Gavin Newsom’s anti-recall ads + Sheriff fights sex work bill + Equity for the girls
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. alert!
FIRST UP: You might not need to hear this, but there’s some online furor over the size of California’s budget surplus. The Bee’s Lara Korte breaks down the $38 billion difference in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s description of the bounty and how the Legislative Analyst’s Office sees it. Here’s her story today.
NEWSOM LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL SPOTS
via Lora Korte ...
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s anti-recall committee, Stop the Republican Recall, released two new digital spots on Monday highlighting the Democrat’s plan to bring California “roaring back” after the pandemic.
The ads, produced in 15 second and 30 second spots, run through a litany of Newsom’s achievements, including Golden State stimulus checks, small business grants, housing the homeless, and free pre-k for California children.
“Governor Newsom is just getting started, and so is our California comeback,” the spot says.
Newsom is still well positioned to survive the recall election, experts say. With a massive spending proposal on the horizon and a continual decline in COVID-19 cases, he’s likely to have more achievements to brag on by the time voters get their ballots.
But even as the pandemic tide begins to turn, California is drier than normal, and could face a particularly nasty wildfire season. Newsom may find himself trying to convince voters he’s still the right person to lead the state as they battle more disaster.
CONSERVATIVE GROUP SPEAKS OUT AGAINST WIENER BILL
The Fresno-based conservative group California Family Council is calling foul on a bill by San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener that would decriminalize loitering for the purpose of sex work.
Existing law prohibits loitering in a public place “with the intent to commit prostitution,” according to the legislative digest writeup of Wiener’s bill, SB 357, which would prevent people from being charged with that crime and also provide for sealing criminal records for past convictions on that offense.
Wiener’s office said that the law currently relies on a police officer’s subjective perception of whether a person is acting like a sex worker, resulting in the disproportionate targeting of people of color and transgender people.
“We’re experiencing a terrifying epidemic of violence against trans women of color, and we need to be proactive in improving their safety,” Wiener said in a statement announcing the bill. “Our laws should protect the LGBTQ community and communities of color, and not criminalize sex workers, trans people and Brown and Black people for quite literally walking around or dressing in a certain way.”
The California Family Council cites bill opponent Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who wrote in a letter of opposition that “current law allows law enforcement to help control street prostitution to a certain extent. This section is also often used to keep prostitutes from hanging around public places, business and residential communities, which can breed crime and drug use.”
While Wiener’s bill passed through the Senate Public Safety Committee on a party line vote, it currently is being held in suspense by the Senate Appropriations Committee. A hearing on the bill’s fate is scheduled for Thursday.
GIRLS STATE EQUITY BILL PASSES SENATE APPROVAL
The State Senate gave its approval Monday of a bill that would require the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary to offer “substantially similar curriculum” to both the boys and girls participating in the Boys State and Girls State programs, respectively.
SB 363, written by Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, requires that both the Boys State and Girls State programs offer their participants equal access to government officials and facilities, with equal numbers of opportunities for both boys and girls and equal limitations on the number of nominated students per school. It also would require the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary to allow non-binary students to apply to either program.
“SB 363 will finally end the current gender-based discrimination that offers lesser program opportunities to the young women participating in Girls State compared to the young men attending Boys State,” Leyva said in a statement. “Clearly, gender parity in civic education and leadership opportunities does not typically happen by virtue of chance or time. Sometimes, only the force of law will change decades-long behavior that is discriminatory and unacceptable.”
Leyva’s office pointed out that California Boys State participants typically get to travel to Sacramento each summer to participate in a mock legislative process, visit the State Capitol, and meet with lawmakers and their staff. Meanwhile, California Girls State participants gather at a college campus in Southern California, far from the state capital and the center of the legislative process.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“So disappointing that California isn’t going to remain stronger than the floor set by the CDC. I’d require communities to meet metrics - 70% of population fully vaccinated, everyone able to get vaccinated & proof of vaccination in indoor public settings.”
- Ann O’Leary, former Gavin Newsom chief of staff, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Gavin Newsom and his wife made $1.7 million in his first year as governor, tax returns show, via Sophia Bollag
Fully vaccinated Californians won’t need to wear masks in most indoor and outdoor settings starting June 15, the Newsom administration announced Monday, via Sophia Bollag.
California State Universities will offer more in-person classes in the fall but it still won’t be like a traditional college before the pandemic, via Monica Velez.