Lawmakers go to bat for theme parks + Pelosi’s $2.2 trillion offer + Rally for police alternatives
Good morning, happy Tuesday! Ready for the presidential debate tonight? We’ll be watching, too.
TIME TO REOPEN DISNEYLAND?
Nineteen California lawmakers are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue guidance on how theme parks like Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm can reopen.
The letter, penned by a group of senators and Assembly members led by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, chair of the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee, argues that theme parks throughout the country “have successfully reopened and one glance at the news makes it obvious that outbreaks simply aren’t being traced back to these theme parks.”
The bipartisan letter points out that while counties are beginning to move through the various tiers of reopening, theme parks have no sense of what the state expects from them before they will be able to do so.
“With this as backdrop, we believe the time is now to move forward with theme park reopenings. Theme parks have spent the past six months preparing to reopen in a responsible manner. They have comprehensive plans that include capacity reductions, thorough health and safety protocols, and park-wide modifications to support these efforts,” the letter read in part.
The letter comes a week after Disneyland held a virtual press conference demanding to be allowed to reopen. Newsom has previously said that his office will release guidance for theme park reopening soon.
PELOSI MAKES ANOTHER OFFER
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t given up entirely on the prospect of making a deal on another economic stimulus package for the coronavirus recession.
She released a $2.2 trillion proposal late Monday that boost unemployment benefits through the end of January, provide $436 billion to help local governments and dole out another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to most families.
It’s a big number, but it’s about $1.2 trillion smaller than package her house approved in May. The Senate and the Trump administration did not take that deal, calling it too expensive. Benefits have been running out for jobless workers, including in California where more than 2 million people are unemployed.
The details matter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers, who are counting on the federal government releasing some sort of package to help state and local governments stave off more severe budget cuts.
The state budget Newsom signed in June includes “triggers” that would restore $11.1 billion in cuts and deferrals if the feds kick in $14 billion by Oct. 15. The clock is ticking.
RALLY AT THE CAPITOL
With just two days left in the bill signing period, a group of people who have had family members killed by police are rallying at the Capitol in an effort to get Gov. Newsom to sign a bill into law that would seed community-based emergency programs that do not rely on law enforcement officers.
That bill, AB 2054, authored by Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager, D-Los Angeles, would create a pilot grant program to provide alternatives to police intervention.
“Too often, the only response available for people in need of support is the police, which can escalate a crisis and increase the risk of harm for everyone — and Black, Indigenous, Latinx and people with disabilities in particular. As many as half of all people killed by police are people with physical, intellectual or cognitive disabilities or mental illness,” according to a statement put out advertising the event.
Speaking Tuesday will be Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, Asantewaa Boykin, co-founder of Mental Health First Sacramento and Addie Kitchen, grandmother of Steven Taylor, who was killed by San Leandro police in April.
Participants will gather on the west steps of the Capitol at 10 a.m. Tuesday for the rally.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I wanted to show my biceps.”
- Gov. Gavin Newsom, getting the flu shot heard ‘round the world. Or at least ‘round California political Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
California could make its own insulin and other prescription drugs in an effort to lower costs under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he signed into law Monday, via Sophia Bollag.
The Trump administration on Monday asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to back down from the executive order he announced last week that would phase out the sale of gas-powered passenger vehicles by 2035, arguing California’s power grid can’t handle a surge in demand from battery-powered vehicles, via Andrew Sheeler.
In California, at least four Republicans candidates have expressed interest in QAnon ideas, via Lara Korte.