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Dear Neighbor,
On June 12, 2018, I was sworn in to represent the East San Fernando Valley. I am incredibly proud to represent it.
Our diverse and unique community is what makes our district vibrant. Our community is comprised of bright and hardworking individuals who come from various walks of life, from immigrants, first-generation Californians, and multi-generation families, to advocates, educators, car enthusiasts, and equestrians.
As your representative, I have always made it my priority to uplift and empower our communities. As Chair of the Los Angeles County Delegation and the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, I am proud to use my voice to advocate on behalf of our community.
Thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility.
Free Summer Programs and Resources
California State Parks Pass
California State Parks are encouraging kids across the State to be active this summer.
The California State Parks Library Pass is a new pilot program between the State Parks and Libraries with the First Partner’s Office. Free park passes can be collected at any public library throughout the State for library patrons to check out. The pass enables a one-passenger vehicle with a capacity of nine or fewer people to visit any of the over 200 participating state parks. For a list of parks eligible with this pass, please visit the California Department of Parks and Recreation website.
The First Partner’s Office and the California Natural Resources Agency also provide an Adventure Pass that offers free entry for fourth graders and their families at 19 state parks. Please feel free to visit the California Department of Parks and Recreation website for more information. For a list of State Parks participating in the Adventure Pass, please click here.
Free School Lunch Programs
Summer is here! Los Angeles Unified School District provides free lunch to students ages 1 through 18 from June 13 to July 28. Breakfast service time is between 8:30 – 9 a.m., and lunch is served between 12 – 1 p.m. To find the school that is closest to you, please click here.
In addition, several schools, libraries, and parks are participating in the Federal Summer Meals Program. Children and teens must be under 18 to qualify for free meals. To find the location closest to you, please visit the Summer Meals Site Finder and enter your address or zip code in the search bar.
Let’s make sure our children stay healthy this summer!
District Office Internship
I am currently accepting applications for interns in my District Office!
If you are a college student or recent graduate passionate about giving back to the community, public service, and looking to learn more about state government, please consider applying.
While working with Team Luz Rivas, interns will have the chance to help AD43 constituents through neighborhood-based activities and constituent casework!
This is a paid internship. You can learn more and apply by visiting my website.
REAL ID
As of May 7, 2025, all Californians will be required to have a REAL ID when entering a federal facility or boarding an airplane in the United States.
Applying for a REAL ID requires proof of identity, proof of California residency, and a trip to the DMV.
For more information on how to get a REAL ID, please click here.
Please feel free to contact my District Office with any questions or concerns at (818) 504-3911.
LGBTQ+ Resources
As Pride Month comes to an end, I want to ensure that AD43’s LGBTQ+ community feels supported. Please feel free to share these resources with anyone your feel may need them.
San Fernando Valley LGBTQ Center
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Email: info@sfvlgbtqcenter.org
Phone: (747) 208-7136
Equality California
555 West 5th Street, 35th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: (323) 848-9801
Fax: (323) 848-9246
Still Bisexual
2355 Westwood Boulevard, Suite 832
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: (323) 347-4848
Email: info@stillbisexual.com
Burbank YMCA Social Impact Center
321 East Magnolia Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91502
Phone: (818) 845-8551
Somos Familia Valle
Email: info@somosfamiliavalle.org
District Events
Kaiser Permanente Farmers Market
Wednesdays
9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Kaiser Permanente
Panorama City Medical Center, Medical Offices 3
13652 Cantara Street
Panorama City, CA 91402
If you are an EBT Cal-Fresh recipient, you can use your benefits while shopping for fresh, high-quality food at their farmers market.
Olive View-UCLA Farmer’s Market
Fridays
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
14445 Olive View Drive
Sylmar, CA 91342
Honorees of the Year 2019 – 2023
These last five years, I have been immensely proud to highlight incredible advocates and leaders in our district. Please join me in congratulating and celebrating these 43rd Assembly District Honorees!
Woman of the Year
Cindy Sower (2019)
Nicole Chase (2020)
Yvette Lopez-Ledesma (2021)
Mireya Pacheco (2022)
Sonia Smith Kang (2023)
Nonprofit of the Year
Khalsa Care Foundation (2019)
Village Family Services (2020)
Chica’s Mom Inc. (2021)
Plaza Comunitaria Sinaloa (2022)
Pueblo y Salud, Inc. (2023)
Small Business of the Year
El Carousel Bakery (2019)
Magaly’s Tamales (2020)
John Hernández, State Farm (2021)
786 Degrees (2022)
Teacher of the Year
Yadira Uribe, Fernangeles Elementary School (2022)
Rita Ontiveros, Telfair Avenue Elementary School (2023)
Latino Spirit Awards
Irene Tovar (2022)
Mike Elizondo (2023)
Latina Advocate of the Year
Gladys Duarte-Ayala (2022)
Equestrian of the Year
Geronimo Bugarin
Horse: Supermex (2022)
Lisa Baca
Horse: Fanny (2023)
Events and Town Halls
I have been grateful to partner with various organizations to bring vital resources to our community members. I have hosted a Virtual Housing Rights Clinic with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, provided a workshop on how to complete a citizenship application with the assistance of Sun Valley Neighborhood Council and International Rescue Committee, and a workshop on Earned Income Tax Credit.
My team and I have organized vaccination and PPE drives, food distributions, parades, community clean-up events, and holiday drives. However, none of these events would have been possible without the following partners:
- Congressman Tony Cardenas
- Senator Bob Hertzberg
- City of San Fernando
- Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians
- Mr. List, LA Sanitation
- Arbor Day Foundation
- Pacoima Beautiful
- Child Care Resource Center
- Dignity Health
- LA Regional Food Bank
- Los Angeles Mission College
- MEND
- Mission Hill Neighborhood Council
- Northeast Valley Health Corporation
- North Valley Caring Services
- Pacoima Neighborhood Council
- Personal Assistance Services Council
- San Fernando Valley Car and Truck Club Council
- SEIU 121 RN
- SHPE
- Tacos El Gordo
- Tree People
- 986 Pharmacy
I am proud to partner with our State Department and Agencies for town halls to bring valuable state resources and information to our community. In the past, we have held town halls that provide assistance with Employment Development Department (EDD), how to apply for state appointments, nonprofit recovery resources, and California’s Lifeline Program. I look forward to providing more town halls to my community.
If you have ideas on a town hall you would like to see my office host, please get in touch with my District Office at (818) 504-3911 or visit my website.
District Budget Successes
In the five years I have represented the 43rd Assembly District, I am proud to say that I have secured over $68.9 million for our community. These state funds went to our local colleges and higher education institutions, parks, nonprofits, and the critical health needs of our community members.
The 43rd Assembly District’s budget successes total up to $68.9 million:
- $1.5 million for Cesar Chavez Park in Sun Valley;
- $2.6 million for the Discovery Cube;
- $2.873 million for Free-Standing Pediatric Subacute Facilities;
- $4.4 million for the Southeast San Fernando Valley Roller and Skateboard Rink in Sun Valley;
- $25 million for California State University of Northridge Hispanic Serving Institution Equity Innovation Hub;
- $7.5 million Pacoima Wash Connectivity Project Bridge and Bikeway;
- $10 million for the Los Angeles Mission College STEM Biotech Institute;
- $5 million for the Northeast Valley Health Corporation;
- $5 million for the Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando Valley; and
- $5 million for The Great Wall of Los Angeles in Valley Glen.
In addition, I have secured funding for issues impacting our entire State:
- $101 million to create the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program;
- $175 million for the creation of the Extreme Heat Resilience Program to help the State respond to and mitigate extreme heat;
- $54 million for the School Meals for All K-12 Students;
- $1.5 million for the California Youth Empowerment Commission; and
- $15 million for Computer Science Educator Training.
Transportation and Infrastructure Successes in the 43rd Assembly District
Our district has received nearly $19 million in state beautification funds from the Clean California initiative to beautify and revitalize public spaces statewide!
The Clean California initiative is a multi-year clean-up effort by CalTrans where $1.1 billion is invested in our communities to remove trash, transform public areas, and create jobs in our district.
These projects include:
- $6.8 million for Route 5/118 Interchange from Sepulveda to Glenoaks;
- $5.5 million for Route 5 Sun Valley Paxton to Roscoe Boulevard;
- $2.9 million for Route 170/101 Interchange;
- $1.5 million for Northwest LA Corridor Safety Enhancements;
- $1.3 million for North LA Corridors Safety Enhancements; and
- $755,000 for 210 Foothill Boulevard Safety Enhancements.
Caltrans invested $135.5 million for the pavement rehabilitation project on I-210 in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. It is expected for the project to be completed by the end of Summer 2023.
- The I-210 Project will replace pavement on 52 lanes.
- On and off-ramps, connectors, and adjacent shoulders will also be rehabilitated.
- Overhead sign structures, traffic loop detectors, center median barrier, and the guardrail system will be upgraded.
- The freeway lighting system and traffic signals at on and off-ramps will be improved.
- The project will also add storm water treatment devices to eliminate trash from stormwater drain systems.
Casework
I am happy to share that since 2018, my District Office has closed over 3,000 cases. We have helped solve constituent cases in the following departments: Employment Development Department, Caltrans, Department of Motor Vehicles, Franchise Tax Board, and other state agencies.
Since the surge of unemployment claims, my team has been bringing relief and results to over 1,500 constituents. We are working tirelessly to ensure you get the assistance you need. If you need help, please get in touch with my District Office at (818) 504-3911 or visit my website.
Legislative Wins for the District
Homelessness:
During my tenure in the Legislature, I have introduced and passed legislation to ensure California is taking steps to tackle the homelessness crisis. The Governor has signed the following legislation:
AB 27 - Connecting Homeless Students to Services and Local Assistance Centers (2021): This bill required local education agencies (LEAs) and charter schools to identify all enrolled homeless and unaccompanied students to connect and provide their families with resources.
AB 1220 - Office to End Homelessness (2021): This bill established the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Council). The Council is comprised of various agency department directors, secretaries, and relevant stakeholders who oversee all homelessness programs that are managed by existing entities. The Council is co-chaired by the Health and Human Services Agency Secretary, and the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency Secretary to ensure proper authority exists to hold the state accountable and effectively coordinate its response to addressing homelessness.
This year I am working on AB 799, The Homelessness Accountability and Results Act (2023), which seeks to reform California’s current homelessness approach to issuing funds by enacting meaningful accountability measures, promoting the use of State homelessness funds, and setting State goals to measure local progress.
Education:
Education remains at the forefront of my policy priorities. I am proud to have secured $54 million to ensure every student in California between grades K-12 has breakfast and lunch provided to them.
I have also secured $15 million in the state budget to provide California teachers with the training necessary to teach computer science.
Over the years, I have authored legislation that identifies and disaggregates data on the State’s Long Term English Learners and Dual Language Learners to ensure long-term success of our multi-lingual students:
AB 1363 - Dual Language Learners (2021): This bill established a process for California state preschools to identify dual language learners to support and strengthen their language development. This measure helps inform program curriculum strategies used in educational settings and professional development to provide additional support for dual language learners.
AB 1868 – Long Term English Learners (2022): This bill reports and separates academic achievement and growth data of English learner students into different categories to ensure assistance and services are tailored to their specific needs. These new categories include long-term English learners, current English learners, and reclassified fluent English proficient students. These classifications allow California to better serve English learner students with the highest needs.
AB 393 - Identifying Dual Language Learners in Child Care Programs (2023): This bill would develop a standardized process to identify dual language learners enrolled in General Child Care Programs so that they may be identified and supported throughout their academic careers.
Public Safety:
We have seen firsthand the dangers of fentanyl overdose. In order to combat the fentanyl crisis, this year I supported AB 33, which would establish the Fentanyl Addiction and Overdose Prevention Task Force to undertake various duties relating to fentanyl abuse, including collecting information on the abuse of fentanyl in our State and raising awareness of fentanyl abuse. The bill sits on the Senate Committee on Appropriations and is awaiting a hearing date.
Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise, and I have been notified by you that this has become a serious issue in our community. To try and tackle this issue, last year, I supported SB 1087 to prohibit the purchase of detached catalytic converters unless it was purchased from the owner of the vehicle the catalytic converter was removed from or from a manufacturer, dealer, dismantler, auto repair specialist, or any other business that generates, possesses, or sells used catalytic converters. The bill would make a violation of this law and infractions punishable with a fine between $1,000-4,000.
Immigration:
I am a proud co-author of AB 1766, California IDs for All. This bill requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue California identification cards to applicants regardless of immigration status beginning January 1, 2027.
Workers:
Workers are the backbone of our economy. I am a champion for legislation that protects our workers.
I am a proud coauthor of SB 62 (2021), the Garment Worker Protection Act, making California the first state to require hourly wages for garment workers and penalize manufacturers and brands for wage theft and illegal pay practices.
I was also a lead author of AB 257 (2022), which established the Fast Food Council to set minimum standards for fast food restaurant workers.
Please feel free to contact my District Office if you have any questions or concerns (818) 504-3911.
It continues to be an immense pleasure serving you in the California State Legislature.
Respectfully,
LUZ M. RIVAS
Assemblywoman, 43rd District