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CC: ACTION ITEM - Discussion and Direction Regarding Potential Culver City Actions to Ensure (1) Continued Access to Reproductive Health Services; and (2) Continued Protection of LGBTQ+ Rights
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Meeting Date: February 10, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager
Phone Number: City Manager’s Office - (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (02/04/2025)
Department Approval John Nachbar, City Manager, (02/04/2025) _____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council discuss and provide direction to the City Manager regarding potential Culver City actions to ensure (1) continued access to reproductive health services; and (2) continued protection of LGBTQ+ rights.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
At the City Council meeting on December 9, 2024, the City Council requested that staff return with a staff report on the potential policies impacting access to reproductive health services, LGBTQ+ rights, and sanctuary city policies under the upcoming Trump administration, as well as potential Culver City actions to counter these policies. The analysis of sanctuary city policies will return at a later date due to the need for additional staff analysis.
Current Federal Administration’s Anticipated Policies Regarding Reproductive Rights
During the current federal administration, it is likely the administration will continue and intensify policies aimed at restricting access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, in the United States. President Trump has already issued an Executive Order Enforcing the Hyde Amendment <https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/enforcing-the-hyde-amendment/>. According to a Fact Sheet issued by the Administration, this Executive Order will end the use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.
Building on actions taken during its first term, the administration may pursue further legal, regulatory, and financial measures to limit abortion access. These policies would create significant barriers for individuals seeking abortions, particularly for those in marginalized or low-income communities. As a result, the overall accessibility and safety of abortion services could become more difficult to navigate, deepening the disparities in reproductive healthcare access across the country.
A list of potential policies that the current federal administration could adopt that further undermine or eliminate reproductive rights is included as Attachment 1.
Culver City’s Possible Response to Federal Administration’s Policies Regarding Reproductive Rights
California has some of the strongest protections for reproductive freedom in the country. California Proposition 1, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, was a ballot measure that was approved by voters in 2022. Proposition 1 amended the California Constitution to establish a right to reproductive freedom, which was defined to include a right to an abortion and to choose or refuse contraceptives. The approval of California Proposition 1 means that access to contraceptives and abortion will be enshrined and protected under California’s state constitution.
California is a national leader in legislative measures to ensure abortion remains legal and accessible to residents, as well as to those who travel to California from states where abortion access has been restricted or removed. A description of 15 key California legislative protections is included as Attachment 2.
Although most of the work to counter the federal administration’s policies would occur through the courts and State law, there are some potential actions the City Council could take to counter these policies, including:
• Add support for reproductive rights, including the right to an abortion and to choose or refuse contraceptives, to the City’s Legislative and Policy Platform.
• Using the City’s communications channels to raise awareness about the federal administration’s policies, making known the potential backdoor national abortion ban or the blocking of access to medication abortion drugs or contraception. This would aid in demonstrating public opposition to these policies. After the federal administration paused payments of all federal grants and loans in January 2025, the immediate and vocal public opposition that followed quickly caused the federal administration to reverse the policy.
• Writing letters to Culver City’s elected officials at the state and federal level supporting abortion rights and family planning.
• Providing the public and employees with factual and unbiased educational resources on abortion, family planning, and reproductive rights, such as through a section on the City’s webpage with information and links to resources, or handouts and posters in public facilities. An example is California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s webpage on
Reproductive Rights, available at <https://oag.ca.gov/reprorights>.
• Authorize the City Attorney to join amicus briefs in alignment with maintaining access to reproductive health services.
California’s Shield Laws
According to the UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and policy: “For both reproductive and gender-affirming care, California’s shield laws provide protections against out-of-state investigations and prosecutions, professional discipline, and civil liability. Additionally, California’s shield laws provide protections for health care providers’ professional liability insurance and participation in health plans. California also provides extensive protections for medical information and other data related to reproductive and gender-affirming care, including specific protections against the sharing of electronic health record information related to reproductive or gender-affirming care through health information exchanges” (<https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/California-Shield-Law-Fact-Sheet-.pdf>). More information about California’s shield laws is included in Attachment 3.
Federal Administration’s Policies Regarding LGBTQ+ Rights
As of January 2025, the federal administration's approach to policies regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other identities (LGBTQ+) rights has been characterized by a series of decisions that have impacted various sectors, including healthcare, military service, and legal protections. These policies have generally been in opposition to the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, in particular individuals who are transgender, rolling back Obama-era protections, and creating more limitations for these groups.
A summary of the actions the federal administration has taken so far, as well as those actions they may take in the future, is contained in Attachment 4.
Culver City’s Possible Response to Federal Administration’s LGBTQ+ Policies
California has some of the strongest protections for LGBTQ+ discrimination rights in the country. Among other things, California law:
• Prohibits gender identity discrimination and harassment and protects LGBTQ+ people and students from discrimination, harassment, hate crimes, and mistreatment, ensures safe and inclusive educational environments, and the right to workplaces that are free from discrimination and harassment.
• Protects the right of Californians to access gender-affirming healthcare services and permits proactive efforts to overcome the health effects of discrimination.
• Provides that people have the right to participate in sex-specific spaces - restrooms and locker-rooms - consistent with their gender identity.
• Provides that people have the right to self-select a gender identity of male (M), female (F), or nonbinary (X) to appear on their driver’s license or identification (DL/ID), birth certificate, and death certificate, and to update the designation on their marriage certificate to bride, groom, or neither.
• Provides that transgender people have the right to essential health care in state prison facilities.
(Source: <https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-issues-statement-president-trump%E2%80%99s-executive-order>)
A full list of LGBTQ+ related rights in the State of California can be found on the State of California Attorney General’s webpage at <https://oag.ca.gov/lgbtq/rights> (Attachment 5)
California families seeking gender affirming care, and the doctors and staff who provide it, are protected under state laws like the Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Intersex (TGI) Inclusive Care Act (Attachment 6).
Similar to abortion issues, most of the work to counter the federal administration’s policies will occur through the courts and State law. However, there are some things that Culver City could do to counter these policies, including:
• Update Culver City’s 2016 Anti-Hate Resolution to add gender (see below), to affirm Culver City’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, and specifically people who are transgender.
• Using the City’s communications channels to raise awareness about the federal administration’s policies, sounding the alarm on the threat to our LGBTQ+ neighbors.
• Writing letters to Culver City’s federal and state elected officials supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
• Providing the public and employees with resources aiding and showing support for LGBTQ+ individuals, such as through a section on the City’s webpage with information and links to resources, or handouts and posters in public facilities.
• Authorize the City Attorney to join amicus briefs in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
Culver City’s 2016 Anti-Hate Resolution
On October 24, 2016, the City Council approved a resolution (Attachment 7) that:
• Condemns all hateful speech and violent actions directed at people who are Muslims, those perceived to be Muslims, or people based on their religious beliefs, their immigration status, their race, their ethnicity, or their sexual orientation;
• Categorically rejects political tactics that use fear to manipulate voters or to gain power or influence;
• Commits to pursuing a policy agenda that affirms civil and human rights, and ensures that those targeted on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, or immigration status can turn to the government without fear of recrimination; and
• Reaffirms the value of a pluralistic society, the beauty of a society composed of multiple cultures, and the inalienable right of every person to live and practice their faith without fear.
Notably, the resolution does not cover acts of hate based on gender identity, something which was later added to the City’s 2024 Legislative and Policy Platform.
City of Culver City’s 2024 Legislative and Policy Platform
The City Council adopted a Legislative and Policy Platform on November 11, 2024 (Attachment 8), which affirmed the City’s commitment to:
• Encourage equality, equal pay, marriage equality, religious freedom, immigrant rights, diversity, and social justice.
• Condemn all hateful speech and violent actions.
• Commit to pursuing a policy agenda that affirms civil and human rights and ensures that those targeted on the basis of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status can turn to government without fear of recrimination.
• Reject political tactics that use fear to manipulate voters or to gain power or influence.
• Reaffirm the value of a pluralistic society, the beauty of a society composed of multiple cultures, and the inalienable right of every person to live and practice their faith without fear.
Culver City Police Department Policies
The Culver City Police Department (CCPD) adheres to Assembly Bill 1242 (passed in 2022), which is specifically related to reproductive rights and Senate Bill 345 (passed in 2023) which reenforces AB 1242 and additionally provides protections to individuals who obtain legal gender affirming care treatment in California. These laws prohibit all California law enforcement agencies from arresting or participating in the arrest of someone for performing, obtaining, or helping someone obtain a legal abortion and/or gender affirming care treatment in California.
Not only do both laws prohibit California law enforcement agencies from making an arrest associated with abortion and/or gender affirming care, the laws also strictly prohibit all California law enforcement agencies from assisting in, providing information to, or cooperating with any out-of-state prosecutions or investigations related to both topics.
CCPD’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy, Policy 428.5, has specific verbiage regarding AB 1242:
The policy of the Culver City Police Department is to utilize ALPR technology to capture and store digital license plate data and images while recognizing the established privacy rights of the public.
All data and images gathered by the ALPR are for the official use of this Department. Because such data may contain confidential information, it is not open to public review.
The Culver City Police Department does not permit the sharing of ALPR data gathered by the city or its contractors/subcontractors for purpose of federal immigration enforcement, pursuant to the California Values Act (Government Code § 7282.5; Government Code § 7284.2 et seq) - these federal immigration agencies include Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
The Culver City Police Department does not permit the sharing or use of ALPR data gathered by the city or its contractors/subcontractors for the purpose of investigating and/or participating in the arrest of any person for performing, supporting, or aiding in the performance of an abortion or gender affirming treatment, or for obtaining an abortion or any type of gender affirming treatment in the state of California, that is lawful under the laws of the state of California, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1242 (which amends Sections 629.51, 629.52, 638.50, 638.52, 1269 (b), 1524, 1524.2, and 1551 of, and adds Sections 1546.5 and 13778.2 to, the Penal Code).
Additionally, the Culver City Police Department does not permit providing ALPR data to any law enforcement agency or a federal law enforcement agency for the purposes of investigating out of state abortion laws or laws related to gender affirming treatment.
CCPD personnel were previously trained on AB 1242 in conjunction with the launch of the ALPR program. CCPD has recently distributed a new training bulletin regarding both AB 1242 and SB 345 which highlights the laws and changes to the California Penal Code regarding these issues. CCPD will be providing staff with additional training regarding these laws.
CCPD plans to add a formal policy related to abortion and/or gender affirming care topics into the CCPD policy manual and is currently researching the topic. CCPD contacted 20 different police agencies throughout the state to see if they had any local policies related to abortion and/or gender affirming care laws beyond the state laws, but none of these agencies had. CCPD has also contacted Lexipol, the company that creates most police agency policies, including Culver City’s, to see if they have any related policies CCPD can review.
Under AB 953, the Racial Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), California law enforcement agencies are required to collect data on individuals' gender identity during stops, searches, and arrests. Per the Assembly Bill, the data is used to help identify disparities in how different groups are treated, particularly in terms of gender identity. Per the bill, the officers are required to document their “perception” of a person’s gender identity who is stopped, searched, or arrested, which includes options beyond the binary categories of male and female. During stops, CCPD officers do not ask detainees what their gender identity is. The information documented on the RIPA forms is based on the officer’s perception only. This data is reported to the DOJ and documented in CCPD’s annual RIPA report. CCPD also lists gender on arrest forms. Apart from RIPA and arrest forms, CCPD does not collect any other information related to gender identity.
Regarding the collection of information related to someone’s pregnancy status, the only information CCPD collects is on its medical screening form, which is completed when CCPD has a female inmate in its custody inside its jail facility. The form is a Los Angeles County form, which CCPD is required to complete. If the inmate has to be transported to County Jail, it is required that CCPD share the form with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in order for them to take custody of the arrestee. CCPD does retain these forms in its case files; however, CCPD does not collect or retain any other data related to pregnancy status or share the information obtained from these forms with any other outside entities, unless required to do so by law. FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact from discussing this item.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Potential Federal Administration Policies Regarding Reproductive Rights
2. Key California Legislative Protections for Reproductive Rights
3. California Shield Law Fact Sheet
4. Potential Federal Administration Policies Regarding LGBTQ+ Rights
5. Key California LGBTQ+ Related Rights
6. Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Intersex Inclusive Care Act
7. Culver City 2016 Anti-Hate Resolution
8. Culver City 2024 Legislative and Policy Platform
MOTION(S)
That the City Council:
1. Discuss potential policies impacting reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights under the current federal administration; and,
2. Discuss potential Culver City actions to counter these policies; and,
3. Provide direction to the City Manager, as desired.