June 16, 2022
California Federation of Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the CFRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Karen Contreras, Gretchen Cox, Elaine Freeman,
Theresa Speake, and Cheryl Sullivan
The June primary has come and gone but there was some good news. Lanhee Chen, a Republican running for State Controller, will be in a run-off in November. If he wins, he will break the long period where no Republicans have held State-wide office. There are also some Assembly districts with Republicans challenging Democrats for their seats and some Congressional Districts as well. So, we have our work cut out for us. Keep up the good work.
2022 Ballot Initiative
#20-0003 VETO REFERENDUM – THIS REFERENDUM CHALLENGES A 2020 LAW (SB 793) PROHIBITING RETAIL SALE OF CERTAIN FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
This Referendum, known as a Veto Referendum, will be on November 2022 general election ballot and will require a majority of voters to approve (vote yes) the 2020 state law before it can take effect. In the past California voters have voted on 49 such veto referendums, upholding laws 20 times (40.8 percent) and repealing laws 29 times (59.2 percent).
Senate Bill 793 – was passed by the California State Legislature in August 2020 and signed by Governor Newsom. Three days after the laws passage, a proposed referendum on the law was submitted to the State Attorney General. The proponents of the referendum gained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot so the law was suspended pending the referendum vote this November. If the referendum does not pass, the law will take effect on 1/1/23. The legislation bans the sale of certain flavored tobacco products and tobacco flavor enhancers, with the exception of hookah tobacco, loose-leaf tobacco and premium cigars. It also provides a fine on Retailers of $250 for each violation.
The legislation received support from most legislative Democrats (84 of 89) and a quarter of legislative Republicans (8 of 30). One legislator voted against the bill, and the remaining legislators were absent or abstained. In the California State Senate, the vote was 34-0. All 29 Senate Democrats, along with 5 Senate Republicans, voted for SB 793. Six (of 11) Republicans did not vote on the legislation.
*Supporting this referendum will effectively support the already passed law ( SB793) and the referendum will fail, meaning there would be a ban on sales of flavored tobaccos except for hookah, cigar and pipe tobaccos. The bill was supported primarily by Democrats as well as Gov. Newsom, and 5 of 11 Republicans also supported it. The tobacco companies largely finance the opposition to this referendum. Notice the disparity in contributions:
Total Contributions to the referendum:
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
| Support | $2,650,914.43 | $112,290.09 | $2,763,204.52 | $2,325,110.98 | $2,437,401.07 |
| Oppose | $20,002,500.00 | $1,351,939.15 | $21,354,439.15 | $19,860,249.92 | $21,212,189.07 |
For further information on any of the bills mentioned here, click on the bill # highlighted in the body of the above articles.
Find/contact your local Legislators, click HERE to inquire about or let them know your opinion about bills or issues.
To contact your U.S. Representatives, call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121
Listen to hearings on bills that interest you – http://www.legislature.ca.gov/the_state_legislature/calendar_and_schedules/audio_tv.html Calif. Legislative Portal links- Express your support or opposition to a bill or directly to the Legislative committee currently reviewing it (as an individual, not as a member of RWF or CFRW)– click here, or the bill’s author- click here, enter your bill # and look for tab at top of the bill page labeled “Comments to Author”
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