Protester disrupts committee hearing + No go on ranked choice voting ban + 4 more ‘Job Killers’
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
PROTESTER DISRUPTS COMMITTEE HEARING
An otherwise uneventful Assembly Agriculture Committee hearing took a turn for the lively on Wednesday afternoon when a member of Direct Action Everywhere, an animal activist group known for attention-grabbing protest actions, super-glued her hand to the desk while delivering public comment.
Carla Cabral, an activist with the group, introduced herself during public comment on an unrelated bill by Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, and said she was speaking out in protest of a change to AB 2764, authored by Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-North Hollywood.
Originally, AB 2764 was intended to put a pause on the construction of any new large factory farms in the state of California. According to a statement from Direct Action Everywhere, the bill was changed to one commissioning a study on the impacts of factory farming.
“This bill, the ‘No More Factory Farms’ bill, should have been heard, and I’m here to make sure that that happens,” Cabral said after her microphone was cut.
Committee Chair Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, tried to keep order, telling Cabral that the bill she was protesting was not on the agenda. When that failed, and Cabral kept talking, Rivas ordered the committee hearing into a brief recess. The committee hearing then resumed in another room.
Direct Action Everywhere shared video of the protest action on Facebook, and issued a statement about the hearing, condemning Rivas for receiving a $4,900 donation from the California Cattlemen’s Association Political Action Committee in March 2021.
“The escalating impacts of factory farming cry out for bold solutions, but California’s politicians are incentivized not to listen,” Cabral said. “When our political system is fundamentally broken — reinforcing, rather than regulating, industry abuses — it’s up to ordinary people to take action ourselves to hold our elected officials accountable to the will of the people.”
BILL TO BAN RANKED CHOICE VOTING HELD IN COMMITTEE
California cities with ranked choice voting can continue to use that election method, after a bill that would have banned it statewide was held in committee on Wednesday morning.
AB 2808, authored by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, would have prohibited the method of voting wherein voters rank their choices in order of preferences. If there is no clear majority winner under that procedure, the choice with the fewest votes gets dropped, and the ballots get re-tallied.
It’s a system of voting used in states like Maine and Alaska, and in California by cities including San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland.
“I want to start by saying I come at this issue as a high school teacher, and someone who has won seven or so elections, even a write-in election, and as one who is very appreciative of democracy and the logistics associated with it. I consider myself a defender of the American electoral process,” O’Donnell said in introducing the bill.
O’Donnell offered a novel approach to handling the measure, asking Assembly Elections Committee members to vote on it using ranked choice. Chairman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, did not take him up on the offer.
CALCHAMBER NAMES FOUR MORE BILLS AS ‘JOB KILLERS’
The California Chamber of Commerce added four more bills to its “Job Killer” list, bringing the total number of bills on that list to 15.
So what’s new?
AB 2932, by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, requires employers to pay overtime to employees working more than 32 hours in a week.
AB 2183, by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, permits agricultural employees, as an alternative union election procedure, to select their labor representatives through a representation ballot card election by submitting a petition supported by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit.
AB 2188, by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees for cannabis use off the job and away from the workplace.
AB 2840, by Assemblywoman Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-San Bernardino, prohibits public agencies from approving the development or expansion of any qualifying logistics use, such as warehouses, within 1,000 feet of sensitive receptors.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This the second strangest thing I’ve seen in the Capitol this week.”
- Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, discussing the Direct Action Everywhere protest via Twitter. He did not elaborate on what the first strangest thing was.
Best of The Bee:
Sacramento’s mayor wants Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leadership to spend $3 billion to prevent crime — a call to action that comes in the wake of some of the worst violence in city history, via Lindsey Holden.
The California Department of Human Resources has begun formal discussions with some state employee unions over pandemic bonuses, according to the department, via Wes Venteicher.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 4:55 AM.