Ending Racially Biased Pretextual Traffic Stops via Department General Order (DGO) 9.07: After over 18 months of organizing and advocacy by CSJ and the Coalition to End Biased Stops, on January 11, 2023, the San Francisco Police Commission voted 4-2, with one abstention, to pass DGO 9.07, which curtails pretext stops and consent searches, and improves traffic stop data reporting requirements. That morning, CSJ and the Coalition hosted an hour-long press conference at City Hall, featuring members of the Board of Supervisors, victims of racial profiling by SFPD, and coalition representatives. Now, the policy is in the “meet and confer process,” which is a closed-door negotiation with the San Francisco Police Officers Association. After these negotiations — which can last for an undetermined period of time — an additional vote by the Police Commission is required to ultimately pass the DGO. Learn more here: https://www.endbiasedstopssf.org/
Through our work with the Homeless Emergency Service Providers Association (HESPA), we secured funding of $7,667,075 for FY 20222-23 and $16,597,075 over FY 2022-23 and 2023-24 in the budget in the areas of homelessness prevention, housing subsidies, behavioral health, and employment services. HESPA also garnered $53 million for unhoused people in FY 21-22 and 22-23 and $30 million in FY 23-24 and 24-25.
Through advocacy as part of the End Poverty Tows Coalition, beginning in July 2021, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency implemented a series of discounts and vouchers for people experiencing homelessness who are impacted by the enforcement of various citations. You can learn more here: https://www.sfmta.com/discounts-low-income-individuals-and-people-experiencing-homelessness
Through coalition organizing, we got unanimous approval of the Compassionate Alternative Response Team (CART) by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and the program was partially funded at $3 million in FY 2021-22 to respond to 65,000 calls relating to homelessness that police are currently answering. We are still pushing for CART to be fully funded and fully realized according to its original vision.
State
In 2023, CSJ successfully advocated alongside coalition partners to secure $61 million (over the next four years) for statewide overdose prevention and harm reduction programs, including delivery of naloxone (Narcan), overdose prevention, and drug treatment and $10 million (over five years) to strengthen the capacity to prevent, test, and treat for hepatitis C in marginalized communities. This $61 million extends and expands an original $15 million state investment in the California Harm Reduction Initiative, from which GLIDE Harm Reduction receives funding. This latest victory creates a multi-year funding pool for GLIDE’s Harm Reduction program and programs like it across the state.
In 2023, through Hunger Action Week and other advocacy with the California Hunger Action Coalition (CHAC), CSJ successfully secured over $500 million in state funding to strengthen the emergency food system, improve food access for immigrants, boost CalFresh benefits, increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and support nutrition for school-age children.
In 2022, CSJ advocated as part of CHAC for Food4All, which ended up getting funded at $35.2 million in the 2022 state budget, so that immigrants 55 and over can receive state-funded food assistance. We also successfully advocated for $62 million in 2022-23 and $52 million in 2023-24 for California food banks to continue to address the ongoing need caused by record levels of hunger, rising inflation, and a decline in federal support.
CSJ advocated as part of the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) Coalition to include several key investments in the final 2022 budget. One was expanding the Young Child Tax Credit income threshold to $0. This was a first step towards establishing a child allowance in recognition of unpaid caregiver work. Second, was creating a Foster Youth Tax Credit to provide a $1,000 credit to young adults who were in the foster care system. Third, was increasing funding for Free Tax Preparation, Outreach, and Education to $20 million annually for two years and $10 million ongoing; this will provide funding to support free tax preparation services and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs so Californians can access the credits they are due. Lastly, policy changes were included to ensure that tax credits to reduce poverty reach Californians in need and are not intercepted by government agencies.
CSJ is a member of End the Epidemic’s (ETE) Policy Subcommittee, and helped plan and lead the 2022 ETE Week of Action. As a result of our advocacy, the state budget included $38 million to address the syphilis and congenital syphilis crisis, as well as hepatitis B. In 2021, the majority of ETE asks ($13 million) were included in the state budget to fund programs that will end the epidemics of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), viral hepatitis, and overdose.
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