The University of California, facing record surges in applications, could increase seats for California students by as many as 33,000 by 2030 — the equivalent of building a new campus.

At least half the growth would come at the UC system’s most popular campuses — UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego — in part by reducing the number of out-of-state and international students and giving those seats to Californians.

Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) hosted a rally at Sacramento City College on June 6 urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to adopt a debt-free college plan for students.

Assembly Bill (AB) 1746, the “Cal Grant Reform Act,” would expand free tuition to more low-income students in the state, eliminate grade-point-average requirements for community college students, and guarantee financial awards for students eligible for a federal Pell Grant.

The campaign to expand free tuition to more low-income California students has been riding a wave of unanimous goodwill, despite its large costs. But the state’s — and nation’s — largest public university system has made public its concern that key trade-offs required for that expansion will be a financial burden for some middle-class students. 

Backers of the effort say those concerns are misplaced. How and whether lawmakers choose to respond will affect the fate of tens of thousands of prospective college students in California for years to come. 

A bill aimed at reducing the potential for unconscious bias in the criminal justice system passed the California State Assembly yesterday by a vote of 72-0.

AB 2778 or the “Race-Blind Charging” bill would require the Department of Justice to develop and publish “Race-Blind Charging” guidelines beginning in January 2024, whereby all prosecuting agencies, as specified, implement a process to review a case for charging based on information, from which all means of identifying the race of the suspect, victim, or witness have been removed or redacted.

Employees of the California State Legislature would get the right to unionize for the first time under a proposal introduced Monday. The people who work for California state departments, known as rank-and-file civil service employees, received the right 45 years ago to unionize and collectively bargain over their pay, benefits and working conditions. But the 1977 Ralph C. Dills Act didn’t include the roughly 1,900 employees of the Legislature, who are still forbidden from organizing.

For the second consecutive year, a major overhaul to California’s main financial aid program is being proposed by lawmakers who say the current system is overly complex and excludes too many students from getting aid.

A Sacramento legislator is working to pass a bill to make it easier to clear homeless encampments along rivers and what is known as special parklands.

Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) said more homeless housing is, of course, needed, but “certain places are just no-goes.”

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Two newly introduced bills could significantly impact the early education landscape in California if they eventually become law. 

Three Democratic state lawmakers from the Sacramento area are backing legislation they say would speed up the removal of homeless encampments along the American River Parkway — and eventually ban the camps from the 23-mile natural corridor. 

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Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, gave his reaction to the horrific events that unfolded Sunday morning, and discussed the gun control bills he’s pushing to make into law.

To watch the news segment, click the link: https://fox40.com/morning/assemblymember-kevin-mccarty-reacts-to-downtown-sacramento-shooting/