On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 277, authored by Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, concerning topics such as domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse.
On Wednesday Valladares spoke with KHTS on the bill and its goals targeting increasing domestic violence and abuses that have occured during the current pandemic.
“We should never have women unable to report a crime of abuse because they can’t understand the required forms,” Valladares said. “That’s why I authored Assembly Bill 277 which requires application forms be offered in four additional languages other than English and Spanish.”
See Related: Valladares’ Assembly Bill On Power Outages Passes Through House, Senate
The assemblywoman used her past experience of being a witness to the effects of domestic violence to form the bill, she said.
“As someone who is a mandated reporter in childcare, it became very apparent that domestic violence was on the rise in our communities,” Valladares said. “Kids weren’t going to school, weren’t going to church. Women and elderly were isolated at home because of the pandemic.”
State programs aiding victims of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, elder abuse and sex trafficking exist, but reportedly offer application forms only in English and Spanish, according to officials with Valladares’ office.
“Victims who do not speak one of these languages are severely hampered in their attempts to meaningfully access life-saving services and assistance,” stated officials with Valladares’ office.
This bill addresses language barrier concerns by offering additional applications for these aid programs in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese, according to officials.
The bill “would also authorize both the Secretary of State and the Judicial Council to produce the above materials in any other language,” according to the bill’s text.
Furthermore, the bill amends the Government Code to state that program participants “may obtain a change of their legal name to protect their anonymity,” according to the text.
Assembly Bill 277 passed through both houses of the state legislature before being signed onto by the governor this week.
In order to find out more about Assembly Bill 277, click here.
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to news@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com
KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment