Newsom’s back + How do California Congress members stack up on LGBTQ rights? + Pelosi to speak
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
NEWSOM RETURNS TO THE STATE
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family have concluded their vacation to Central and South America and returned to the state, according to a statement from Newsom’s office.
Newsom’s vacation was the first in two years, after having previous planned trips deferred by COVID-19, wildfires and the recall election, according to Newsom’s office.
While Newsom was out of the state, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis has served as acting governor. In that capacity, she signed a number of bills into law.
Newsom’s office declined to provide any details about Newsom’s vacation, such as what countries he visited. Those details initially were withheld as a security concern, according to Newsom’s office.
EQUALITY CALIFORNIA SCORES FEDERAL LAWMAKERS
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, has released a scorecard for California’s members of Congress, rating them on their support for LGBTQ issues. The scorecard was released in conjunction with Silver State Equality, a similar group based out of Nevada.
In California, 42 out of the state’s 53 U.S. Representatives and both of the senators scored 100%.
Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, André C. Wade, state director of Silver State Equality, and Valerie Ploumpis, national policy director, issued a statement: “Our priority legislation would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; improve the collection of hate crimes statistics; require the government to collect more data based on sexual orientation and gender identity; protect a women’s right to an abortion; and provide stronger support to LGBTQ+ people who experience sexual and domestic violence.”
You can view the scorecard for yourself by visiting here.
PELOSI TO SPEAK AT UC BERKELEY EVENT
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, is slated to give a talk about threats to American democracy and the role of women leaders at an event being held by UC Berkeley next Monday.
The speech is the annual Barbara Boxer Lecture, and will feature former Sen. Boxer interviewing Pelosi.
“As American democracy confronts threats on multiple fronts, how are women leaders charting the path forward? Speaker Pelosi has been at the forefront of struggles on issues of voting rights, election reform, health care, climate and immigration, navigating landmark legislative proposals through the House of Representatives,” according to a statement announcing the event.
It begins at 3 p.m. on Monday, and you can watch a livestream of it by visiting here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I take back everything I’ve said about our Legislature having the wrong priorities. A new bill would ‘establish the date shake as the official State Milkshake.’”
- Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
California Republicans want Gov. Gavin Newsom to make it harder for prison inmates to serve shorter sentences for good behavior following the Sacramento mass shooting that left six people dead, via Lindsey Holden.
The embattled president of California’s largest state employee union was investigated for identity theft in 2008 after he used the name and Social Security number of a minor to attend college in Arizona, according to police and court records, via Wes Venteicher.
Did California’s unemployment troubles during the COVID-19 pandemic trigger a “she-cession?” Via David Lightman.