A baseball bill of rights? + Republicans to tackle homelessness + Bonta warns Pasadena

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

A BASEBALL BILL OF RIGHTS?

Minor League baseball players could soon have a Bill of Rights enshrined in California state law.

If passed into law, SB 1248 would go into effect Jan. 1, 2023. It would define minor league baseball players in such a way that they would be subject to California labor laws, prohibit any initial player contract from lasting longer than four years, guarantee that players retain the rights to their names, images and likenesses, and guarantee that those players who exercise their name, image and likeness rights are not subject to retaliation.

“Baseball is called America’s pastime and Minor Leaguers are just asking for what every American worker wants,” said bill author Sen. Josh Becker, D-Peninsula, in a statement. “These players are asking for fair treatment and the opportunity to make a decent living under decent conditions.”

In making the case for the bill, Becker’s office cites the previous success of the 2019 bill by Sens. Steven Bradford and Nancy Skinner which allowed NCAA players to retain their image and likeness rights.

“The legislation introduced today demonstrates that folks across the United States are paying attention to, and troubled by, the mistreatment of Minor League baseball players. For decades, MLB’s billionaire owners have conspired to exploit Minor League players, forcing each player to sign the same unconscionable uniform player contract. We applaud Senator Becker for championing this common-sense reform of America’s pastime,” said Advocates for Minor Leaguers Executive Director Harry Marino in a statement.

Minor Leaguers are exempt from the federal minimum wage law.

According to Becker’s office, Minor League players on a Single-A team are paid $500 a week during the championship playin. g season, $600 a week for Double-A team members and $700 a week for Triple-A team members. Most Minor League players are paid less than $12,000 a year.

REPUBLICANS TO UNVEIL PACKAGE TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS

Republican lawmakers are set to take to the west steps of the Capitol on Wednesday to unveil a package of bills intended to address California’s homelessness crisis.

Leading the press conference will be Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, Sen. Brian Jones, R-Santee, Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, and others.

“Sacramento Democrats and the governor have thrown more than $17 billion at the homeless crisis over the last three years, yet homelessness has only gotten worse. It’s clear – money isn’t missing, but accountability is. Legislative Republicans believe there must be accountability, compassion, and targeted prevention to address this crisis and will unveil a comprehensive package of bills to tackle it,” according to a statement from the Senate Republican Caucus.

The press conference begins at 10 a.m. You can watch a livestream of the event here.

BONTA PUTS PASADENA ON NOTICE

Another city has found a novel way to resist implementing California’s housing law, SB 9.

The City of Pasadena recently adopted an ordinance that would allow the city to broadly exempt existing areas from SB 9 requirements by declaring the areas “landmark districts.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a warning to Pasadena, declaring the ordinance invalid and calling on the city government to repeal it.

“Pasadena’s urgency ordinance undermines SB 9 and denies residents the opportunity to create sorely needed additional housing, under the guise of protecting ‘landmark districts.’ This is disappointing and, more importantly, violates state law,” Bonta said in a statement. “Right now, California is facing a housing crisis of epic proportions, and it’s going to take all of us, doing our part, to alleviate its worst effects. At the California Department of Justice, we’re in this fight for the long haul. I urge cities to take seriously their obligations under state housing laws. If you don’t, we will hold you accountable.”

Recall that last month, the town of Woodside attempted to skirt SB 9 by declaring the entire town a mountain lion sanctuary. Bonta sent the city a warning and the town subsequently revoked the memorandum.

ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE/DISNEY+ STAR

As California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus Chair Amar Shergill put it on Twitter recently, there has probably never been a candidate for California office with a Disney+ documentary released in the middle of their campaign. Until now.

Assembly District 65 Democratic candidate Fatima Iqbal-Zubair features in the documentary “More Than Robots,” which premiered at SXSW and which will be streaming on Disney+ on March 18.

The documentary features a four groups of teens from around the world as they prepare for the 2020 FIRST Robotics Competition.

Iqbal-Zubair, a teacher by profession, is featured in the documentary along with her students.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Regrettably, my SCR 5 to end the State of Emergency failed to pass today. The democrat majority is content to abdicate their responsibilities to the governor. The state of emergency will continue, as will the governor’s power to close schools and shut down businesses.”

- Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, via Twitter.

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