Governor Newsom’s May Revision of the proposed 2025-26 state budget, unveiled late Wednesday morning, presents a dangerous vision for California spending, one that will cause tremendous harm, and one that is deeply unaligned with the real needs and desires of the vast majority of Californians.

Sacramento, CA — Congress will soon vote on the Budget Reconciliation Bill which will decide on massive cuts to Medicaid. These cuts would be the largest Medicaid cuts in history and, if enacted, the next 10 years would see $715 billion in cuts and 14 million people losing vital health care coverage. This is not just a budget cut, it’s severing a lifeline to millions of Americans. We call on Congress, especially the Congressional Representatives from California to vote No and stop the cuts to Medicaid.

Disability Rights California urges the state to protect veterans following recent actions from the federal administration that will create unnecessary hardship. The Department of Veterans Affairs expects to decrease staff by over 80,000 people and reorganize the agency by August. We recognize the significant intersection between disability and veteran identity status, as well as the need for ongoing healthcare services during administrative changes.

The Department of Education is crucial to students with disabilities, and Disability Rights California denounces today’s executive order that threatens to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and related programs. The efforts to weaken the Department have been made recklessly and threaten to leave many school-aged children with disabilities and their families without proper access to quality public education and their civil rights. 

(Tulare County, CA) - Disability Rights California (DRC) reached a groundbreaking settlement agreement with Tulare County that will expand the County’s mental health services and prevent unnecessary institutionalization and incarceration. The settlement is a culmination of a multi-year investigation by DRC and subsequent negotiations with the County’s Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA). 

Disability Rights California mourns the lives lost in the tragic plane crash near Washington, DC on January 29, 2025.

As everyone continues to simply try and comprehend the destruction taking place in and around Los Angeles, many conversations have been started or re-opened about fire prevention, governance, and how our resources are being used. One of the most powerful stories that reemerged this past week was that of the incarcerated people, who make up a shocking 30% of California's firefighters. Regardless of where people self-identify politically, there is consensus that these brave people were risking their lives while providing a heroic and desperately needed service.

Governor Newsom’s Administration unveiled its proposed state budget on January 10th. The proposed budget avoids substantial cuts to existing funding commitments. However, the Administration highlighted several factors that could introduce economic volatility in the coming years. These include fluctuations in tax revenues, uncertainty stemming from the incoming presidential administration, and the ongoing impacts of wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County.

Yesterday, the U.S. federal government announced a new rule dedicated to improving air travel for passengers with disabilities, especially for those who use mobility devices. The rule strengthens and clarifies the rights of people with disabilities who use air travel. 

This week, a New York jury acquitted Daniel Penny, a white man who killed Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old unhoused Black man experiencing a mental health crisis on the New York City subway in May of 2023. Penny killed Neely by choking him for almost 6 minutes. Penny’s acquittal demonstrates how our legal system continues to protect those who use violence to calm their own fears—even when those fears may be rooted in racism, ableism, and hostility towards the unhoused. 

California voters had a chance to end forced labor as punishment and take a compassionate approach to drug addiction and poverty, but instead chose a different path. We worry these outcomes show a trend of punishing and exploiting people with disabilities rather than investing in more effective, compassionate solutions.

To My Colleagues in the Disability Community:

As I reflect on last week’s election results in California and nationally, I see our movement is entering a new era, one with serious threats and big changes on the horizon. I am determined to work with my colleagues across our community to build power and assert ourselves in order to protect and advance our rights.

Let me explain —

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Today, the newly formed California Disability Leadership Alliance (The Alliance) published its first report: State of the State: California Disability Policy in 2024. The Alliance is comprised of disability and Deaf leaders from disability-led organizations.

This week, the state of Texas was set to execute Robert Roberson, an autistic man who has spent over 20 years on death row for a conviction based on the now debunked “shaken baby” hypothesis. Hours before his scheduled execution on October 17, the Texas Supreme Court granted a temporary order that will stop Mr. Roberson’s execution.

(San Diego, California) – Fish & Richardson, the Law Office of Ann E. Menasche, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Advocates, Dreher Law Firm, Manfred APC, the National Homelessness Law Center, and the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley have secured a landmark class action settlement that protects San Diego residents who rely on their vehicles as their only form of shelter from unjust enforcement and fines.

As National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) gets underway, Disability Rights California (DRC) is excited to announce that it has been awarded a grant from The James Irvine Foundation to help advance economic justice and employment opportunities for people with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD).

After Governor Newsom acted on the final set of bills for the 2024 session, Disability Rights California is grateful yet concerned. We are grateful to have three sponsored bills and several other priorities signed in the final few days of September. We appreciate the hard work of many Legislators who authored these bills and the staff who worked behind the scenes to make them move forward smoothly.

In yesterday’s Vice Presidential Debate between Governor Tim Walz and Senator J.D. Vance, the dangerously false connection of mental illness and gun violence was brought up by Senator Vance. 

We must push back against the idea that gun violence in any space is due to anyone’s mental illness. False statements like this one add to the stigma that people have toward people with mental health disabilities.  

(Long Beach, CA) –  In a significant victory for Latinx families, Coalision de Padres Buscando el Cambio, a parent group of over 60 families advocating for better services for intellectually and developmentally disabled children and young adults, has reached a groundbreaking settlement in its lawsuit against Harbor Regional Center and the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS).