The San Francisco Chronicle: Almost 200 proposed laws await governor's OK - or not

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By Melody Gutierrez /> Published: August 28, 2016 /> Updated:   August 28, 2016 – 8:37pm

SACRAMENTO - The fate of hundreds of bills will be decided by Wednesday, when state lawmakers wrap up their two-year session.

id="more-69879">There are already nearly 200 bills on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, including legislation to eliminate the statute of limitation on rape prosecutions, limit the use of solitary confinement at juvenile detention facilities, and eliminate sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products.

Lawmakers will decide how many more bills will make it to the governor's desk among the more than 300 bills remaining to be heard in the Senate and Assembly this week. Among those is a bill aimed at increasing voter participation in elections by transforming how people vote.

SB450 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, would require county registrars to mail ballots to all voters, who could then return them by mail or drop them off at several locations in their county. Currently, voters can request mail ballots. The legislation also would give voters the option of casting votes in person on election day or in the 10 days leading up to it. The bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

“Our current broken system is simply failing us and is not leading to the type of representation and engagement and vibrancy we all hope for from a modern democracy such as ours,” Allen said.

While the fates of many bills have yet to be decided, Brown has already signed some of the session's biggest bills, including SB32 to extend the state's greenhouse gas reduction targets to 2030, and SB1279, which cuts off state funding to any port that ships coal into or out of California.

In July, Brown signed six gun control bills, which, among other things, will make it harder to buy ammunition in the state and make it illegal to own a magazine clip that holds more than 10 rounds. In April, Brown signed a bill that will raise the state's minimum wage to $15 over the course of six years.

“We have passed historic laws on climate change, gun safety and minimum wage, but we have unfinished business,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco.

Gov. Jerry Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto a bill that reaches his desk on Wednesday.

Here's a look at some of the other bills this session.

On the governor's desk:

•AB1995 Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Santa Barbara - Allows homeless students enrolled at a California Community Colleges campus to take showers at the school for their personal hygiene needs.

“I was once homeless while attending community college, so I personally know what it feels like to be desperate for a shower before attending classes,” Williams said.

To read expanded article, click href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Almost-200-proposed-laws-await-governor-s-OK-9189680.php?t=d0c0c54aa200af33be&cmpid=twitter-premium">here.

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The Press-Enterprise: Why 7 Inland cities think voters will OK tax increases this year

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Seven Inland cities are asking voters to approve tax measures; four would raise sales taxes.

By Alicia Robinson / Staff Writer /> Published: Aug. 19, 2016 /> Updated: Aug. 21, 2016 12:24 a.m.

Several Riverside County cities are hoping to cut through the election season noise and convince residents to support tax increases to pay for police, fire and other key services.

id="more-69817">Voters in seven Inland cities will see local tax increases on the Nov. 8 ballot, though two of the measures would tax marijuana and thus hinge on the success of a statewide pot legalization initiative.

Four cities – Hemet, Menifee, Riverside and Temecula – will ask voters to increase the local sales tax by 1 percentage point or 1 cent, from 8 percent to 9 percent. Two others, Moreno Valley and San Jacinto, propose raising hotel room taxes, and San Jacinto and San Bernardino have pot taxes on the ballot.

The local measures reflect a broader trend of putting tax issues to a vote in even-year general elections, said Michael Coleman, fiscal policy adviser to the League of California Cities. Statewide, about 240 local tax issues will appear on ballots this fall, he said. About half are school bonds.

The general election vote is attractive partly because of the larger turnout, Coleman said, but how local issues fare “depends a lot on the local politics.”

THE NEED

Officials in the four cities asking for sales tax increases say they're facing deficits, largely because of rising costs for police and fire service.

To read expanded article, click href="http://www.pe.com/articles/tax-811150-city-sales.html">here.

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InlandPolitics: California Senate set to pass prosecutorial misconduct legislation

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Friday, August 19, 2016 – 08:45 a.m.

The California legislature is set to forward legislation targeting prosecutor misconduct to Governor Jerry Brown.

id="more-69799">Assembly Bill 1909, by Assembly Member Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando), partially propelled by high-profile allegations swirling around the Orange County District Attorney's Office, would bring criminal penalties to prosecutors.

The legislation has received bipartisan support and no recorded opposition.

In essence the legislation, if signed by Brown, would impose potential felonies on prosecutors who withhold, conceal or falsify evidence.

Here's key language the legislation would add to current law:

(c) A prosecuting attorney who intentionally and in bad faith alters, modifies, or withholds any physical matter, digital image, video recording, or relevant exculpatory material or information, knowing that it is relevant and material to the outcome of the case, with the specific intent that the physical matter, digital image, video recording, or relevant exculpatory material or information will be concealed or destroyed, or fraudulently represented as the original evidence upon a trial, proceeding, or inquiry, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years.

The bill is currently on the Senate Floor, where it is scheduled for third reading and passage.

Here's are links to recent coverage of the legislation:

The Orange County Register: style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-725339-prosecutors-orange.html">Prosecutors who falsify or withhold evidence could become felons under proposed state legislation /> Reason Magazine: style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/16/california-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-f">California Bill Would Make It a Felony for Prosecutors to Withhold Evidence

Other related material:

href="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assembly-Bill-1909-Amended.pdf">Assembly Bill 1909 – Amended

 

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The San Francisco Chronicle: The mystery behind California's high gas prices

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Taxes on gasoline in the Golden State tend to be among the country's highest.

By David R. Baker /> August 15, 2016 /> Updated: August 15, 2016 – 4:47pm

Gasoline is cheap in California compared to a year ago.

But it's nowhere near as cheap as it could be.

id="more-69754">Californians currently spend 49 cents more per gallon than the national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For most of the last year, that difference exceeded 60 cents. Several times last summer, it topped $1.

California routinely has some of the highest pump prices in the United States, the result of high taxes and the use of a pollution-reducing gasoline formula not sold elsewhere. But the premium we pay historically hovered between 25 and 35 cents per gallon. Relatively new expenses related to California's fight against global warming have added about 15 cents to that premium, but it can't explain the elevated prices that have persisted for 18 months.

By one estimate, the unusually wide gap between California's gasoline prices and the national average has cost the state's drivers more than $10 billion.

A panel of fuel-market experts convened by the state government has tried for months to pinpoint causes for the high prices. It will meet again Tuesday.

But despite exploring a number of possible answers, including the role and pricing power of refineries, the panel's chairman says he and his colleagues may not be able to prove any of them. Doing so, he said, would likely require far greater legal authority than the panel has.

“We have no subpoena power, we have no investigative power - all we can do is ask people to come talk to us,” said UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein, chairman of the state's Petroleum Market Advisory Committee. “If someone is going to really dig in, it's going to take more power.”

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has a representative on the committee, and in June, her office reportedly issued subpoenas to several oil companies, seeking information on gasoline supplies and pricing. (A spokesman for the attorney general declined to comment.)

But her office has investigated California's gasoline market before and come away empty-handed. And Borenstein fears that most state officials are ignoring the problem.

“There seems to be almost no interest among policy makers, and the reason is that prices are low,” he said. “Given that we're talking about billions of dollars, I think it'd be a good idea for California to make a bigger effort to find out going on.”

The Western States Petroleum Association did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Even in the best of circumstances, Californians pay more for gasoline than most Americans.

Taxes on gasoline in the Golden State tend to be among the country's highest. Federal, state and local taxes and fees add more than 50 cents per gallon for California drivers, according to the American Petroleum Institute - 9 cents more than the national average.

The state's “cap and trade” system for reining in the greenhouse gases behind climate change tacks on another 11 cents. A regulation that requires oil companies to lower the “carbon intensity” of the fuels they sell in California adds an estimated 4 cents. The California Energy Commission includes both expenses and several others under “distribution and marketing” (see accompanying graphic).

But the state also suffers from having a market largely cut off from outside suppliers.

California uses its own gasoline blends, designed to fight air pollution. Other states use different blends, so most of California's fuel comes from refineries located within the state.

If mechanical problems hobble one or more of those refineries, bringing in extra supplies from outside the state can take weeks. No pipelines connect California to the refineries on the Gulf Coast, so any imports must come by ship, traveling either from Asia or through the Panama Canal.

In February 2015, part of a Los Angeles County refinery then-owned by ExxonMobil exploded, and did not return to normal operations until May of this year. Gasoline prices jumped after the explosion, eventually hitting $3.44 for a gallon of regular, according to GasBuddy.com. The national average, in contrast, was $2.46.

To read expanded article, click href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/The-mystery-behind-California-s-high-gas-prices-9144337.php?t=d111477cb07d4f3860&cmpid=twitter-premium">here.

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The Sacramento Bee: Jerry Brown offers 12 percent raises (over 4 years) to SEIU Local 1000

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The State Worker /> By Rachel Cohrs /> rcohrs@sacbee.com /> July 29, 2016 – 10:17 AM

The state has offered a nearly 12 percent general salary increase for SEIU Local 1000 employees spread out over four years, or a 9 percent increase over three years.

id="more-69581">The offer, dated July 8, would also require increased payments into funding post-retirement health benefits amounting to a 3.5 percent increase in contributions over either three or four years.

California's largest state employee union is in the midst of contract negotiations with the governor's office. In a newsletter, SEIU officials wrote the talks had come to a “crossroads.”

In the union's most recent bargaining update posted on June 30, SEIU addressed members on its website stating, “Our bargaining team feels that the state's offer does not meet the priorities that you shared with us through town halls and bargaining surveys.”

The union held 13 town hall meetings for members across the state to get feedback on the bargaining process. SEIU also distributed an online survey to “get members' input about the state's offer.”

Allowable overtime mandates for registered nurses under Unit 17 would decrease from five to four per month, and mandatory overtime for medical and social services employees under Unit 20 would decrease from six to five.

To read expanded column, click href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article92603497.html">here.

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The American Spectator: When Trump Fought the Racists

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Jeffrey Lord /> November 13, 2015 – 9:00 am

And so the cry went up.

“Trump is a racist!” was the mocking cry from an off-stage Larry David when Trump recently hosted Saturday Night Live. The David bit was designed to make fun not of Trump but Trump's critics. In this case a left-wing group calling itself href="http://deportracism.com/">deportracism.com which, without the slightest sense of irony, put together a thoroughly racist ad having children spewing obscenities as they proclaimed their allegiance not to America and its ideals but rather to their race. A chilling reminder of all those fresh-faced young Germans of long ago pledging allegiance to their Aryan race.

id="more-69256">All of this is already old news. But there is a much older “old news” story about Trump that has now resurfaced - a story that paints a highly accurate portrait of the real Donald Trump - the guy who has no time for racism and anti-Semitism and stood up in public to fight both.

The story, linked by a group calling itself href="http://zionists4trump.com/how-trump-fought-antisemitism-and-racism-in-palm-beach-two-decades-ago/">Zionists for Trump, was href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB862335923489989500">published in the Wall Street Journal - in 1997. It revolves around Trump's purchase and operation of the famous Mar-a-Largo estate, built in the 1920s by Post Cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. Trump had recently purchased the sprawling, seaside estate and turned it into a club. This being located in upscale Palm Beach, Florida, there were other prestigious clubs in the area, clubs that catered to the old order of upper crust Palm Beach society. The problem? Quietly, these other clubs had long barred Jews and African Americans - which is to say they practiced a quiet but steely racism.

The Zionists for Trump headline:

style="text-align: center;">How Trump Fought Antisemitism and Racism in Palm Beach Two Decades Ago

The WSJ story that is linked focuses on the battles Trump faced as a new arrival to Palm Beach, including his new competition with the social clubs of the old order. The story, which quotes Abe Foxman, the longtime head of the Anti-Defamation League, says, in part, the following:

Mr. Trump also has resorted to the courts to secure his foothold here, and many residents wince at the attention his legal battles with the town have drawn - to the town in general, and to the admission practices at some of Palm Beach's older clubs in particular.

…The culture clash began to approach a climax last fall, when Mr. Trump's lawyer sent members of the town council a copy of the film “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,” a film that deals with upper-class racism. Mr. Trump then approached the town council about lifting the restrictions that had been placed on the club. He also asked some council members not to vote on the request because their membership in other clubs created a conflict of interest.

Last December, after the council refused to lift the restrictions, Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Palm Beach, alleging that the town was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago, in part because it is open to Jews and African-Americans. The suit seeks $100 million in damages.

… Mr. Foxman seems pleased that Mr. Trump has elevated the issue of discriminatory policies at social clubs. “He put the light on Palm Beach,” Mr. Foxman says. “Not on the beauty and the glitter, but on its seamier side of discrimination. It has an impact.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Foxman says, the league has received calls from Jewish residents telling of how Palm Beach clubs are changing. Locals concur that in the past year, organizations such as the Bath and Tennis Club have begun to admit Jewish patrons. The Palm Beach Civic Association, which for many years was believed to engage in discriminatory behavior, this month named a Jewish resident as its chief officer.

In other words? In other words, long before he was running for president, there was Donald Trump battling racism and anti-Semitism in Palm Beach society. Using every tool at his disposal.

To read expanded column, click href="http://spectator.org/64643_when-trump-fought-racists/">here.

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