Another Cervantes in the Legislature? + Prop 1 goes into effect + Clearing homeless camps
Good morning and welcome to the final A.M. Alert of 2022!
THE LEGISLATURE: A FAMILY BUSINESS
The California Legislature could soon be adding another legacy member.
Just a day after her sister, Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, announced her bid for Senate District 31 in 2024, Riverside City Councilwoman Clarissa Cervantes entered the race for Assembly District 58 in the next election cycle.
As Politico California reporter (and Capitol Bureau alum) Jeremy B. White noted on Twitter, if Clarissa Cervantes is elected in 2024, and her sister wins the Senate seat, there would be two Cervantes’ in the Legislature, two Rubios, two Dahles, a fourth Calderon, a second Papan, a second Bonta, a second Weber, and a second Cortese serving in Sacramento.
Quite the family business.
Clarissa Cervantes rolled out a string of high-profile endorsements on Wednesday, including civil rights icon Dolores Huerta (who also endorsed Sabrina Cervantes), Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gomez Reyes, and....her sister, Sabrina Cervantes. One imagines an awkward family Christmas if that endorsement didn’t happen.
“I believe that public service is about being a voice for the people. I have a proven track record of working across Assembly District 58 to empower residents and foster a sense of community belonging,” Clarissa Cervantes said in a statement announcing her run.
PROP 1 IS OFFICIALLY LAW
Proposition 1, the ballot measure to enshrine the right to contraception and abortion in the state constitution, officially went into effect Wednesday.
Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, who authored SCA 10, which became Prop 1, recognized the moment.
“As the ink dries on SCA 10, one message is loud and clear: in California, abortion and access to contraception are rights, and a conversation that will remain where it belongs — between an individual and their provider,” she said in a statement.
The proposition came about in direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, and passed with nearly 67% of the statewide vote.
SENATE R’S INTRODUCE BILL TO CLEAR HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS
Senate Republican Leader-elect Brian Jones, R-Santee, and the entire Senate Republican Caucus have introduced a bill, SB 31, that would “compassionately” clear homeless encampments near “sensitive areas,” such as schools, parks, libraries and day care centers.
The bill would mandate that municipal authorities provide such encampments with 72 hours’ notice before beginning a sweep, and also requires enforcement officers to provide information about sleeping alternatives, homeless and mental health services, and shelters in the area.
“It’s time for lawmakers to tackle this crisis with reforms that work,” Jones said in a statement. “We cannot simply continue allowing people to live in our parks and libraries or in front of schools and day care centers. Our measure will help end public camping in these areas while also compassionately assist the homeless to get treatment for their physical and mental health needs and find a more suitable place to stay.”
The bill follows a U.S. Housing and Urban Development annual homelessness report showing that California accounts for half of all unsheltered people in the United States, a third of the nation’s total homeless population, and the largest increase in homeless population in the country from 2020 to 2022.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The $1.7 trillion, 4,155 page omnibus bill being rammed through the lame duck Congress is a slap in the face to Americans who just voted for change.”
- Rep.-elect Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.
Best of The Bee:
The sale of flavored tobacco is banned throughout California starting Wednesday, an effort to close what research shows is a popular gateway to tobacco addiction for young people, via Jacqueline Pinedo.
Store owners across California on Wednesday were finally required to wipe their shelves clean of fruity, minty and candied flavored tobacco products, marking the culmination of a two-year fight by the tobacco industry to halt a statewide ban. It was a day both celebrated by tobacco-free advocates and bemoaned by smoke shop owners and customers, via Maggie Angst, Ari Plachta and Maya Miller.
Several of the environmental bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law this fall likely won’t lead to immediate changes for Californians. But they are expected to have profound long term effects, via Stephen Hobbs.
That’s it for the A.M. Alert for 2022! We’ll be back in 2023! Until then, have a safe and happy holiday season!
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 4:55 AM.