to help move this bill forward and advance career pathways for youth in California.

SB 1054 (Cabaldon) - Better Data, Better Coverage, Better California

SB 1054 seeks to protect Californians' Medicaid coverage from new burdensome procedural threats.

This bill is a response to the federal H.R. 1, which directs the Employment Development Department (EDD) to collect hours worked and occupation information from employers through wage filings to make automatic benefit eligibility determinations under new federal SNAP and Medicaid rules. It is estimated that approximately 665,000 people could lose their CalFresh monthly benefits, and up to 3 million people will lose Medi-Cal coverage, under the new requirements if California does not identify a solution.

SB 1054 would protect Medi-Cal recipients from paperwork disenrollment by using existing state data systems to automatically verify eligibility at the state level.

"The Congress and White House hatched a cynical ploy to nag and frustrate 3.4 million Medi-Cal members out of their health coverage by new paperwork,"said Senator Cabaldon. "But SB 1054 will give the state's employment reporting system the data it needs to step in and automatically verify so that Medi-Cal members aren't at risk."

SB 1132 (Smallwood-Cuevas) - Workforce Development Know Your Rights Education Act

SB 1132 recognizes that workers' rights education is a core component of effective workforce development.

This bill would require the California Workforce Development Board to develop and implement a standardized workplace and immigrant know-your-rights curriculum across the state's public workforce system. This bill would fill a critical gap by ensuring job seekers and future workers receive labor and immigration rights education before or as they enter the workforce.

Support Funding for the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship Program

The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, California Opportunity Youth Network, Youth Will and UNITE-LA are gathering organizational sign-ons to a joint budget letter supporting $65 million over three years for the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) program in the 2026-27 California State Budget.

Please complete this form to add your organization to the joint budget support letter being submitted to the Legislature.

Read more about UNITE-LA's 2026 policy and budget priorities here. Stay tuned for information on legislative priorities and opportunities to support sponsored bills.