123451. (a) As used in this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Abortion” has the same meaning as defined in Section 123464.
(2) “Commission” means the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls established by Section 8241 of the Government Code.
(3) “Fund” means the Abortion Practical Support Fund.
(4) “Grantee” means a qualifying nonprofit organization that assists pregnant people with direct practical support for the purposes of obtaining an abortion and
or public research institutions in California that conduct research on reproductive health, law, and policy. health.
(5) “Practical support” means direct assistance, such as airfare, lodging, ground transportation, gas money, meals, dependent childcare, doula support, and translation services, to help a person access and obtain an abortion.
(b) The Abortion Practical Support Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury in the Women and Girls Fund in accordance with Section 8250.1 of the Government Code for the purpose of providing grants described in
Section 123452. Moneys in the fund are available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(c) The commission shall administer the fund.
(d) Moneys in the fund may be used to cover administrative costs.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may receive moneys from nonstate entities, such as private sector entities, and local and federal government agencies, specifically to support the fund, and deposit these moneys into the fund.
123452. (a) The commission may use moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to allocate grants to any of the following:
(1) Nonprofit organizations that are exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and either specialize in assisting pregnant people who are low income, or who face other financial barriers, with direct practical support services to access and obtain an abortion or provide abortion services to those persons. Grants awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be used for activities that increase patient access to abortion, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
barriers. A grant recipient under this paragraph shall use the funds awarded to fund a new program or support an existing program that increases patient access to abortion. By way of nonlimiting examples, the program and the awarded funds may be used for any of the following:
(A) Practical support services. services related to seeking abortion care.
(B) Abortion navigators, patient navigators, and community health workers services.
(C) Case management support.
support for patients seeking abortions.
(D) Costs associated with training volunteers and staff in the provision of practical support services to abortion patients.
(E) Costs associated with enabling grantees that meet the requirements of this section to assist people with practical support services, including staffing and administrative costs.
(F) Costs associated with coordinating practical support services, abortion providers, and other support services.
(2) Public research institutions in California that conduct research on reproductive health, law, and policy,
health, including research on abortion, contraception, and pregnancy. Grants awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be used for research to support to support research on equitable access to abortion, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) To identify unmet educational and health needs related to abortion services which take into account community preferences for types of abortion services and level of care.
(B) Accurately assess the needs and preferences of people experiencing barriers to sexual and reproductive health, including abortion
care.
(C) Evaluate, track, and assess progress and impact of any program, policies, and innovations proposed as part of the recommendations of the California Future of Abortion Council. pertaining to equitable access to abortions.
(b) (1) Unless otherwise specified by the commission, grants under this article are for a period of one year.
(2) An application for a grant shall be made on a form to be developed by the commission.
(3) Decisions regarding the grants and the funding
level of the grant shall be made after consideration of all relevant factors, such as the recipient’s anticipated level of need and the availability of funds.
(4)Additional grants are authorized.
(4) The commission may authorize additional grants to recipients as funding allows.
(c) To administer this section, the commission shall use moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to pay direct and indirect costs of the commission, including hiring costs.
Of the moneys appropriated, no more than 5 percent shall be available for the commission’s administrative activities related to planning and production of grants.
(d) The commission shall use moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to maintain a system of financial reporting on all aspects of the fund. The financial reporting shall include, but is not limited to, information from the grantees on their expenditures and activities using grant funds associated with this article as the commission deems necessary to ensure the use of the funds are consistent with the purposes of this article and the terms of any grant award.
(e) For purposes of this section, the commission shall not require the submission of any identifying personal information
about individuals receiving practical support or medical services as part of an application for a grant or reporting of expenditures and activities using grant funds under this article. Information required by the commission may only include information in summary, statistical, or other forms that do not identify particular individuals.
(f) An application for a grant under this article and financial reporting by grantees are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(g) The commission shall conduct an evaluation of the
program and shall report its findings to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2025, and on an annual basis no later than each January 1 thereafter. The first annual report shall cover the period of July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, inclusive. Each subsequent annual report shall cover the previous fiscal year. The commission may use moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the evaluation of the program. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.