The Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee voted 7-0 to advance AB 1540, a bill by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez that would seek federal approval to restore the 988 crisis line’s specialized LGBTQ+ youth routing option.
The committee’s action sends the measure to Appropriations, but it does not change California’s 988 system on its own. During the hearing, Gonzalez and several committee members repeatedly emphasized that the bill is contingent on federal approval and would not immediately reinstate the “press 3” option in California.
Gonzalez told the committee that the measure is meant to restore a “lifeline” for young people in crisis and pointed to CDC data he said shows LGBTQ youth attempt suicide at nearly triple the rate of their peers. Supporters who testified included a parent who said she lost her son to suicide, along with mental-health professionals, county officials, advocacy groups and PFLAG chapters.
Opponents argued that the bill would politicize a crisis service and raised concerns about the organizations and online spaces associated with LGBTQ youth support. But several lawmakers said the bill simply asks the federal government for approval and preserves the possibility of restoring a routing option that had existed before it was cut at the federal level.
Chair Tasha Burner said the proposal would not expand authorized expenditures under the 988 fund and that California would still need federal cooperation for the measure to take effect. After the debate, the committee approved the bill and moved it to Appropriations.
