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Officials of the Santa Clara County strongly support a new state bill introduced last week that aims to bolster funding available to local jurisdictions to legally protect residents from policies instituted by the incoming Trump administration.
Senate Bill X1-1, authored by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Scott Wiener, would provide $10 million in grants to county and city attorneys across the state to support the filing of civil actions against the federal government.
Among the things that are sought to be protected are reproductive health, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ civil rights, the rights of immigrants and other vulnerable communities.
Tony LoPresti, Santa Clara County legal counsel, said the grants, if approved, would increase and align with internal county actions, such as the $5 million in additional funding for immigrant advocacy approved by the Board of Supervisors last week.