FPPC complaint alleges ‘money laundering’ + A right to repair? + Nguyen officially launches campaign
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
FPPC COMPLAINT ALLEGES ‘MONEY LAUNDERING’
Two people have filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission, alleging that wealthy donors are concealing their support for a ballot initiative that would require a two-thirds majority for local governments and voter approval in order to levy new taxes.
Sandra Beltran, a registered nurse, and Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, allege that real estate mega-donors contribute money to the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC, which in turn sends the money to the Californians for Taxpayer Protection Committee, letting the donors avoid disclosure.
“This practice constitutes campaign money laundering plain and simple. The Fair Political Practices Commission must take immediate action to stop these violations of law. The Commission must conduct a full and thorough investigation of these practices to ensure the integrity of the public disclosure requirements,” according to the complaint, which was filed on Monday.
The complaint lists several respondents, including Western National Group and Affiliated Entities, the Californians for Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability and the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC.
The complaint specifically alleges that the parties involved committed money laundering, failure to properly disclose intermediary contributions, failure to disclose earmarked contributions and failure to properly disclose top 10 donors.
“Why would these mega-donors want to avoid disclosures that would result from contributing to the initiative measure? Because this group of massive landholders, mega-developers, landlords and their affiliated corporations stand to be its biggest beneficiaries. With land holdings in excess of $14 billion and multi-billion dollar development deals in the works from San Francisco to San Diego, it’s no wonder Hayde, Emmett, and Kilroy Realty would want to hide from the public scrutiny associated with sponsoring a ballot measure that serves their own interests,” the complaint alleges.
Reached for comment, Brooke Armour Spiegel, vice president of the California Business Roundtable, made the following statement:
“This is just another campaign tactic by special interests working to deny voters in the highest cost-of-living state the opportunity to vote on new and higher taxes. These same special interests have already proposed more than $100 billion in new and higher taxes this year, despite a $46 billion budget surplus.
“The California Business Roundtable Issues PAC supports the priorities of our board and the broader business community. We regularly support a number of state and local ballot measures each election cycle and report our activity in an open and transparent manner and in accordance with the law. Voters have repeatedly and overwhelmingly supported increasing their voice on taxes and we look forward to giving them another opportunity with the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act this November.”
‘RIGHT TO REPAIR BILL’ INTRODUCED
Should Californians have a right to repair their electronic devices?
Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, has introduced SB 983, which would require electronics manufacturers to make available any documentation and parts needed needed to repair those devices.
The bill is sponsored by CALPIRG, Consumer Reports, Californians Against Waste and iFixit.
“It’s absurd that every day we throw away some 46,000 cell phones in California,” said Sander Kushen, advocate for CALPIRG, in a statement. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When we throw out an electronic product that can be repaired, we contribute to the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Too often, companies get in the way of consumers who want to fix their things. The result is higher consumer costs and more toxic electronic waste.”
CALPIRG commissioned a Survey Monkey survey of 212 Californians that showed that 77% of Democrats, 61% of Republicans and 82% of non-affiliated voters supported a “right to repair” bill.
“The ability to fix the things that we own, through our own hands or those of a trusted independent repair shop, should not be a controversial or partisan issue,” Sen. Eggman said in a statement. “Improving the access to replacement parts and the safety of repairs with appropriate service documentation will give consumers the choice to save some money and keep their electronics and appliances a little longer before they must be replaced.”
ELK GROVE COUNCILWOMAN LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR ASSEMBLY
Via Lara Korte...
Elk Grove City Councilwoman Stephanie Nguyen officially launched her campaign for the 10th Assembly District on Monday, vying to replace Assemblyman Jim Cooper, who is running for Sacramento County sheriff.
Nguyen, a Democrat, is endorsed by Cooper and fellow Sacramento-area Assemblyman Kevin McCarty.
“I trust Stephanie to keep our communities safe. She knows first-hand public safety is of the utmost importance,” Cooper said in a statement. “Stephanie also recognizes the challenges that small businesses and families face every day. She’s been a leading voice against the rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes, fighting vigorously to end the violence.”
Per her announcement, Nguyen attended schools in Sacramento before graduating from Sacramento State University. She spent 15 years at Asian Resources, Inc. and was appointed to serve on the Elk Grove City Council in 2017.
She’s up against two other Democrats running for Cooper’s seat — Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra and pastor Tecoy Porter. Republican Eric Rigard, who challenged Cooper in 2020, is also running for the seat.
GENDER WAGE GAP
California-based nonprofit group Gender Equity Policy Institute has released a new report, titled “Undocumented and Essential: A Profile of Undocumented Women in California,” which finds that undocumented women earn much less than do white men.
Specifically, 62% of undocumented women are in the California workforce, where they earn 49 cents for every dollar earned by a white man.
The report also found that a fifth of undocumented women, nearly 21%, live in poverty in the state, while more than a third have incomes below 150% of the federal poverty line.
More than half, 55%, of all undocumented women in the state have health insurance, a rate that is 41% lower than California women overall.
“The Gender Equity Policy Institute’s report puts a gender lens on immigration,” said organization President Nancy L. Cohen in a statement. “Forty-five percent of undocumented people in the United States are women. But when the media or politicians discuss America’s immigration challenges, the immigrants they talk about tend to be men.”
You can read the report for yourself by visiting here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“According to this week’s report from the Department of Labor, the last time inflation was this high I was sporting a mullet – it was 1982.”
– Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, via Twitter (check out the tweet for the mullet pic)
Best of the Bee:
Millions of Californians will remove their masks this week when the state’s universal mandate ends on Tuesday. Teachers and students, however, will not be among them, via Lara Korte.
California Highway Patrol officers last week arrested a man suspected of throwing weights at the state Capitol in Sacramento, smashing a few windows before he was taken into custody, via Rosalio Ahumada.
Devin Nunes is sitting on $11 million in campaign cash. What can he do with it in 2022? Via Gillian Brassil.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 4:55 AM.