Californians to ‘March for Life’ Wednesday + Gas prices move lawmakers to write letters
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
MARCH FOR LIFE SET TO HAPPEN WEDNESDAY
The nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision could soon be overturned, upending federal jurisprudence on abortion and freeing dozens of states to pass laws restricting or outright banning the procedure.
That’s the context for Wednesday’s second annual California March for Life in Sacramento. March for Life and the California Family Council will team up to protest abortion in the heart of the Golden State.
“The stakes have never been higher as we await a decision from the Supreme Court in the landmark Dobbs abortion case, which could return abortion legislation back to the people through their elected representatives,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund.
The event begins 11 a.m. Wednesday with a rally at the Capitol, followed by a march at noon.
Among those speaking Wednesday will be Louisiana State Sen. Katrina Jackson, a Democrat, as well as the California Family Council’s Jonathan Keller.
“We urge every Californian to join us in person and in prayer on the steps of the Capitol,” Keller said in a statement.
LEGISLATIVE DEMOCRATS CALL FOR DELAY IN GAS TAX INCREASE
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, has written to Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders, calling on them to delay implementing the 3-cent state gas tax increase set to go into effect July 1.
Joining Petrie-Norris are 13 other Democratic and independent lawmakers.
“The upcoming July 1st gas tax increase should be postponed. The cost is a drop in the bucket of California’s massive budget surplus,” Petrie-Norris wrote in a tweet.
Petrie-Norris’ letter set off a wave of supporting tweets, including from Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, tweeted that lawmakers should go further and suspend the entire gas tax as well.
The Senate Republican Caucus weighed in, tweeting ”About time. Republicans welcome bipartisan support. Getting Californians gas price relief is long overdue — let’s get this done.”
However, as the Capitol Bureau’s own Lindsey Holden noted on Twitter Friday, the deadline to do so was May 1, so it’s unclear what can be accomplished at this point.
Other lawmakers, led by Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, are calling for an investigation into the “real factors affecting high gas prices and what action we can take now,” as Ward wrote in a tweet.
Ward and two dozen other lawmakers signed a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, urging him to look into the matter.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, an outspoken advocate for suspending the gas tax, was unimpressed.
“Democrat legislators have written a strongly worded letter demanding an investigation into the “real” causes of high gas prices. This is not satire,” Kiley wrote in a tweet.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Very proud my bill on Stealthing was 1st in the world & that it’s being replicated at the national level, but as a Latina who often gets erased from the narrative, disappointed the authors didn’t even bother to give me a heads up.”
- Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, discussing a move toward a federal “stealthing” ban via Twitter. “Stealthing” is the act of secretly removing a condom during sex.
Best of the Bee:
A bill allowing minors to get vaccines without parents’ consent would apply only to teens 15 and older after a state senator amended the measure to raise the minimum age, via Lindsey Holden.
Fact check: Would Californians have saved $2,400 if the gas tax were suspended in January? Via Andrew Sheeler.
Premiums are projected to grow an average of about 7% for CalPERS health insurance policyholders next year, with two popular PPOs spiking by more than 14%, according to preliminary prices posted online Tuesday by the retirement system, via Wes Venteicher.