‘Zero’ help on recall from House GOP + Single-payer on hold + R’s on drought order + ‘Job killers’
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
REPUBLICANS ON THE RECORD
Via Lara Korte...
We know national Republicans are watching the California recall.
Not only has the RNC pitched in $250,000, but big names like Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich have offered their support (and funds) to get Gov. Gavin Newsom thrown out.
But where do California’s 11 Congressional Republicans stand on the recall? We decided to ask them.
Seven of the state’s GOP representatives did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the recall, including three of the members who narrowly won seats in swing districts last fall.
You might recall that in 2003, a member of Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, was the major backer of the Gray Davis recall, pitching in $1.3 million of his own money to get the ball rolling. 18 years later, Issa isn’t as invested in this recall effort.
But recall leader Orrin Heatlie doesn’t seem to mind.
“I am very happy with the level of support they’re giving, which is zero,” he told me.
Read our coverage to find out where each member of Congress stands on the recall.
KALRA TABLES SINGLE-PAYER BILL
The latest bill to create a single-payer health care system in California is on hold, at least for now.
Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, announced Wednesday evening he’d pull Assembly Bill 1400 from consideration this year to give lawmakers more time figure out how to pay for it. It could come back in 2022.
The California Nurses Association, the bill’s sponsor called the move a huge mistake.” “California has the opportunity to lead the way by establishing such a system, but our elected officials are afraid to show leadership by challenging the deep pockets of the insurance industry,” the union said.
Gov. Newsom has said he supports a single-payer system, but past efforts to create one haven’t reached him or his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon shelves the last big push, a bill in 2017 that would have created a government-run system to replace private insurance. Cost estimates for that proposal ranged from $300 billion to $400 billion, which is about double the state budget.
REPUBLICANS BLAST NEWSOM’S DROUGHT ORDER
Gov. Newsom declared a drought emergency on Wednesday, but limited it to just two counties: Sonoma and Mendocino.
The California Senate Republicans were unimpressed.
“Governor’s regional state of emergency caters to French Laundry crowd — leaves farmers behind,” read the headline of the press release sent out in response to Newsom’s limited order.
The French Laundry, of course, is the posh Napa Valley restaurant where the governor was photographed dining with a crowd in violation of the social distancing guidelines he championed.
“While the overwhelming majority of the state is experiencing extreme drought conditions, Governor Newsom has chosen to only serve his French Laundry wine and cheese crowd,” said Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, in a statement. “The Biden Administration has declared an emergency drought in nearly all California counties, what more does the governor need to get on board with this?”
As The Bee’s Sophia Bollag and Dale Kasler have reported, the recall campaign against the governor does put Newsom in a tough spot when it comes to declaring a statewide drought, which would bring with it stringent rules on water consumption.
CALCHAMBER ADDS 3 MORE ‘JOB KILLERS’ TO THE LIST
The California Chamber of Commerce’s “Job Killer” list of bills it opposes grew on Wednesday, as the business organization named three new bills to its roster.
It’s now targeting AB 701, an effort to improve safety in warehouses by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego; AB 650, a bid to give bonuses to health care workers by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D- Torrance; and AB 1465, a proposed worker’s compensation overhaul authored by Assemblywoman Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Grande Terrace.
According to CalChamber, AB 701 “threatens warehouse employers with duplicative costly litigation by creating a new, independent private right of action, and a representative action under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), for failing to comply with vague standards. “
Gonzalez says the bill will protect warehouse employees by creating statewide standards to minimize on-the-job injuries and strengthen workers’ rights.
“While corporations like Amazon are collecting record profits during the pandemic, employees in their warehouses are being expected to do more, go faster and work harder without clear safety standards,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable for one the largest and wealthiest employers in the country to put workers’ bodies and lives at risk just so we can get next-day delivery.”
As for AB 650, according to CalChamber it “imposes at least an estimated $6 billion in direct payroll costs on healthcare providers through mandatory bonuses retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021, which will jeopardize access to affordable healthcare due to the billions of dollars the healthcare industry has lost during the pandemic (and) prohibits healthcare providers from reducing staff even if they are unable to afford to continue to pay those bonuses.”
Muratsuchi’s office said in announcing the bill that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted health care workers who put themselves at risk to care for Californians.
“AB 650 requires health care employers to provide hero pay to health care workers that haves risked their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and helps maintain a strong health care workforce in California,” Muratsuchi’s office said in a statement.
Finally, CalChamber says that AB 1465 “mandates creation of state-run Medical Provider Network for workers’ compensation claims, which will impose millions of dollars of costs on the current system as well as the state while reducing injured workers’ access to quality care.”
Assembly Majority Leader Reyes responded to the placement with a statement saying, “AB 1465 being placed on the Job Killer list proves that this bill is good for workers and I appreciate the Chamber for providing further publicity for this important legislation.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Please stop approving fracking permits.”
- Joe Sanberg, California entrepreneur and activist, via Twitter in response to Gov. Newsom’s drought order.
Best of the Bee:
California to spend 64 cents on CalPERS pensions for every dollar paid to CHP officers, via Wes Venteicher
California ‘burn bosses’ set controlled forest fires. Should they be safe from lawsuits?, via Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler
Hearst Castle in San Simeon has been closed to visitors for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s still costing the state millions of dollars, via Kathe Tanner.
Nearly one month after California opened applications for a $2.6 billion coronavirus rent relief program, state officials say Latino residents are underrepresented among the tens of thousands of people applying for help, via Kim Bojórquez.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 4:55 AM.