More Assembly departures + Lawmakers want DTC shipping extension + Kalra joins EnviroVoters board
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
MORE ASSEMBLY RETIREMENTS
Make that two more Democratic departures from the Assembly.
Assemblymen Jose Medina and Bill Quirk have both announced that they do not intend to seek a sixth term in office, both men having first been elected to the Assembly in 2012.
Medina said in a statement that “it has been the privilege of a lifetime” to serve in elected office.
“I am happy to pass the torch to our next generation of leaders. My hope, from my work with students and our young people, is that they too, are inspired to run for public office,” Medina said.
Medina did not say in the statement what he plans to do next.
As for Quirk, he said that his future lay in helping California meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals.
“During my ten years in the Assembly, I have spent many hours being a bridge between the research community, the Legislature, and regulators. I have decided to make this my fulltime occupation,” he said in a statement.
But Quirk isn’t planning on going out quietly. The assemblyman said that he intends for 2022 to be his most productive year in the Legislature, “with bills to improve California’s environmental safety, streamlining regulations particularly in the cannabis industry, improving public access to state agencies proceedings, and criminal justice reform.”
That makes at least eight Democratic Assembly members who are leaving.
To recap, Assemblyman Jim Frazier is resigning from office at the end of the year to pursue a career in the transportation sector. Assemblyman Marc Levine is running for insurance commissioner, while Assemblymen Rudy Salas and Kevin Mullin are both making bids for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Assemblyman Richard Bloom is running for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, while Assemblyman Ed Chau has been appointed a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge.
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER SHIPPING
In March 2020, as California residents were staying at home in the midst of the emergent COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control extended a lifeline to craft breweries and distilleries by temporarily allowing them to ship directly to consumers, as wineries have been able to do since the 1980s.
But as 2021 draws to a conclusion, so too is the executive order allowing direct-to-consumer shipping.
While SB 620, which will be considered by lawmakers in the next legislative session, would make direct-to-consumer shipping permanent, lawmakers are asking Newsom to extend the department’s rule through 2022 in order to buy the craft distilling and brewing industries time before a new law can be passed and go into effect.
“Allowing the order to lapse would be a grave threat to the California craft distilling industry. The loss of (direct to consumer) shipping would mean a likelihood of confusion among consumers, who have become accustomed to this new norm, the risk of losing newly created jobs, and a fundamental threat to the viability of small California producers,” according to a letter written to Newsom signed by 15 state lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, senators and Assembly members.
KALRA JOINS ENVIROVOTERS BOARD
The California Environmental Voters Education Fund has a new board member: Assemblyman Ash Kalra.
The organization announced that Kalra will be joining its board on Monday.
“I am honored to join the EnviroVoters Ed Fund Board of Directors, particularly at a time when our state needs to deepen its commitment to fighting the climate crisis,” Kalra said in a statement. “For many years, EnviroVoters have been strong advocates for the environment and excellent identifiers of innovative climate policy. I look forward to furthering our partnership and working together to increase voter turnout, improve the state’s environmental and conservation policies, and protect the beautiful land that we call home.”
The group noted that Kalra received an “A” from their 2020 California Environmental Scorecard, and that he has a track record of introducing and supporting climate and environmental justice legislation.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Gov. @GavinNewsom misunderstands the actions of the Supreme Court – and the limits of his war on lawful gun ownership. His promise to run roughshod over the Second Amendment is little more than political theater. Gov. @GavinNewsom and fellow Democrats should proceed at their own peril: the American people will not tolerate another taxpayer-funded assault on constitutional freedom.”
- The National Rifle Association, via Twitter.
Newsom responded, also via Twitter.
“What a pathetic attempt to remain relevant. Go back to your audits of Wayne LaPierre’s receipts.”
Best of the Bee:
Pro-gun rights organizations reacted quickly to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal for California to pass a gun-control law modeled on Texas’ abortion ban, with one group promising a legal challenge, via Sophia Bollag.
All Californians will be required to wear masks when indoors at public places starting Dec. 15 and ending Jan. 15, health officials announced Monday, citing an increase in COVID-19 case rates following Thanksgiving, via Lara Korte.
California paid out $20 billion in fake unemployment claims. How much will it recover? Via David Lightman.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 4:55 AM.