California Lawmakers: Smarter Policy Can End Poverty

By Lila Brown California Black Media

A group of progressive California lawmakers — including three members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) — have pledged to end poverty in California by advancing more effective policy during the next legislative session — and beyond.

Newly appointed Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) announced the formation of the End Poverty in California Caucus last month at a Los Angeles screening of the documentary “Poverty and Power.”

The film features former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, an antipoverty advocate who founded a nonprofit that shares a name with the caucus, End Poverty in California (EPIC).

“We’re headed towards the end of the legislative session, but we’re in the process of recruiting members to the poverty caucus,” Bryan, who is the chair of the new caucus, told California Black Media.

“We’ve got about a half dozen members already,” Bryan contin- ued. “As we continue to do outreach in the Legislature, I expect that number to grow. By the time we come back together in January to introduce new legislation we should have everything ready to go, to focus on criminal justice reform and the housing crisis’ systemic nexus to poverty in the state.”

Bryan is the treasurer of the CLBC.

The End Poverty Caucus says it will aim to “help lawmakers organize around key votes and issues and build power in order to advance bold policy change.”

Other CLBC lawmakers who are members of the newly formed poverty caucus are Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) and Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Ladera Heights).

“Part of the reason over a quarter of our state’s residents live at or below the poverty level is because of California’s failed public policies,” said Smallwood-Cuevas in a statement.

“Our state Legislature must fight for California’s working families by creating equitable ac- cess to quality jobs and doubling down on what Californians earn across the board, particularly for residents from marginalized communities of color.”

Bonta said bills she introduced this year have prioritized the needs of children and families, but she looks forward to working with her colleagues to take bolder and broader action to address those problems.

“It’s clear that we need to advance stronger policies that will coordinate effective, place-based delivery of wrap-around services for people most in need to make significant progress in the fight against poverty,” Bonta said. “I look forward to joining forces with our End Poverty Caucus to ensure that we strengthen our safety net and tackle the racial and economic inequities in our communities.”

Some critics have cautioned, however, that creating a caucus focused on poverty is political showmanship by Democrats that will have little impact on actual poverty reduction.

Tim Anaya, vice president of

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