Stanislaus News

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Juan Alanis announced a successful week in the Legislature, with three of his bills advancing with unanimous support.

The first bill, AB 2324, aimed at reducing food waste and addressing food insecurity in schools, passed a full Senate vote and is now headed to Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill allows the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to donate seized avocados directly to school food pantries, ensuring fresh produce reaches students instead of going to waste.

“Addressing food insecurity in my district is a major priority for me,” said Assemblymember Alanis. “AB 2324 is a common-sense solution in making sure schools can give students fresh, healthy food while reducing food waste.”

In addition, Assemblymember Alanis secured two crucial Senate Appropriations Committee votes for other key bills in his legislative package. AB 1817 would require the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to consider food security and economic stability when collecting data and providing resources to the state’s homeless population between the ages of 12-24.

“The Youth Homelessness Act of 2018 was a strong step towards addressing one of California’s most vulnerable populations,” said Assemblymember Alanis. “Many unhoused individuals lack access to nutritious food and stable employment opportunities, and I am proud to see progress on bridging this gap and helping our unhoused youth escape the vicious cycle of homelessness.”

The second bill, AB 1859, would require coroners to test for the presence of xylazine, commonly termed Tranq, in certain autopsy cases and report positive results to relevant authorities.

“My district has already seen several cases of Tranq-related overdoses and if we don’t act now, we will see history repeated like we saw with fentanyl,” said Assemblymember Alanis. “We need to address Tranq head-on rather than waiting to react.”

AB 2324 unanimously passed the Senate Floor and now joins two other Alanis bills on the Governor’s desk awaiting either a signature or veto. Both AB 1817 and AB 1859 join six other Alanis bills awaiting votes on the Senate floor. One Alanis-authored bill has already been signed into law this year.

Assemblymember Juan Alanis represents the 22nd Assembly District, which includes Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Denair, Patterson, Gustine, Newman, Hilmar, Ballico, Snelling Keyes Grayson Crows Landing Diablo Grande Stevinson & Empire.