SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who is a self-proclaimed government code nerd, likes to read the fine print.

When the position for California attorney general opened up, the Bay Area lawmaker was reading the job qualifications and noticed some outdated language.


What You Need To Know

  • AB 378 seeks to replace "he" from state code with gender neutral language

  • California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis sponsored the bill

  • Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s bill passed the legislature with bipartisan support

  • If signed into law, the state’s code will be amended online and in print by 2022

“I happened to be reading the code — I admit I’m a little bit of a geek — and found that it referred to our constitutional officers in the ‘he’ and ‘him,’ which is fascinating because we have so many female constitutional officers now,” Bauer-Kahan said.

California has eight constitutional officers, which include positions like attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer. Half of the state’s constitutional officers are women, including the lieutenant governor.

“Currently, California government law says the lieutenant governor is a ‘he,’” Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis said.

Lt. Governor Kounalakis sponsored AB 378, which would modify the state code by replacing male pronouns with gender-neutral language.

“Our government code is riddled with male pronouns when describing and establishing the power of our constitutional offices. It uses the pronouns “he” over 70 times,” Kounalakis added.

Bauer-Kahan says making this change is long past due to help ensure all Californians are represented equally. 

“It’s important that when young girls or nonbinary individuals think about where they fit in our state, that there is no question that they have every right to be in these jobs as much as a man, and our code didn’t reflect that,” Bauer-Kahan said.

Bauer-Kahan’s bill passed the legislature with bipartisan support and is currently sitting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk awaiting his signature.

If signed into law, the state’s code will be amended online and in print by 2022.

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