Home » Santa Clarita News » Politics » Newsom Signs Valladares’ Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Bill Into Law
Photo courtesy of Suzette Valladares.

Newsom Signs Valladares’ Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Bill Into Law

On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 277, authored by Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, concerning topics such as domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse.


On Wednesday Valladares spoke with KHTS on the bill and its goals targeting increasing domestic violence and abuses that have occured during the current pandemic.

“We should never have women unable to report a crime of abuse because they can’t understand the required forms,” Valladares said. “That’s why I authored Assembly Bill 277 which requires application forms be offered in four additional languages other than English and Spanish.”

See Related: Valladares’ Assembly Bill On Power Outages Passes Through House, Senate

The assemblywoman used her past experience of being a witness to the effects of domestic violence to form the bill, she said. 

“As someone who is a mandated reporter in childcare, it became very apparent that domestic violence was on the rise in our communities,” Valladares said. “Kids weren’t going to school, weren’t going to church. Women and elderly were isolated at home because of the pandemic.”

State programs aiding victims of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, elder abuse and sex trafficking exist, but reportedly offer application forms only in English and Spanish, according to officials with Valladares’ office.

“Victims who do not speak one of these languages are severely hampered in their attempts to meaningfully access life-saving services and assistance,” stated officials with Valladares’ office.

This bill addresses language barrier concerns by offering additional applications for these aid programs in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese, according to officials.

The bill “would also authorize both the Secretary of State and the Judicial Council to produce the above materials in any other language,” according to the bill’s text.

Furthermore, the bill amends the Government Code to state that program participants “may obtain a change of their legal name to protect their anonymity,” according to the text.

Assembly Bill 277 passed through both houses of the state legislature before being signed onto by the governor this week.

In order to find out more about Assembly Bill 277, click here.


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Newsom Signs Valladares’ Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Bill Into Law

5 comments

  1. I’m sure someone will find something horrible to say about this bill simply because the headline says Newsom. I see this initiative as a positive step forward. Most don’t realize, Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

    https://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/domestic-violence-statistics/#:~:text=Nearly%2020%20people%20per%20minute,intimate%20partner%20during%20their%20lifetime.

  2. You obviously have never been to The Statue of Liberty. You probably only hang out at Monster Truck rallies or never leave your mothers basement.

    “Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

    This is America you ignorant piece of garbage. Unless you’re 100% Native American we all came from another country.

  3. Delicate Monroe Clark, There are No 100% native Americans. If you’re religious you know Man came from the Middle East, if you’re scientific, Man came from Africa. Violence against anyone is condoned by the Liberals as evidenced in any of the cities in ruins!

    • The violence at the capital on Jan 6th wasn’t condoned. Don’t make it seem like Right wingers aren’t storming the capital or driving cars through protests or shooting up places of worship. Both sides are messed up… This is about humanity. This is America. This is a melting pot.

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About Tim Smith

Tim was raised in Santa Clarita and attended COC before transferring to UC Berkeley in 2017. After getting his B.A. in political science, Tim joined KHTS as a News Intern in 2021.