California lawmakers return to Capitol + Newsom facing water, drought scrutiny
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
LEGISLATURE RETURNS FOR A BUSY MONTH
Senators and Assemblymembers on Monday returned to Sacramento from a month-long recess for a final few weeks of lawmaking before the end of the legislative session.
Before their break, lawmakers passed a bill to put an abortion rights constitutional amendment on the November ballot, as well as several gun control measures Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in July.
Here are some of the remaining active bills legislators will consider throughout August before they bid the Capitol adieu for the session.
Protections for people who experience pregnancy loss
What it is: Assembly Bill 2223 from Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, would prevent pregnant people from facing civil or criminal penalties due to “miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death due to a pregnancy-related cause.” The bill has faced a backlash from the California Family Council and other anti-abortion groups that have falsely claimed it decriminalizes infanticide.
- Where it’s at: Awaiting a Monday hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Vaccine access for minors
What it is: Senate Bill 866 from Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would allow teens 15 and older to get vaccines that are fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration without parental consent.
- Where it’s at: Awaiting a full Assembly floor vote.
Protecting transgender children leaving states with discriminatory laws
What it is: Senate Bill 107, also from Wiener, would block out-of-state court judgments removing transgender children from their parents after receiving gender-affirming healthcare.
Where it’s at: Awaiting a Wednesday hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Expediting housing production with union labor
What it is: Assembly Bill 2011, also from Wicks, would allow housing by right in infill areas zoned for office, retail and parking uses, as long as developers pay workers prevailing wages. Those who want to build complexes with 50 units or more would need to use apprenticeship workers and provide health benefits.
Where it’s at: Awaiting a Monday hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Newsom’s CARE Court program
- What it is: Senate Bill 1338 from Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, would enact Newsom’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, which the governor has pitched as a way to compel treatment for the unhoused and mentally ill.
- Where it’s at: Awaiting a Wednesday hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
NEWSOM IN HOT WATER OVER DROUGHT, CLIMATE CHANGE
Republicans are jumping at the chance to criticize the governor over his administration’s response to the ongoing drought, following the resignation of a State Water Resources Control Board official.
Max Gomberg, the board’s former climate and conservation manager, quit in mid-July, citing Newsom administration inaction on the drought, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Witnessing the agency’s ability to tackle big challenges nearly eviscerated by this Administration has been gut wrenching,” Gomberg wrote in a resignation note he posted online. “The way some of you have simply rolled over and accepted this has also been difficult to watch.”
Large chunks of California are experiencing extreme and exceptional drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Gomberg’s statements “(come) as no surprise to anyone following the overreach of power from the Newsom administration,” said Hallie Balch, California director of communications for the Republican National Committee, in a statement.
“The Newsom administration constantly pretends like they care about California’s climate goals, but when top advisors in the trenches attest that he is a bully, there is no denying it,” Balch said. “From wildfires to statewide droughts, Gavin Newsom is lying to Californians about what he is actually up to.”
Meanwhile, Newsom on Friday met with local water leaders “to call for their continued action to drive down urban water use and help Californians make permanent changes to adapt to a hotter and drier future,” Newsom’s office said in a news release.
The governor’s office reported Californians in June reduced their water use by 7.5% compared to June 2020.
A recent Public Policy Institute of California survey showed 75% of likely voters do not think state and local governments are doing enough to tackle the drought.
“We are dealing with a changed climate in California that demands we reimagine not just how we use water, but how we capture, store and distribute it throughout the state,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are heading in the right direction but we need local water providers to do more to not only save water, but to help the state manage and increase supply as rain and snowfall become less reliable.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
In the time it takes you to read this tweet, a semi-automatic weapon with a bump stock can fire more than 100 shots. We’ve got to ban these weapons of war. The only thing stopping us is the will to act. And political cowardice. There’s no time to waste.
- California U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
- As Prop. 31 battle brews, activists slam tobacco companies for impact on Black communities, via Owen Tucker-Smith.
Californians support wealth tax to fund electric vehicles that Newsom opposes, poll shows, via Lindsey Holden.
White House to give California $631 million to bolster infrastructure against climate change, via David Lightman and Michael McGough.
California’s Amber Alert program is now 20 years old. Here’s how successful it’s been, via Dante Motley.