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In another win for more chaos to bethrust upon employers to try to responsibly hire employees, AB 2076 passed off of our floor today 41-28.
It would prohibit the State from using any electronic employment verification system, and prohihit local governments from requring employers to use it and declares it state policy to discourage employers from using such a system unless required by federal law.… Read More
Former longtime California State Legislator, Cathie Wright, has officially decided to poke a stick in the eye of her longtime local Congressman, Elton Gallegly.
Gallegly’s running for re-election this year, having served in Congress from that area since before people converted from LP to compact disk. Conventional wisdom is that Gallegly will easily win renomination as the Republican nominee in what is an overwhelmingly GOP district.
Those who know Cathie Wright (I used to work for her for a time) can visualize her smirk as she envisions Gallegly reading that she has endorsed Michael Tenenbaum against him. Tenenbaum, a local businessman, is in the midst of what will likely be his second Kamikaze run against this incumbent…
FR readers may recall that there was some drama two years ago when Gallegly participated in some political machinations, apparently desiring to retire but "softball" his seat to a friend. For a short period, it looked like Tenenbaum might be the only… Read More
Assemblymen Anthony Adams and Doug LaMalfa have been doing a great job blogging from the Assembly floor about the flood of bills passing this week. Unfortunately, there are so many bad bills passing, it’s hard to keep up with them. For example, moments ago the Assembly approved AB 1819 (Price) which will allow 16-year-olds to file an affidavit to register to vote in their next eligible election (when they turn 18). Of course Assemblyman Price and his fellow Democrats argued that this will encourage greater civic involvement from young people. But as Assemblyman Joel Anderson pointed out, this is a slippery slope towards allowing minors to vote in presidential elections—something Barack Obama could certainly benefit from were it allowed this year.
One point that I had not considered regarding AB 1819 was brought up by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore: every 16-year-old who files their voter registration affidavit will expose their private information to the public. In an era where keeping a minor’s personal information private is increasingly difficult, why is… Read More
2nd UPDATE: After the first vote was expunged days ago, this bill came up again today and got out with41 Aye Votes and 33 No
UPDATE: The call was lifted and the vote count actually went down to 38-34 before the record was then EXPUNGED of the vote…never happened.
Marijuana in the bloodstream would no longer be cause for an employer to terminate or not hire, a person that claims use for medicinal purposes. This would occur under AB 2279 that was up today on our floor. As I write, the bill is "on call" without enough votes, 39-33, to get it out. The bill has vague exceptions for what jobs may be seen as "safety-sensitive" but that I’m sure would require the joy ofmuch litigating to iron out.Industries, like trucking, that have required drug testing, will they be exempt or not?In all or just certain related jobs?
Stats show among users that there are 55% more industrial accidents, 85% more injuries, and a 75% increase in absenteeism.
I had something else I was going to write aboutthis but I forgot…but I do… Read More
As a Regional Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party, I take seriously my commitment to stay out of contested Republican primaries for partisan office. As such, it has been difficult for me to sit on the sidelines during the epic battle in the 4th Congressional District, because that primary is really all about defining the heart and soul of the GOP. I will leave it to the Republican voters in this large Congressional District in North Eastern California to decide for themselves whether they want to elect former Congressman Doug Ose or State Senator Tom McClintock.
All that said, I feel that I do need to weigh in a bit in response to former Governor Pete Wilson’s spurious attack on conservative Tom McClintock. Wilson and McClintock did not get along. Why? Because, like today, Tom consistently stands up against increasing the size and scope of state government.
Wilson was furious with McClintock and other… Read More
AB 2716, a bill requiring paid sick leave for employees, which would accrue at 1 hour per 30 hours worked, passed off of our floor by a 43-25 vote with only Dems voting Aye, and 24 Reps and 1 Dem voting No.
This bill clearly will add a new burden, especially to small businesses. In this economy it shows how tone deaf to the business atmosphere this body can be. As predicted, when mandatory unpaid leave first was proposed and then required, we now have the paid mandate.
Asm. A. Adams said it best in his floor speech, when he mentioned that across the street at lunch ceremoniestoday, when legislators of both parties celebratetheir designated small business [victim?] of the year from their district, we can let them knowof the good news of this bill passing!… Read More
