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Legislature rushes to recess
California lawmakers have a busy, tense three days before leaving Sacramento for a month-long summer recess.
By the end of Wednesday, they must meet a deadline to get bills out of policy committees. They are also likely to send $2 billion in bonds to the November ballot and unite around a strategy to tackle shoplifting.
Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuireD-Healdsburg said last week the Legislature extended the June 27 deadline to add bonds to the ballot until July 3. The Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Confirmed lawmakers could repeal a section of the California Elections Code to add measures after the June 27 legislative deadline.
McGuire announced Sunday that the Legislature had reached agreement on two $10 billion bond measures. A climate change bond will ask voters for money to address safe drinking water and drought, flooding, wildfires and forest resilience, sea level rise, extreme heat and more.
A school bond will seek funding for “modernization, repair and safety of educational facilities” on K-12 and community college campuses. Lawmakers must still approve the measures to send them to the polls.
Perhaps the biggest question remains whether Democrats can come together to combat shoplifting. An initiative by the California District Attorneys Association to change elements of Proposition 47 has officially qualified for the November ballot.
The 2014 voter-approved measure made certain drug and theft offenses misdemeanors and set a $950 threshold for shoplifting. Assembly Speaker McGuire Robert RivasD-Hollister and Governor. Gavin Newsom have all said they oppose the 2024 effort to change Proposition 47.
The Legislature’s alternative to the district attorney’s measure — a package of bills that would increase penalties for some theft-related offenses — has stalled. Rivas and McGuire have introduced changes that would invalidate some of the legislation if the initiative passes in November.
The issue has divided Democrats and angered Republicans. The fact that the package has not advanced to final consideration in the Senate and Assembly indicates that leaders may not have the votes they need.
Now it seems Newsom and legislative leaders the car will turn and introduce a last-minute ballot proposal to compete with the proposal that prosecutors want to implement. Politics And KCRA have reported that the governor and lawmakers are working out a deal on an initiative that would be less restrictive than existing ones.
On Sunday night, the lawmakers’ agreement was signed into law in the form of Senate Bill 1381, authored by Democratic Senators Aisha Wahab of Haywar, Angelique Ashby of Sacramento and Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur of West Hollywood.
SB 1381 would toughen penalties for a handful of drug and theft-related crimes. It includes stiffer penalties for those who sell fentanyl that kills someone and those charged with shoplifting after previously being convicted of two or more theft-related crimes within three years.
The bill creates a direct competition with the district attorney vote. It says that a competing measure that conflicts with its provisions would be “null and void” if it receives more votes.
Lawmakers likely won’t be able to take action on the measure until later Wednesday, meaning they’ll have a long day at the Capitol before heading off for the holidays and recess.
RELIGIOUS, ANTI-LGBTQ HATE CRIMES ARE INCREASING
California saw a decrease in hate crimes overall in 2023, but an increase in crimes targeting Jewish, Muslim and LGBTQ residents.
The California Department of Justice released the latest report on hate crimes in California on Friday, showing that the number of reported hate crimes fell by about 7%, from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023.
However, the number of anti-Jewish prejudices has increased by almost 53%, from 189 in 2022 to 289 in 2023. The number of anti-Muslim prejudices has increased by 60%, from 25 in 2022 to 40 in 2023.
The number of events with anti-LGBTQ bias increased from 81 in 2022 to 151 in 2023.
A hate crime event involves one or more criminal acts, victims and suspects or perpetrators.
“While it is encouraging to see an overall decrease in hate crimes in 2023, some of our communities, including our LGBTQ+, Jewish and Muslim communities, continue to be targeted and threatened by hate at alarming rates,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement. “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us – there is no place for hate in California.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s a bad night for America because the candidate who said, ‘I haven’t had sex with a porn star,’ gave the best impression.”
– San Francisco Chronicle political writer Joe Garofoli on the presidential debate Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump.
The best of The Bee:
▪ Supreme Court limits obstruction charges against Jan. 6 rioters, ruling could impact California residents, via Gillian Brasil.
▪ California law restricting oil wells near homes goes into effect after industry withdraws vote, via Ari Plachta.
▪ Supreme Court Says Cities Can Ban Homeless Encampments How It Affects California, Via Gillian Brasil.
▪ Did Gavin Newsom and Rob Bonta fail the migrants flown from Florida to Sacramento? through Mathew Miranda.
