Allison Olson, CFRW Advocate
Capitol Update
Friday, September 20, 2019
California Federation of Republican Women
Sue Blair, President
Veto Edition
It’s the very end of session, and all that’s left to do is for Governor Newsom to either sign or veto the bills on his desk. Unfortunately he has already signed AB 5 (Gonzalez, D), which is a direct attack on our growing “gig” economy in the state. There are dangerous bills still awaiting his action, so please call the Governor’s office ASAP and let them know we OPPOSE these bills. The Governor has until October 13th to veto these bills or they automatically become the law. Governor Newsom, please VETO the following:
AB 891 (Burke, D) This bill mandates that cities with populations greater than 330,000 establish a “safe parking program” which allows people to live in their cars in a designated area of the city. Think tent cities, but with cars. This sounds like a public safety nightmare.
AB 1482 (Chui, D) Despite the will of the voters, who voted down the Rent Control Proposition just this last election, the legislative Democrats think they know better, so they passed this statewide rent cap. It’ll place a limit of 5% rent increases, plus inflation, and mandates that landlords provide “just cause” before evicting a tenent after a year. The bills only redeeming quality is that it has a 10 year sunset.
AB 1505 (O’Donnell, D) This is a systematic chipping away of our charter school rights. AB 1505 makes it more difficult for charter schools to extend their charters or appeal decisions made on their charter status by school districts to the county boards of education.
SB 1 (Atkins, D) Although Governor Newsom has signaled that he intends to veto this bill, he hasn’t yet. This is a direct attack on President Trump’s EPA regulation rollbacks and a huge state water grab. Basically if state water agencies feel that local businesses, agriculture, or other water agencies do not have high enough “environmental standards”, then the state can step in and take control. This is a dangerous precedent to set, and water policy should not be set by making a political statement toward the Trump Administration. SB 1 potentially threatens the water supply for millions of Californias and could disrupt agriculture production for the rest of the nation
SB 310 (Skinner, D) Convicted felons will be allowed to serve on juries if this bill passes, regardless of what their felony conviction was for. It seems that it would be difficult for a felon to have an unbiased approach to jury service, but Senatoe Skinner thinks we should give them a shot passing judgement anyway. This is ridiculous and needs to be vetoed!
SB 127 (Wiener, D) How’s your new gas tax dollars helping your commute? This bill would divert even more highway rehabilitation funds from our roads and use it for bike paths, pedestrian walk-ways, and transit upgrades. The California Republican Party called this bill a “gas tax bait and switch”. Voters need to know what is happening with their gas taxes. They were promised our crumbling transportation infrastructure would be fixed, and instead the legislative Democrats want to build facilities for bikers, walkers, and transit users with it!
You can email the Governor HERE or you can call his office at (916) 445-2841.
A Victory for California Republicans
This week a federal court judge ruled that SB 27 shall be suspended, meaning President Trump will remain on our California ballot. SB 27 (McGuire, D) was passed earlier this session and it mandated that all presidential candidates must release their tax returns of the past 5 years or else be excluded from the primary ballot. Thanks to RNC Chairwoman from California, Harmeet Dhillon, arguing the unconstitutionality of SB 27, we will be able to vote for President Trump in March- for now. The State of California has already said it will be filing an appeal as soon as possible. But today, let’s celebrate this big win for election integrity for all voters, but especially for California Republicans!
Election 2020
Three measures have already qualified for the November General Election Ballot and many more set to make it before the deadline. The three that have already qualified have great implications for the future of our state- the splitroll property tax initiative, a return to monetary bail, and fixing Props 47 and 57 by redefining violent crimes. The presidential election will take away from the ability to educate California voters on the importance of ballot measures. The CFRW releases official positions on each ballot measure, along with talking points and rationale to help our members educate voters. It will be especially difficult to get voters to focus on the measures, but we must work hard to do so! Read this piece from the California Policy Center- it’s what we’ve been preaching for years! Time to gear up for 2020!
CFRW Biennial Convention
Join us in Bakersfield for our 41st Biennial Convention! We have very important Federation matters to attend to, like election our new slate of officers and completing our transition into our regions. Our speakers include Former Solictor General Ken Starr and his wife, Alice, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Milan-Patterson, Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove, and so much more! Click HERE for more information!
