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 shield 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, and the rights of immigrants and other vulnerable communities.
Santa Clara County General Counsel Tony LoPresti said the grants, if approved, would scale and align with internal county actions, such as the $5 million in additional immigrant advocacy funding approved by the Board of Supervisors last week.
The county is also conducting an intensive review of other measures that can be taken before the new president is inaugurated on January 20.
"What's happening at the state legislative level encourages us to prepare for the multitude of threats that are being fostered within the incoming administration," LoPresti said.
"Local governments play a vital role in advocating for their residents, and that includes challenging policies through legal action; Senator Wiener's proposal is a welcome aid in achieving those ends," he added.
In addition to $10 million for local law firms, the bill would provide $25 million in grants to legal aid organizations that defend residents from issues such as deportation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also proposed allocating $25 million to state agencies and the California Department of Justice as a defense fund against Trump's policies.
Notably, during Trump's first term, Santa Clara County fought against several Trump measures. Together with San Francisco, they challenged Trump's executive order to withhold funding from cities and counties that do not help him deport immigrants, and obtained the first injunction nationwide.
Santa Clara County and San Francisco also filed the first lawsuits to challenge Trump’s public charge rule, winning an injunction blocking the administration from requiring a wealth test for immigrants entering the country or seeking to adjust their immigration status.
Santa Clara County also joined Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City in supporting a lawsuit challenging a travel restriction targeting Muslim-majority nations.
Outside of the courts, during Trump’s first term, the county funded immigration legal services and programs to educate the community about their rights, launched the “One County, One Future” campaign, and implemented the Rapid Response Network, a community-based advocacy project developed to protect immigrant families from threats of deportation.
County Executive James R. Williams applauded the state’s efforts to secure funding and reaffirmed the county’s commitment to resist unjust federal actions.
“We are prepared to protect our community and we know this fight will require considerable resources,” Williams said. “It is encouraging to know that we have representatives at the state level who are equally committed to standing up to the attacks on our values that we know are coming.”
The state Senate is expected to consider Bill X1-1 in January 2025.
The funding would support the litigation activities of local civil prosecutors, including members of the Civil Prosecutors Coalition, which is comprised of many of California's largest city and county attorneys' offices, representing more than 40 percent of California's population and millions of residents across those jurisdictions.
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