Unemployment boost to run out + Taking a knee at the Captol + ‘Superhero’ on flavored tobacco
Good morning! Thanks as always for reading!
UNEMPLOYMENT BOOST TO RUN OUT SOON
Via David Lightman...
In a few weeks, that extra $600 a week that California’s unemployed workers now get will be gone — and it’s unlikely Washington will revive it.
To encourage people to return to work, Republican lawmakers and the White House are considering a plan to pay newly employed workers a bonus of $450 to $600 weekly for a few weeks.
The extra $600 a week was part of the March law aimed at cushioning the economic pain triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. But it ends at the end of July, and the road ahead for people without jobs, or for that matter those who find them, will be the subject of a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday where Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia is among those who will testify.
Studies repeatedly show that lots of people, particularly lower-wage workers in the food, hospitality and retail industries, are getting more income not working than they were earning at the jobs they lost.
Nationally, construction workers and people who had jobs in retail and sales and food service, or as medical assistants and janitors, were often receiving more in unemployment payments than they were earning while working, a University of Chicago study found.
Traditionally, unemployed workers can figure on getting half their regular earnings as unemployment benefits — enough to live on but also enough to provide incentive to keep looking for a job.
From April 26 to May 9, California workers in the hospitality and food industry got 177% of their regular pay, while those in retail trade received 167%, according to a California Policy Lab study.
But, warned Till von Wachter, its faculty director, it’s too soon to tell if the $600 payment is a reason for not seeking work.
From past recessions, he said, experts have found that if jobs are hard to find, people are less likely to pass on a job offer. Moreover, if someone turns down a job, he said, “Many others are likely to want it.”
LEADERS TO KNEEL
Several of California’s top elected officials are set to take a knee on Tuesday morning, Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Assembly Minority Leader Marie Waldron.
They’re gathering to “condemn racism and demonstrate solidarity by kneeling for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that George Floyd was struggling to breathe,” according to a statement announcing the event.
Others joining in the solemn occasion include Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, Assemblyman David Chiu, and Sens. Steven Bradford, Connie Leyva, Scott Wiener and Ben Allen.
The event will take place on the west steps of the Capitol at 11 a.m.
ANTI-FLAVORED TOBACCO ADS
Sacramento’s Sen. Richard Pan is among several lawmakers getting a shout out from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The group, which is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 793 to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in California, has launched a superhero-inspired ad campaign in support of the bill and those lawmakers, including Pan, who back it.
“These lawmakers have been outspoken advocates supporting tough, life-saving legislation that would end the sale of flavored tobacco products in California,” said the campaign’s Annie Tegan, in a statement. “For too long, Big Tobacco has been using candy-flavored tobacco products to get kids hooked - leading to an increase of 135% in the past two years alone in youth use of e-cigarettes. Our kids deserve elected officials like these members who stand up for their health and their lives. We applaud their bold action and leadership in supporting the health of California’s children by voting for SB 793, and look forward to adding more names to our list of champions as the bill moves through the legislative process.”
You can view the ad for Pan here.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations is set to hear SB 793 on Tuesday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t relish being so critical of the Governor, and I’ve given him credit when it’s deserved. But with our state government collapsing into one-man rule, it’s my job to hold that one man accountable.”
- Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Congressional Democrats announced Monday that they want to raise the legal standard for when law enforcement officers can use deadly force, proposing a bill similar to a new California law that aims to reduce lethal encounters, via Kate Irby.
From the Central Coast to the north state, Black Lives Matter protesters are taking to the streets in some of California’s smaller cities and encountering armed individuals who say they want to protect property, via Andrew Sheeler.
California Democrats on Monday formally introduced legislation backed last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom to ban police from using carotid artery restraints and chokeholds when detaining suspects, via Hannah Wiley and Mackenzie Hawkins.