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Lola Smallwood-Cuevas

State senate

Chair of Labor, Public Employment, & Retirement Committee

A+
District

SD-28

Party

democrat

Score
100
Contact

Building on a productive first year in the State Senate, Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas continued to deliver progressive successes for her constituents and scores her second appearance as an All-Star. A nationally recognized labor organizer and Chair of the Committee on Labor, Public Employment, and Retirement, she authored SB 1446 to establish employment protections for grocery and retail drugstore workers impacted by the increased use of self-service stations, and co-authored SB 1103 to increase protections for small businesses and non-profit organizations by requiring commercial landlords to provide advance notice for rent changes. She also provided leadership on improving youth and juvenile justice outcomes by co-authoring AB 2441 to remove the requirement that schools report student behavioral or drug possession issues to law enforcement, and protecting the local climate by co-authoring AB 1866 to speed the process of cleaning and plugging idle oil wells in the state. This legislation, and her support of 25 of the bills evaluated for this scorecard, highlight Sen. Smallwood-Cuevas’ legislative approach consistently focused on supporting working families, environmental justice, and education.

Votes

Type Year Categories Name Description Vote
floor_votes 2023
  • criminal-justice

SB94

Would allow a person sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole to petition for judicial review and resentencing if they have served at least 25 years of their sentence or were convicted of a crime that happened before 1990. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • environmental-protection

SB252

Would require the state's public retirement systems, CalPERS and CalSTRS, to divest of all fossil fuel investments by 2031. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

SB399

Protects workers against retaliation or adverse action if they choose not to participate in an employer-hosted meeting about politics or religion that is unrelated to their job.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • criminal-justice
  • racial-justice

SB50

Would limit traffic stops -- for minor violations like car registration issues or broken tail lights -- that are often the starting point for violent and fatal police interactions. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • gun-violence-prevention

AB28

Establishes an 11% tax on firearm and ammunition sales and routes the revenues to the new Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund to finance prevention, safety, response, and investigation programming. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • economic-justice
  • health

AB616

Would improve affordability and medical transparency by authorizing the public disclosure of financial reports and data from large medical groups, providers, and physician organizations. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • economic-justice
  • housing

AB12

Caps the security deposit required by any landlord for a rental unit at no more than one month of rent. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

AB504

Would give unionized public employees the right to sympathy-strike with other public employee unions. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

AB524

Would ensure protection against discrimination for individuals who are caregivers for family members. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • environmental-justice
  • environmental-protection

AB1167

Improves environmental accountability by requiring oil well owners to establish a bond to cover the full expense of plugging, decommissioning, and restoring the oil well site. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

AB1484

Expands worker rights by allowing temporary employees of cities and counties to join existing bargaining units alongside permanent employees. Passed by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • education

AB1604

Would increase charter school accountability by placing more regulations and reporting requirements on financial distributions from the Charter School Facility Grant Program, which provides facilities and operations funding for many charter schools in the state. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

AB1699

Would require certain education employers to offer open positions to existing classified staff for 10 days before opening the position for applications from the general public; mandates that the employer must provide job training to an interested, but unqualified, internal candidate. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • criminal-justice

AB280

The California Mandela Act would limit the use of solitary confinement in jails, prisons, and private detention centers and protect certain populations from ever being placed in solitary confinement, including youth, the elderly, pregnant people, and people with certain disabilities. Passed by the State Legislature and held by the author in the Assembly to allow for more conversations with the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • health
  • workers-rights

SB616

Guarantees five days of paid sick leave for most workers in California. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • economic-justice
  • housing

AB309

Would create a Social Housing Program and develop up to three qualified social housing projects for people of all income levels on state property. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

AB647

Prevents the new owner of a grocery store or distribution center from executing mass layoffs of existing workers or retaliating against workers who are involved in collective bargaining efforts. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • economic-justice
  • housing

SB567

Closes loopholes that allow for rampant abuse of the no-fault just causes for eviction and provides mechanisms for accountability and enforcement. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • workers-rights

SB686

Would extend workplace safety laws to the majority of domestic workers, including nannies, homecare workers, and housekeepers. Passed by the State Legislature; vetoed by the Governor.

Support
floor_votes 2023
  • health

SB779

Expands public healthcare reporting requirements to include data from Community Health Centers on labor, revenue, workforce development, and mergers and acquisitions. Passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

Support

Corporate Money

Type Amount
Real Estate $18,300
Oil & Gas $12,900
Cops $1,500
Health Insurance $0

2024 Score Card Grades from Partners

Partner Score
Health Access
100
Planned Parenthood
100
United Food & Commercial Workers Western States Council
100
Reproductive Freedom for All
A
California Food and Farming Network
100
CA Environmental Justice Alliance
B
California Environmental Voters
100
Initiate Justice Action
A
TURN (The Utility Reform Network)
88
2025 Dream Alliance
100

Contact Lola Smallwood-Cuevas

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