Please act now to urge the Governor to sign two critically important anti-discrimination bills:

[asdjrocky]

Posted by Assemblymember, Dave Jones, on my facebook moments ago. If you can, please take a few moments to help.

AB 119 (Health Insurance Gender Discrimination) and AB 793 (State Lilly Ledbetter Fair Wage Act of 2009).

My AB 119 prohibits gender discrimination in individual health insurance and health plan rates. The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) 2008 report "Nowhere to Turn: How the Individual Health Insurance Market Fails Women" detailed their investigation of gender discrimination in health insurance premiums and other obstacles to coverage for women. The NWLC report found huge variations in premiums charged to women and men for identical health plans (the vast majority of which do not cover maternity benefits). In this nationwide study, some insurers charged men and women the same prices, while others charged women as much as 140% of that charged to men. NWLC concluded: "This discriminatory and arbitrary practice creates substantial financial barriers for women seeking to obtain the health care they need; as such the use of gender rating should be abandoned."

I introduced AB 793 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. AB 793 ensures that victims of pay discrimination continue to have a fair opportunity to seek redress in the courts for violations of state law. It clarifies that, as has been the case in California for decades, victims of discrimination can recover for each act of wage discrimination as an ongoing act of discrimination and they are not required to bring a claim when they are not even aware of the discrimination. AB 793 is necessary to ensure that state anti-discrimination laws are not weakened by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber.

Please contact the Governor today to ask him to sign AB 119 and AB 793. Provided below are sample letters you can use to urge the Governor to sign these bills. Click here to email the Governor or fax, mail or phone in your comments with the contact information provided below.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

These important measures, supported by civil rights, labor and women's organizations, will help stop gender discrimination in California. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

DAVE JONES
Assemblymember, 9th District
Candidate for Statewide Insurance Commissioner 2010

Thank you!