California’s political watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission, bared its teeth yesterday, proposing 54 enforcement actions, including a $23,000 fine against Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) and a $16,000 penalty for Million More Voters, a labor-funded group that backed Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris. Juliet Williams, Associated Press:
“The complaint says Nielsen, R-Gerber, made several contributions to the Tehama GOP that were understood to be intended to support Williams' campaign, Four days after he reported giving $15,000, the party paid Nielsen's political firm $13,000 for radio ads for Williams.
“Nielsen also acknowledges accepting Sacramento Kings basketball tickets from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation that were brokered through an intermediary.
"’We are pleased to resolve a complaint filed by a political consultant working for an opposing candidate after 3 1/2 years and much expense,’ Charles Bell, treasurer for Nielsen's 2012 committee, said in a statement.
“[A] $16,000 fine against Million More Voters, an independent expenditure committee funded by the California Labor Federation, AFLCIO, for failing to timely report $3.3 million in expenditures supporting Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and nearly $750,000 in spending supporting Democratic state Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2010.
“Campaign treasurer Art Pulaski said the committee was newly formed at the time and made a mistake in its filing.”
Ramona Giwargis, San Jose Mercury News notes that former state Assemblyman Joe Coto received a hefty fine for transgressions from his failed 2012 bid for senate.
“The Fair Political Practices Commission has slapped former East Side schools superintendent and state Assemblyman Joe Coto with a $6,000 fine for exceeding contribution limits and failing to disclose more than $117,000 in expenditures during his unsuccessful 2012 state Senate run against Jim Beall.
“A committee supporting Coto also failed to properly disclose the contributions, leading to a $10,000 penalty for the group. The $16,000 fine represents one of the FPPC's highest penalties.”
Governor Brown Monday signed a trio of bills aimed at improving conditions for immigrants in California, including a measure to ban the word “alien” from the state’s labor code. Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times:
“The bill banning ‘alien’ is needed to modernize state labor law, in the same way many newspapers have stopped using the term ‘illegal alien,’ said state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), author of the bill.
“’Alien is now commonly considered a derogatory term for a foreign-born person and has very negative connotations,’ Mendoza said. “The United States is a country of immigrants who not only form an integral part of our culture and society, but are also critical contributors to our economic success.’”
The two other bills allow noncitizens in high schools to work at election polling stations, and to protect the rights of immigrant minors in civil lawsuits.
As lawmakers and the Governor seek solutions to fund a fix for California’s crumbling infrastructure, a coalition of business, labor and local governments has proposed a package of funding options. Not on the table: charging drivers for their mileage. Jim Miller has the story at the Sacramento Bee:
“Higher gas and diesel taxes, revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade program, and increased vehicle license and registration fees are among the possible sources of new revenue included in a transportation-funding package of principles put forward Monday by a coalition of local government, business and labor groups.
“Notably missing from the list of possible ways to generate $60 billion over 10 years: A system of charging people based on the miles they drive instead of the fuel they pump. Such a system is the focus of a pilot study that received $10.7 million in the current budget. Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, mentioned the idea earlier this year as an option for generating more transportation revenue. And starting last month, thousands of Oregon motorists began testing mileage-based taxes.”
Capital Public Radio’s Rich Ibarra reports that over 200 wells in Tuolumne County have run dry.
“This week and next the Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services is holding six workshops so people can sign up to have water delivered at no cost in most cases.
“Emergency Services Coordinator Tracie Riggs says many families have already been helped.
"’We have about 85 tanks that have been placed and that affects a little over 300 homes. Each tank holds 2,500 gallons and we are rationing out 50 gallons of water per person per day.’"
With 36 declared candidates, the Republican race for the 2016 presidential nomination could do something extraordinary: make California’s presidential primary actually matter. Shannon Flaherty, Capitol Weekly:
“Many California Republicans also agreed that this election cycle, with such a large field of candidates, could make California play a much more prominent role than in years past.
“’There’s a possibility for the first time in ages, it could go all the way to the convention,’ said Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the ‘California Target Book’ and a political consultant.
“Former Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-Sacramento) believes the size of the current GOP field contributes to California’s relevance.
“’It depends on how long it will take to reduce a huge field to a small field,’ Niello said. ‘The Republican side in California could have quite an influence if things are still unsettled.’”
And, speaking of presidential primaries, Democratic Socialist presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders visited Oakland Monday, brunching at the HQ of National Nurses United, the 185,000-member nurses group that announced their endorsement of his candidacy yesterday.
In an article for Techwire.net, former legislator Lloyd Levine disputes the notion that opponents of SB 277 benefitted from their vigorous social media campaign – he says the effort actually backfired - and has numbers to support his claim.
“If there was any effect at all, it was the exact opposite of the one desired by the ‘anti-vax’ community. The legislation accelerated through the process with help from the social media firestorm.
“After easily passing the full Senate on May 14, SB 277 moved to the Assembly where it was ‘fast-tracked.’ Instead of being heard in three policy committees, it was heard in just one and then sent straight to the Assembly floor. The Assembly asserted it wanted to avoid the same circus that had occurred in the Senate.
“Historically, most pieces of Legislation don’t make it to the governor’s desk for signature until the last days of session. In 2014 there were 931 pieces of legislation signed into law. Only 79 of them arrived to Gov. Brown before July 1.”
And, finally, a story from Kenya that reminds us that California isn’t the only place with anti-vaxxers.
“[Last] week, a polio vaccination campaign in Kenya faced an unlikely opponent: The country's Conference of Catholic Bishops declared a boycott of the World Health Organization's vaccination campaign, saying they needed to ‘test’ whether ingredients contain a derivative of estrogen. Dr. Wahome Ngare of the Kenyan Catholic Doctor's Association alleged that the presence of the female hormone could sterilize children.
“Ngare is a practicing gynecologist with no infectious disease experience.
“He raises the specter of eugenics — sterilizing segments of human populations. He put forth other objections as well: ‘There are all sorts of stories out there,’ he told me. ‘Vaccines can cause autism. Vaccines have been used for spread of HIV. There are some cancer-causing viruses that you'd find in vaccines. So there are lot of stories. Some of them we don't know whether they're true or not true.’"
Sigh…
