Speaking at Lake Tahoe’s annual environmental summit, Governor Brown had harsh words for opponents of SB350 who have been running an aggressive ad campaign against the bill, claiming that it will lead to rationing and worse. John Myers, KQED:
“The governor, while not endorsing the specific language [in the bill], made it clear he’s working behind the scenes to find a bill that will make it through the Legislature and to his desk.
“And Brown seemed energized for the fight. ‘The oil industry is in deep trouble,’ he told reporters.
“What about the ad campaign launched by an oil industry-funded group that warns of potential gas rationing, or worse, if SB350 becomes law?
“’The petroleum boys are making up things,’ said the governor. ‘I don’t want to use the word that is normally used for things when people don’t tell the truth.’”
As the stock market logged a tumultuous day that saw tremendous losses on opening that turned into a still-significant, but not as bad stumble, some wonder if California’s newly-regained fiscal solvency could be in jeopardy. Chris Megerian and Phil Willon, LA Times:
“More than most states, California depends heavily on taxing the wealthy, pulling about half its income tax revenue from just 1% of residents in recent years. A sustained, significant fall in capital gains could mean a return to budget crises, and the turmoil on Wall Street is a reminder of that vulnerability.”
Legislators have wasted no time this week, taking action on a variety of bills, including legislation that would ban hobbyists from flying drones lower than 350 feet over private property,
a measure that would require large retail businesses to give workers two-weeks’ notice on their schedules, and a package of tobacco-related legislation that was fast-tracked to the Senate floor to be considered as part of the current Special Session on health costs. A Republican bill to allow police departments to create their own regulations regarding the use of body cameras faltered, with Democrats saying that the legislation lacks accountability.
The Senate passed a bill that exempts certain seniors from needing to take a currently-unavailable exit exam to graduate. Patrick McGreevy, LAT:
“About 5,000 students in the class of 2015 faced the lack of a diploma, and possible problems getting jobs or attending college, after the state superintendent of public instruction cancelled this summer’s exam, having deciding the test was not in step with the new curriculum based on Common Core. ‘Students who’ve been accepted into college should not be prevented from starting class this fall because of a test cancellation they could not control,’ said Brown spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman.”
The governor has indicated that he will sign the bill.
Statisticians are still weighing the full impact of Proposition 47, but Marisa Lagos looks at some success stories for KQED:
“Her mother gave [Sholanda] Jackson her first taste of [crack] when she was a teenager. On Christmas Day when she was 18, Jackson went to jail for the first time — and she cycled in and out of the system until her early 30s, when a public defender asked if she was interested in drug treatment.
“Now Jackson has been sober 11 years. She’s married, living in Hayward, has earned her bachelor’s degree in social services and hopes to pursue a master’s degree. She works at Operation Dignity, which aids homeless veterans, and volunteers with Oakland Communty Organizations, helping tell people about Proposition 47 and other programs.
“’People said I was hopeless, right? The parole officer, the parole board, when I was in prison. They said, “She’s hopeless.” But that’s not true. I don’t think there’s such a thing,’ Jackson said…”
Continuing his roll of improbable successes, GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump took first place at a straw poll at the South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition picnic this weekend, thumping former South Peninsula resident Carly Fiorina. Josh Richman has the story at Political Blotter:
“Out of 144 votes cast, Trump got 39 votes, or 27 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush came in second with 27 votes (18 percent), followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (20 votes, 13 percent); U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (16 votes, 11 percent); and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (13 votes, 9 percent). Notably absent from among the poll’s top finishers: former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who used to live less than two and a half miles from the site of Sunday’s picnic.”
Not really California news, but we couldn’t resist including a note that former Capitol Weekly, Bee and LA Times staffer Shane Goldmacher announced that he is leaving National Journal to cover the 2016 presidential race for Politico. Good for him, and good for political junkies everywhere – congrats Shane!