Governor Brown still has 9 days to act on 600 bills outstanding on his desk. With the bills the CFRW has been tracking, there has been some movement. Some good, some bad. First, it should be mentioned that Governor Brown has become much more progressive in his last and final term. Suggesting a $400 million satellite to monitor climate change is enough evidence of that. So, his actions on many of these bills may not come as a surprise. Governor Brown signed AB 1884 (Calderon, D) and SB 1192 (Monning, D) into law earlier this week. As you will recall, AB 1884 is a ban on plastic straws being offered at restaurants, subjecting restaurants to fines if they are offered or given with drinks. SB 1192 is another burdensome regulation on our restaurant industry, which prohibits fast food restaurants from offering juice, soda, or flavored milk with children’s meals. The good news is that Governor Brown vetoed SB 1424 (Pan, D), which would have created a “social media advisory board” through our Attorney General’s office that would have sought to curb “fake news” proliferation on social media platforms. Luckily the Governor thought the creation of such a board would be superfluous. The legislative season is ending and the election looms near. It is time for Republican Women to shift their focus to voter education.
CFRW Ballot Measure Recommendations
The General Election is only 7 weeks away, and while that may seem like a long time (and to low-information voters, it is), the CFRW and our members must work to educate voters across our state. With 11 measures on the ballot, voter education is key. Below is a list of our ballot measure recommendations, but for many voters, that is not enough. ◼ CLICK HERE for ballot measures’ summaries, CFRW recommendations, and our rationale. Last week we went in-depth with Prop 1.... Each week leading up to the election we will highlight a proposition or two with in-depth analysis and reasoning for our recommendations. It is not enough to educate ourselves anymore, we must help Californians wake up to the corruption of Sacramento and their manipulation at the ballot box!
General Election Ballot Measures
Prop 1: Authorizes Bonds to Fund Specified Housing Assistance Programs- NO
Prop 2: Authorizes Bonds to Fund Existing Housing Program for Individuals with Mental Illness- NO
Prop 3: Authorizes Bonds to Fund Projects for Water Supply and Quality, Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Water Conveyance, and Groundwater Sustainability and Storage- NO
Prop 4: Authorizes Bonds Funding Construction at Hospitals Providing Children's Healthcare- NO
Prop 5: Changes Requirements for Certain Property Owners to Transfer Their Property Tax Base to Replacement Property- YES
Prop 6: Eliminates Certain Road Repair and Transportation Funding, Requires Certain Fuel Taxes and Vehicle Fees be Approved by The Electorate- YES
Prop 7: Conforms California Daylight Saving Time to Federal Law, Allows the Legislature to Change Daylight Saving Time Period- NO
Prop 8: Regulates Amount Kidney Dialysis Clinics Charge for Dialysis Treatment- NO
(From here we skip from Prop 8 to Prop 10. Prop 9 was removed from the ballot by the California Supreme Court)
Prop 10: Expands Local Governments' Authority to Enact Rent Control on Residential Property- NO
Prop 11: Require Private-Sector Emergency Ambulance Employees to Remain On-Call During Work Breaks, Eliminates Certain Employer Liability- YES
Prop 12: Establishes New Standards for Confinement of Specified Farm Animals, Bans Sale of Non-Complying Product- NO
Prop Spotlight: Proposition 2
The official ballot summary of Proposition 2 is as follows: Ratifies existing law establishing the No Place Like Home Program, which finances permanent housing for individuals with mental illness who are homeless or at risk for chronic homelessness, as being consistent with the Mental Health Services Act approved by the electorate. Ratifies issuance of up to $2 billion in previously authorized bonds to finance the No Place Like Home Program. Amends the Mental Health Services Act to authorize transfers of up to $140 million annually from the existing Mental Health Services Fund to the No Place Like Home Program, with no increase in taxes.
Prop 2 takes some background explanation. The legislature passed a bill in 2016, the No Place Like Home Act, to spend revenue from Proposition 63 (2004) on revenue bonds for homelessness prevention housing. The legislation, however, could not go into effect for two reasons: 1). Because of pending litigation over whether revenue from the millionaire's tax could be spent on homelessness prevention housing and 2). Because Prop 2 would reallocate revenue from a previously passed ballot initiative. Unlike general obligation bonds, revenue bonds do not require a public vote in California, but because this is a change to a passed ballot initiative, it must go before the voters. In 2004, voters approved Proposition 63- a one percent income tax on those making over a million dollars a year to fund mental health programs. Over a decade later, much of that money remains unspent for a wide variety of reasons. Therefore, two years ago the Legislature approved the No Place Like Home program to spend the unused revenue. This program authorizes the $2 billion general obligation bond to pay for housing for those with mental illness who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless. The bond would be paid off with up to $140 million of existing Proposition 63 monies annually, for 30-35 years. Both chambers of the state legislature approved AB 1827 (now, Prop 2) on June 25, 2018. The vote in the state Senate was 35-0, with four members not voting, while the state Assembly vote was 72-1. If passed, the bond would allow for the distribution of $2 billion among counties as deferred payment loans to finance capitol costs of approximately 10,000 permanent supportive housing for persons eligible for services under Prop 63 and are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness due to mental health. The California Republican Party has no position on Prop 2 because this was placed on the ballot after the Party’s convention last May, where positions on ballot measures were made by the CRP Initiatives Committee. The California Federation of Republican Women have recommended voting NO on Prop 2. Our Voting Body believes that the original Prop 63 Mental Health funding should be used for mental health programs, not for housing. We acknowledge that our cities have a homelessness crisis, but we believe that throwing money at the problem in the form of housing is not the answer. Catching the signs of mental illness earlier, giving schools and families the tools to help their loved ones with a mental illness, and more education on mental illnesses should be addressed, but Prop 2 does nothing for that. Join us in voting NO on Prop 2.
CFRW Fall Conference
It's September and our CFRW Fall Conference is next weekend! Join us from September 28-30 in Bakersfield for our Fall Harvest! We will be hearing from John Sullivan, producer of films such as Gosnell, America, and 2016 in conjunction with Dinesh D'Souza. Our banquet speaker is Ben Bergquam from Frontline America and he is on the frontlines battling SB 54 and the Sanctuary State in California. We will be preparing for the election and getting out the vote with a Yes on Prop 6 rally and so much information on the ballot. CLICK HERE for the full conference packet and registration (deadline extended to TODAY!)
Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.
California Federation of Republican Women Advocacy Office
770 L Street, Suite 950, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone 916-442-4084
