Death Throes for AB 5?
The exemption arrows have found their mark in the Achilles heel of AB 5, the controversial and highly contested worker classification law. On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2257 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez adding many more exemptions to the law that now total over 100. Ironically, it was Gonzalez who created AB 5 with […]
From the Government, “Do As We Say, Not As We Do” File
Government elected officials are proud and often boastful when it comes to making laws that tell the rest of us how to live but legislators many times don’t have to follow the same mandates they require of others. This week, California witnessed the latest entries in the “Do as we say, not as we do” […]
Legislature is Done for the Year. But Numerous Calls for a Special Session
During the waning days of the shortened legislative session there were at least three appeals to the governor to call a special session of the legislature to complete pressing business. His office has indicated he is unlikely to do so. Not that many legislators want the session to continue. Normally legislators would rather be out […]
Mayors’ Reasons for Supporting Prop. 15 Don’t Hold Up
Fifteen California mayors, including mayors of some of California’s biggest cities, signed a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to endorse Proposition 15, the commercial property tax increase on the November ballot. However, the main reasons the mayors used to support their position don’t stand up to a real-world examination of the facts. The […]
Will San Diego County be the New Rhode Island?
When I first looked at the county rankings under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four tier standards to open the economy safely, I had to wonder if in Southern California San Diego County would become the new Rhode Island. You will recall that Rhode Island put up barriers to travelers from other states that were labeled Covid-19 […]
Picasso Lawmaking: SB 820
The art of lawmaking would be better displayed than the example of SB 820, an omnibus education bill. This so-called budget trailer bill is like a Picasso painting with all weird shapes and sizes of legislation gathered together on one canvas. How can a lawmaker study the details and decide with a simply yes or […]
Is There Still a Place for the Death Penalty in California?
A couple of recent headlines and news reports raise the death penalty issue again, which never seems to be put to rest in California. This week the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty verdict for Scott Peterson in the well-known 2004 killing of his pregnant wife. Previously, the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, was […]
Devastating Fires Could Boost Proposition 19
Californians across the state are living through, watching and reading about the devastation caused by the fires roaring throughout the state, already consuming about 1.5 million acres with still months to go before the usual fire season is over. Typically, major disasters trigger political responses in one form or another and the fires in the […]
AB 323 as Amended Will Help Save Local Journalism
Assemblymember Blanca Rubio’s AB 323 to help local newspapers by favoring them with government advertising and delaying the AB 5 requirements of worker classification for newspaper delivery drivers seemed incomplete, that is until late amendments were made to the bill last week that joined it to AB 2257. The idea behind AB 323, pushed fervently by […]
Kevin McCarthy on California
Republican congressional leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield spent time with the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall yesterday answering questions on national and international issues, but also touched directly on some California topics. McCarthy spoke about an all-mail ballot election in California, the state energy blackouts, and even commented on whether California colleges […]