Commission on the Status of Women and Girls seeks permanent staff to sustain statewide programs

Darcy Totten, executive director of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, briefed the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on the commission’s statutory role and current workload. Totten said the commission, created 60 years ago, focuses on economic and educational equity, veterans’ issues, reproductive health access and violence prevention and serves roughly half the state’s population (about 19.6 million women and girls).

Why it matters: The commission said it delivers its statutory duties with a small staff (10 permanent positions) and requested conversion of existing limited‑term positions to permanent roles so it can maintain ongoing programs. Totten described specific initiatives, including ongoing oversight of the College Student Right to Access Act through 2026, a youth advisory council building a girls’ public‑policy agenda, partnerships with the Girl Scouts and a major archival digitization project of 60 years of records in partnership with the California State Library.

Totten also said the commission convenes an anti‑reproductive‑rights‑crimes advisory group under AB 1356 to advise on clinic safety and related policy and data needs, and that federal funding interruptions have affected some international visitor leadership programs the commission supports.

Committee comments and focus: Assemblymembers emphasized prioritization; one member encouraged the commission to pare its long task list and focus on a few high‑priority deliverables that directly affect women’s wellbeing (childcare, reproductive access, menopause/health and economic issues). Totten said the current request is limited to converting limited‑term positions to permanent roles to reduce turnover and preserve institutional knowledge as existing limited‑term posts will expire in June.

Next steps: The Department of Finance and LAO offered no objections at the hearing; the subcommittee did not take votes and asked the commission to refine priorities and continue engagement with the committee and staff on the May revise and budget negotiations.

Speakers

["Darcy Totten","Maxwell Macedo","Jesse (DOF)","Anne Hollingsen (LAO)"]

Authorities

[]

Clarifying details

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Proper_names

[{"name":"California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls","type":"agency"},{"name":"California State Library","type":"agency"},{"name":"College Student Right to Access Act","type":"policy"}]

Community_relevance

{"geographies":["Statewide"],"funding_sources":[],"impact_groups":["women and girls","students","providers concerned with clinic safety"]}

Meeting_context

{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":4,"duration_minutes":40,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[]}

Searchable_tags

["status_of_women","Commission","youth_advisory","archival_project"]

Provenance

{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"8728.511","local_start":0,"local_end":220,"evidence_excerpt":"Good afternoon, chair, members of the committee. My name is Darcy Totten. I'm the executive director for the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls... The commission turns 60 this year...","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"9000.665","local_start":0,"local_end":200,"evidence_excerpt":"So TBD on the roving exhibit part. We also put together convening opportunities for local commissions, state partners, community partners. We continue to work with the office of the first partner on the California Equal Pay Pledge...","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

Topics

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