Bonta urges Congress to keep state privacy protections + ‘Young Guns?’ Really? + Audit the DOJ?
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
BONTA URGES CONGRESS TO MAINTAIN STATE PRIVACY PROTECTIONS
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and nine of his colleagues have come together to urge Congress not to override states with strong privacy protections when crafting federal law.
“As our marketplaces continue to change, states must maintain the ability to respond when needed,” Bonta said in a statement. “Our states have demonstrated that we are up to the task when it comes to privacy protection, and we welcome federal action that will help us continue this work. We urge the federal government to enact legislation that creates a floor, not a ceiling, and which will allow us to continue building on state privacy laws that currently exist.”
Bonta did not specify any particular federal bills in the statement.
He joins the attorneys general for Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Washington in asking Congress for restraint.
California passed a comprehensive privacy law in 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which grants residents the right to know about personal information that businesses are collecting about them, the right to delete said personal information, the right to opt out of the sale of that information and the right of non-discrimination in exercising their CCPA rights.
“These laws complement existing state privacy and data security laws that cover a number of sectors and types of information. To strengthen the already present state data privacy efforts, in the letter, the coalition urges Congress to strengthen consumer privacy protections while not preempting states’ ability to protect consumers,” according to Bonta’s office.
NRCC SILENT ABOUT ITS USE OF ‘YOUNG GUNS’
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 356 mass shootings in America in 2022. That’s more than one per day.
In light of that, you’d think that the National Republican Congressional Committee might consider renaming its “Young Guns” program, where up-and-comers receive extra funding and attention from the NRCC. This year’s group includes U.S. House candidates Kevin Kiley, Tom Patti, John Duarte, Scott Baugh and Brian Maryott.
The NRCC has not responded to multiple inquiries from The Bee about the program’s name, the possibility of a change or concern about the optics in light of America’s gun violence epidemic.
Maddy Mundy, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was happy to weigh in with a statement.
“National Republicans flippantly tout their ‘Young Gun’ recruits while opposing common sense gun violence reforms supported by some 90% of Americans. As mass shootings become a near-weekly occurrence, across the country, Republican candidates are running on a radical platform to endanger Americans by rolling back gun safety measures,” Mundy said.
ASSEMBLYMAN REQUESTS AUDIT OF DOJ IN WAKE OF CCW INFO LEAK
Attorney General Rob Bonta has pledged to get to the bottom of why his Department of Justice inadvertently leaked concealed carry weapon permit application data online.
But Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, isn’t satisfied with that. He’s written a letter to the chairs of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, calling on them to initiate an audit of the DOJ to determine the extent of the data breach. Such an inquiry would determine whether the department has complied with all relevant laws and whether it has taken appropriate action to investigate the breach and take down any personal information that may be posted on social media sites.
Patterson also wants to know whether anyone at the DOJ broke the law, and if so whether they have been prosecuted for it.
Patterson’s office notes that the breach is estimated to have affected more than 200,000 people.
“This is more than a breach of trust in the DOJ, it threatens the very safety of CCW holders, many of whom are domestic violence, stalking and rape victims, security personnel, current and retired state and federal judges, retired law enforcement, and prosecutors in both state and federal courts,” said Assemblyman Patterson.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Really curious to see which members of Congress vote against legislation today to protect marriage equality & affirm that people of different races are allowed to marry each other. But, of course, we already know who’s going to do that. #RespectForMarriageAct”
- Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, via Twitter. (Several California Republicans voted in favor of the bill. You can see a roll call of the vote here.)
Best of the Bee:
One million lower-income Californians are at risk of seeing health insurance premiums double next year–and 220,000 could become uninsured altogether–as action to keep their costs down remains stuck in Congress, via David Lightman.
The commander of the California National Guard is retiring at the end of this month, capping an 11-year assignment leading the state’s military department that began in the wake of a financial scandal and is coming to an end amid allegations of favoritism and whistleblower retaliation, via Darrell Smith.
California may be winning its five-year, $13 million battle with nutria — the 20-pound, orange-toothed swamp rodents that biologists once feared would play hell with wetlands, flood-control levees and the state’s water-delivery system, via Ryan Sabalow.
Just 18 lawmakers opposed a U.S. House resolution that proclaimed support for Sweden and Finland joining military alliance NATO. All were Republicans, one a Californian, via Gillian Brassil.