Stem cells makes the ballot + Return of the bag ban + Idaho goes on the list
Good morning! Let’s get right into it!
STEM CELL INITIATIVE MAKES THE BALLOT
A ballot initiative to authorize $5.5 billion in state spending on stem cell research has qualified for the November 2020 general election ballot.
The campaign to put the initiative on the ballot gained nearly 925,000 signatures, according to a statement from the group, well above the 623,212 needed.
“Our coalition of over 60 dedicated patient advocate organizations fought to ensure our stem cell research Initiative qualified for the November ballot, and we’re eternally grateful for their commitment and vision,” said Bob Klein, chairman of Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments and Cures. “During the past decade, California has made incredibly thoughtful investments and significant progress along our journey to developing therapies and cures for diseases and conditions like diabetes, age-related blindness, cancer, Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease; and, it is critical to California families that this vital therapy development pipeline continue to be funded.”
THE BAG BAN IS BACK
Say farewell to those single-use bags.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order temporarily suspending the single-use bag ban expired Sunday.
Newsom’s April 22 order suspended, for a period of 60 days, the requirement that retail establishments offer customers reusable bags only.
The order was done as a precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19.
However, advocates say that we now know much more about the spread of COVID-19 than we did when the order was put in place, and such an order is unnecessary as surfaces aren’t a major contributor to the spread of COVID-19.
With the bag ban back in place, retailers must now once again offer either paper or multi-use plastic bags, and must charge 10 cents for each one.
Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, issued a statement thanking the governor for allowing the suspension of the bag ban to expire.
The discontinued use of reusable bags at many California retailers has resulted in a severe shortage of recycled paper bags and the temporary return of single-use plastic bags by some retailers,” Murray said. “It’s projected that as many as 1 billion single-use plastic bags were distributed in California in April and May alone, costing consumers more than $20 million in higher grocery costs.
Murray said that returning to the use of reusable bags “will reduce an unnecessary source of plastic pollution, reduce grocery costs for stores and consumers, and relieve the shortage of recycled paper bags.”
GOODBYE, IDAHO
Via Wes Venteicher...
Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Monday extended California’s ban on taxpayer-funded trips to a 12th state, adding Idaho to the list based on the state’s passage of two laws limiting the state’s acknowledgment of gender preferences.
Becerra’s order means public employees and college students may not travel to Idaho under provisions of a 2016 California law.
One of the northern state’s new laws, titled the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” bans transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s school sports. The law runs counter to guidance National Collegiate Athletic Association guidance, according to a news release from Becerra’s office.
The other Idaho law prohibits amending birth certificates to match a person’s gender identity.
The laws, which Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed in March, go into effect July 1, according to the news release.
“Where states legislate discrimination, California unambiguously speaks out,” Becerra said in a news release. “The state of Idaho has taken drastic steps to undermine the rights of the transgender community, preventing people from playing sports in school or having documentation that reflects their identity. Let’s not beat around the bush: these laws are plain and simple discrimination.”
Little’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Did you see the ad featuring Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Govs. Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis and Pete Wilson?
There was a comical bit at the beginning of the ad.
“Hey maybe you didn’t vote for me,” Schwarzenegger says.
“Arnold, news flash: I voted for Gray Davis,” Davis responds.
What a difference 17 years makes...
Watch the ad for yourself here.
Best of the Bee:
California is seeing a growing number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and intensive care unit cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday, making it all the more necessary that people follow his mandatory mask order in public, via Andrew Sheeler.
President Donald Trump expanded his crackdown on foreign workers on Monday, issuing a proclamation that freezes access to several types of work visas amid historically high unemployment in the United States, via Michael Wilner.
A proposal to amend the state Constitution, and usher in a bold new era of gambling, died in the Legislature on Monday. SCA 6, which would have allowed sports betting via cell phones and computers, was pulled off the table by co-author Sen. Bill Dodd one day before the legislation faced a pivotal committee vote, via Dale Kasler.