The ADL and a host of major Jewish groups are lobbying California to pass a bill to classify Jews as a race/ethnicity and "not just a faith." Democratic state assemblyman Josh Lowenthal told the Jewish News Syndicate that he co-sponsored SB 1387 to improve Jewish communities' "ability to access public resources" and "protection within the judicial system." "Lowenthal said the state relies on demographic data to 'fairly allocate public health and educational resources, as well as monitor the effectiveness of its programs for represented communities,'" JNS reported. "We know that good data creates good policy, so this will allow us to be able to inform better policy in the future," Jewish California CEO David Bocarsly told The Forward. "The goal of this isn't to get more resources for our community; it's to get the right amount of resources for our community." "[T]he clock is ticking, as Monday, Aug. 31, is the final day of the year that California lawmakers can pass legislation," the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports. "The governor then has until Sept. 30 to sign bills into laws or veto them." "If the California bill does become law, Bocarsly expressed hope 'that other states and hopefully the federal government would also follow suit,'" JTA noted.