CAPITOL UPDATE August 13, 2021

CALIFORNIA BUDGET
SB 129 is a $100 million “Trailer Bill” that passed and is just awaiting Governor Newsom’s signature.  A Trailer Bill is created to implement items in the final adopted budget which means they start the process after July 1 each year. These bills are supposed to be just budget items but many times there are policy issues attached to them. SB 129 exceeds three hundred pages and includes allocations to various jurisdictions/agencies in the State.

 

It is organized by categories such as Housing and Homelessness, Judicial, Transportation, etc. What is most interesting is that these are line items that Legislators got approval for during budget negotiations. These line items are known as “earmarks” provided by each Legislator and then negotiated during the budget process.

 

For example, in the City of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County which is represented by two Democrat legislators, $3.5 million went to their Park District. In Simi Valley, also in Ventura County, which is represented by one Republican and one Democrat, their Park District did not receive any special funding.

 

Another example also in Ventura County, the City of Oxnard got five million for a community swimming pool. Coincidentally, Oxnard has an all-Democrat City Council and is represented at the State level by two Democrats. We suggest that CFRW members take a look at SB 129 and see how your community faired in the distribution. You will need to scroll thru the lengthy bill to find specific information, but it might be worth the effort. 

 

If Democrats represent your community, it is likely your community got much more funding than a Republican-led community. There is another one hundred million allocated for jurisdictions statewide. No bill number has been assigned yet. The State Legislature and staff are working to develop the method to distribute this funding. It is the intent to reimburse jurisdictions (cities, counties, special districts) for their losses due to COVID. Rather than keep it simple, it will require excessive documentation. This process for acquiring the funds is supposed to be completed by September 1. More to come on this one.

STACKING THE SUPREME COURT
The “Keep Nine” Amendment, a top NFRW legislative priority, is the most widely supported specific Supreme Court reform in America, yet it is being ignored by the commission charged with providing an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform. Let’s change that.

Go to keepnine.org  1) Scroll down to the photo of the U.S. Supreme Court Building, 2) Click on the words: “Urge the Presidential Commission…”, 3) Send the message that the “Keep Nine” Amendment should be considered by the Commission. (A pre-written message has been provided for you when you click on the picture, you can simply add your name or add your thoughts to the message, or you can write your own message.)
 
UPDATE ON NEWSOM RECALL
This past Saturday, August 7, CAGOP delegates met via Zoom to decide whether the CAGOP would endorse a Republican candidate in the recall against Governor Newsom. The result was that 90% of the delegates voted NOT to endorse any Republican. Why? Two main reasons- The recall looks like it could happen- the polling numbers are extremely close. This means every vote will count, and the Delegates did not want to alienate any voters who might be turned off if the endorsement did not go to their preferred candidate. Also, not endorsing anyone weakens the Dems’ argument that the recall is a Republican attempt (they conveniently forget that a substantial number of the signatures turned in to qualify the recall were from Dems and Independents).

We encourage all CFRW members to help GOTV (Get Out the Vote) for “YES” on the RECALL. CFRW offered two training classes to our members and over three hundred members were trained. If you want additional training provided by CFRW, please let us know. Vote “YES” on the first question– “Should Gavin Newsom be recalled?”  NOW is the time for CFRW members to participate!

If you would like the directions and materials that were supplied to CFRW to make calls to GOTV to vote “YES” on the RECALL, contact CFRW Region 5 Director Nancy Wofford at homefront2454@aol.com. Nancy will be happy to help you!

For further information on any of the bills mentioned here, click the Bill # in the email. Or you can CLICK HERE and simply enter the bill # or keywords where designated.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”