The Micheli Files: California legislation and the single subject rule
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "Many Capitol observers are aware of the single subject rule. Some know that the California Constitution, in Article II, Section 8(d), provides that “an initiative measure embracing more than one subject may not be submitted to the electors or have any effect.” But does a similar rule exist for bills considered by the California Legislature?
The single subject rule is found in several state constitutions in this country that provides some or all legislation may only deal with one main issue. The general idea is to ensure that measures are not overly complex or that they may possibly confuse or “hide” provisions in a multi-faceted measure. Some have argued the single subject rule also precludes combining popular and unpopular unrelated provisions in one omnibus measure."
Experts Expound: The impact of crime rates on future elections
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "From fentanyl to smash-and-grabs, crime has been a big issue around the California Capitol this year. But will rising crime – or even the perception of rising crime rates – cause Democrats political pain? We asked our experts to weigh in.
How much will concern over crime negatively impact Democrats in the next California General Election?
“You only need to look at New York to see what happened when Democrats took this issue for granted. Democrats lost several Congressional races, and the governor narrowly won. This, particularly combined with homelessness, is emerging as a major issue with swing voters. The good news is the super-majority is finally starting to get it. Take a look at the switcheroo on the Grove sex trafficking bill.”"
Signing AB 1167 will cement Gavin Newsom’s climate leadership status (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, LAURA DEEHAN: "California is attacking climate change in the courts and in the legislature. And Gov. Gavin Newsom has the opportunity to make an impact on both fronts.
When Gov. Newsom announced last week that California was suing five major oil companies and an industry trade group for alleged climate damages, he sent an unmistakable message to businesses that pollute our environment: You can no longer wreck our climate or damage public health for profit with impunity, and you will have to pay for the damage you cause."
S.F. mayor’s race is heating up. Here’s why philanthropist Daniel Lurie thinks he can beat Breed
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS: "San Francisco philanthropist Daniel Lurie is officially trying to unseat Mayor London Breed in the November 2024 election, adding to the competition to lead the city as it struggles to confront public drug dealing, surging overdose deaths, a struggling downtown, high property crime and an ongoing housing crisis.
Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who founded the local anti-poverty organization Tipping Point Community, had been speaking to community leaders and business people for months about his planned mayoral bid. He filed fundraising paperwork on Thursday and on Tuesday he formally declared his candidacy in a filing with the Department of Elections."
Breed wants mandatory drug screening, treatment for S.F. welfare recipients
The Chronicle, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "San Francisco would require low-income residents to undergo substance abuse screening and treatment as a requirement to be eligible to receive welfare funds under a new proposal from Mayor London Breed.
Breed said the move was an effort to bring accountability to the city’s drug and homelessness crisis."
Remote public comment at S.F. City Hall could end after slew of racist, antisemitic remarks
The Chronicle, ALDO TOLEDO: "After several people made explicit, racist and antisemitic remarks during remote public comment at the Board of Supervisors session Tuesday, board President Aaron Peskin is vowing to put an end to call-ins altogether.
Started during the coronavirus pandemic to allow people to make comments on public policy while remaining at home, remote commenting has been hailed as a positive change for accessibility. But it has also been a thorn in the side of many government bodies who have faced “Zoom-bombing” in the past from right-wing groups and individuals spreading vitriol."
In-home health workers stage union protest against Sacramento County supervisors over wages
Sacramento Bee, ARIANE LANGE: "Long-term care workers who make $16.50 an hour streamed into the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday to condemn what they described as a shamefully low offer in the latest round of negotiations between their union and the county.
Members of the union began camping outside the Sacramento County Administration Building on H Street Monday night as part of a three-day protest, saying that many of them were at risk of becoming homeless because of their low pay."
‘A ticking time bomb’: Why California can’t provide safe drinking water to all its residents
LA Times, DORANY PINEDA, HAYLEY SMITH, IAN JAMES, GABRIELLE LAMARR LEMEE, KATIE LICARI: "In the Mojave Desert community of North Edwards, 5-year-old Adam Ezelle knows never to drink water from the tap, which contains dangerous levels of arsenic.
In the tiny farming and oil refining community of Fuller Acres, where a potent carcinogen has tainted groundwater wells, Maria Martinez and her family say they feel neglected by a state that has pledged clean water for all of its residents."
Largest California school district ends COVID vaccine mandate for staff
SCNG, CLARA HARTER: "The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted 6 to 1 on Tuesday to rescind its two-year-old COVID-19 vaccine mandate for staff, saying it is no longer needed to assure safe in-person learning.
Boardmember George McKenna cast the sole dissenting vote, saying he believes that science still supports the need for the COVID-19 vaccine in today’s environment."
LAUSD moves to bar charter schools from scores of campuses, citing tensions
LA Times, HOWARD BLUMEL:: "When Tropical Storm Hilary drenched the interior of a building rented by a charter school at Eastman Elementary — destroying books and computers — some 75 charter students moved into the auditorium and library of the main campus, straining resources and patience.
“It’s just very unfair that the whole school basically has to accommodate the charter school,” said Los Angeles Board of Education member Rocio Rivas last week about the situation at the East L.A.campus."
Why enrollment is rebounding at California's community colleges
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "After years of pandemic declines, enrollment at California’s community colleges may finally be starting to rebound in a significant way.
Several colleges across the state, from San Diego to San Jose, are reporting that their enrollments are up by double digit percentages this fall. Statewide data for the fall isn’t yet available, but enrollment in the spring was up 8% across the system of 116 colleges, according to a memo prepared by the state chancellor’s office."
More pay, streaming bonuses, AI limits: Four takeaways from the WGA deal to end the writers’ strike
LA Times, RYAN FAUGHNDER: "The Writers Guild of America on Tuesday disclosed the details of the tentative deal it secured with the major Hollywood studios to end the strike that has lasted for nearly five months.
A seven-page summary document, which was distributed to the WGA’s 11,500 film and TV writer members, includes increases in wages and residuals, as well as language addressing the union’s demands for minimum staff in television writers rooms, payments based on the success of streaming shows and protections against the use of artificial intelligence."
Bay Area families suing over family separations can depose Jeff Sessions, Kirstjen Nielsen
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Two of former President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, have been ordered to answer questions under oath about Trump’s family separation policy in a suit by immigrant parents and children in the Bay Area.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore of San Francisco ordered the depositions Monday, rejecting arguments by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department that the former officials were legally shielded from such interrogations. Lawyers for the families said it would be the first such questioning of either Sessions or Nielsen about a policy that separated thousands of parents and children at the Mexican border."
Target to close 3 Bay Area stores next month, citing rampant retail crime
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC, ROLAND LI: "Target announced Tuesday that it planned to close three of its Bay Area stores next month, citing “theft and organized retail crime” that was “threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” the company said in a statement.
On Oct. 21, the company said it would close its San Francisco store on Folsom and 13th streets. In Oakland, Target will close its store on Broadway and 27th Street, its only location in the city, according to its website. The Target in Pittsburg on Century Boulevard is also closing."
California gave Sacramento $25M for homeless at American River Parkway. Why hasn’t it spent it?
Sacramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "Sacramento County for six months has been sitting on a $25 million check from the state of California to shelter unhoused people living on the American River Parkway.
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, who co-sponsored the bill to get the county the money, sent a letter to Board of Supervisors Chairman Rich Desmond July 5 to nudge them to spend it."
In Men’s Central Jail, fires are common, smoke alarms are not: Smells ‘like a campfire’
LA Times, KERI BLAKINGER: "Mary Veral caught one whiff of the smoky air and wrinkled her nose. It wasn’t the first time she had smelled burning in Men’s Central Jail. As a member of a county jail oversight commission, Veral visits regularly. And sometimes, she said, the place smells “like a campfire.”
But it wasn’t until this summer that she laid eyes on one of the blazes, when she walked into a second-floor cell block and spotted foot-high flames in three cells."
S.F. shuts down downtown streets for ‘VIP visit’ as Biden arrives in town
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Several streets near Chinatown and Nob Hill are being closed Tuesday and Wednesday for a VIP visit that lines up with President Biden’s visit to San Francisco.
Biden is scheduled to attend one Bay Area campaign reception in Atherton on Tuesday and two others on Wednesday, according to the White House. He’s also scheduled to hold a meeting with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology before flying out to Phoenix on Wednesday."
Man shot by LAPD officers who mistook cellphone for gun wins $2.35 million at trial
LA Times, LIBOR JANY: "Dexter White’s chest still tightens when he sees the photo on Instagram of his crumpled body, moments after a group of Los Angeles police officers shot him after mistaking his cellphone for a gun.
He had pulled out the phone in confusion as officers surrounded him as he walked to the corner store, responding to what turned out to be a false report of domestic violence one afternoon more than five years ago."
Right-wing extremist convicted in fatal drive-by shooting at Oakland courthouse
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "A Millbrae man was convicted Tuesday of driving the car during a politically motivated drive-by shooting that killed one man outside an Oakland courthouse in 2020.
Over the course of a two-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Robert Alvin Justus Jr. conspired with another man — Steven Carrillo of Santa Cruz — to shoot at law enforcement officers in an attempt to inspire further anti-government violence."
S.F. supervisor calls to ban turns on red lights throughout the city
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO: "Right turns on red lights could be a thing of the past in San Francisco if one city supervisor gets his wish.
Supervisor Dean Preston introduced a resolution Tuesday calling on the Municipal Transportation Agency to ban the vehicular maneuver at all stoplight intersections in San Francisco. Such a move would put the city on par with New York, where right turns on red are already banned at most intersections as part of its push to curb severe and fatal crashes."
