Pride at the Capitol + SEIU gives big check for Newsom + CalChamber calls for tax credits
Good morning, and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
CAPITOL LIGHTS UP FOR PRIDE
Via Katherine Swartz...
Hundreds gathered at the steps of the Capitol Monday evening to watch the dome light with rainbow colors to celebrate LGBT Pride Month.
It was the first time the dome has been lit with pride colors since 2015, when it shone in rainbow colors to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of gay marriage.
“The Capitol shines as a literal beacon, a symbol of California’s leadership in the fight for full lived equality,” said Tony Huang, the executive director of the LGBT civil rights organization Equality California. “Let these lights send a message to every single LGBTQ+ kid in California, every trans kid in Arkansas or Georgia, or Florida or West Virginia, that the state of California has your back and we won’t stop striving to create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal until the work is done.”
The lights will remain up through this week, a celebration for Pride month at time when many in-person pride gatherings remain on hold due to COVID-19. Earlier in the day, the LGBTQ Caucus also honored twelve individuals from across the state — ranging from grassroots organizers to attorneys to professors — who have made significant contributions to LGBTQ rights in their local communities.
Sacramento resident Maria Contreras attended the dome lighting with her child, 13-year old Sophia, who came out as nonbinary a year ago and said they have felt isolated from the greater LGBT community during the pandemic.
“I came out as nonbinary just this year, and it’s been quite a journey,” Sophia said. “I wanted to come tonight because we haven’t been able to find a lot of LGBTQ+ pride festivals or anything like that, and I just wanted to see all the members of my community.”
Like Sophia, 12-yeard old Ace Noriega also came with their mother, and said they wanted to “find people who fit in with me, who understand.” Noriega’s mother Melissa Garcia said she was inspired by the show of community support at the ceremony.
“We have family members who are older and didn’t have all of this growing up, and so all these resources that are out here now are wonderful for the younger generation,” Garcia said. “So many people have sacrificed for things like this.”
SEIU GIVES TO NEWSOM’S RECALL CAMPAIGN
Via Lara Korte...
Despite the president-elect’s objections, SEIU Local 1000 officially donated $1 million to “Stop the Republican Recall” on Tuesday, according to campaign contribution records.
We told you earlier this month about how the newly-elected SEIU Local 1000 president, Richard Louis Brown, was on a mission to “run Gavin Newsom out of office.” Despite the backing of other labor groups across the state, Louis-Brown said he was reticent to donate because of the pay cuts Newsom and the Legislature demanded from state workers last year when the state braced for a severe recession in the coronavirus pandemic.
But Brown’s presidential powers don’t kick in until the end of this month. That means he didn’t get a vote when the board of directors of California’s largest state employee union authorized $1 million to fight the recall in a hastily scheduled emergency meeting.
As a reminder: Donations to individual candidates for governor usually top out at $32,400. But unlike the Republicans running against him, Newsom is technically campaigning on a ballot measure, not as a candidate, which means his committee can take in much larger contributions.
CALCHAMBER CALLS FOR RESTORATION OF TAX CREDITS
In a letter to lawmakers, the California Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups have urged the restoration of net operating loss deductions and business incentive tax credits which were capped in 2020 by AB 85, back when the state was looking at a potential deficit of $54.3 billion.
CalChamber pointed out that that deficit never materialized, and that sunsetting the cap would help struggling businesses recover from the damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Businesses should be allowed to immediately utilize (net operating loss deductions) and earned tax credits to offset any harm they have suffered as a result of this pandemic, and to encourage employers who are considering leaving to stay,” the letter reads in part.
The suspension of net operating loss deductions has placed a great strain on employers, who have no way to offset their revenue declines after suffering significant losses over the last year, CalChamber argues.
“Struggling businesses need help now—not in several years when the 2020 budget’s carryback provisions take effect,” the letter reads.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The Pride flag is flying above the Capitol & the light is shining. California stands with the LGBTQ community.”
- Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Most fully vaccinated California state employees don’t need to wear masks at work anymore, the state Human Resources Department announced Monday, via Wes Venteicher.
California’s $75 billion budget surplus is proving to be an alluring target for Washington lawmakers scrambling to find a way to pay for a national infrastructure improvement plan, via David Lightman.
Marcos Bretón, who has been a columnist at The Sacramento Bee since 2007, was announced on Monday as The McClatchy Company’s new California Opinion Editor, via Rosalio Ahumada.
This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 4:55 AM.