Police accountability bill moves forward + A mayor writes Gavin Newsom + Tax the rich?

Good morning and happy Monday! Here’s to what promises to be yet another newsy week.

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BILL HEADS TO SENATE FLOOR

A California bill that would require police departments to finish their misconduct investigations even if the officer involved resigns has cleared a major hurdle: the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1299 now heads to the Senate floor for a vote.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, is intended to prevent police officers from just resigning to stop a misconduct investigation, then getting hired by another police department.

“Our local police departments need more information about who they are hiring to ensure that we are protected by individuals who will properly serve our communities,” Salas said in a statement. “AB 1299 will provide investigative background information to police departments when they are making hiring decisions. It is unacceptable that some officers are able to hide their past and are not held accountable. By creating more transparency, AB 1299 will help our law enforcement agencies make more informed decisions and root out bad cops with histories of misconduct.”

Salas’ office referenced a Sacramento Bee report last year about the City of McFarland, which hired at least 13 police officers who had troubles at other agencies.

AB 1299 would require police departments to notify the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training of any misconduct findings “so that they can include this information to be available to superiors when they conduct pre-employment background checks,” according to Salas’ office.

MAYOR TO NEWSOM: LET RESTAURANTS DINE IN

With most of California under a cloud of smoke from one of the many wildfires ravaging the state, one city is asking the governor for permission to allow indoor dining for air quality reasons.

Mayor Steve Martin of Paso Robles wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, urging him to allow indoor dining on a temporary basis to prevent local businesses from going under.

“Restaurants and tasting rooms, which just a few short months ago employed almost two million Californians, are already reeling from the pandemic. Outdoor dining, the only reason many of our restaurants and tasting rooms are able to still hang on, is not healthy in the heat, smoke, and ash-filled haze. If they have no customers, many more California small businesses will fail, and many more Californians will be put out of work,” Martin wrote in his letter.

Martin said that restaurants “tend to have good HVAC systems, with effective filters, and can provide a safer, more comfortable setting than many Californians now have available at home.”

COALITION URGES LEGISLATURE TO PASS TAXES

A coalition of labor, faith, civil rights, environmental justice and anti-poverty groups are calling on the Legislature to pass three new taxes on the wealthy to fund state services, arguing that “Californians are suffering.”

The coalition, called Commit to Equity, is calling for the passage of two bills, AB 2088 and AB 1253, that together would raise more than $14 billion a year by taxing the state’s wealthiest residents. They also are calling for the passage of an “unrealized capital gains tax,” which they argue would raise approximately $10 billion a year for more than a decade.

“We cannot overstate how urgent it is for the Legislature to act now to raise new revenue. Lawmakers can send a clear message to all Californians that they have our back and will not rely on devastating austerity to solve budget shortfalls. Californians depend on the jobs, programs and vital services that will face the chopping bloc without a tax on the wealthy,” the letter to California lawmakers reads in part.

“In the meantime, Californians will make sacrifices while lawmakers allow income inequality to worsen. Lawmakers can kick the can down to next year, meanwhile, millions of Californians will lose their homes, businesses and jobs. We must let the 99% of Californians know that they are the first priority and not an afterthought.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Everyone is saying we need more battery storage, but I have questions...The state energy peak is 50,000 MW. So how much lithium would we need to extract to serve that need? How many more black children in the Congo will have to suffer to meet this demand?”

- Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• Despite recent sniping, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday he and President Donald Trump have a good working relationship as the federal government provides aid to fight California wildfires, via Sophia Bollag.

• California state workers affected by the wildfires may be eligible to take paid time off, the state Human Resources Department announced last week, via Wes Venteicher.

• Get ready for a GOP convention eager to brand Democrats as hungry for higher taxes, via David Lightman.