The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
AB 805, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s bill to reform SANDAG, cleared the state Senate on Thursday.
Republican Sens. Pat Bates and Joel Anderson both spoke out against the bill, and echoed criticism from opponents that the bill would disenfranchise representatives of smaller cities in the county.
Bates, the Senate Republican leader, urged senators to vote against the bill because she said it had the potential to set a trend.
“Think hard folks, this could affect your district if it becomes precedent-setting, that Sacramento starts dictating to local agencies how votes will be counted,” Bates said.
San Diego’s Democratic senators, Toni Atkins and Ben Hueso, both voted for the bill. It must head back to the state Assembly for final approval because it’s been amended since the last time it appeared there.
Several other measures from local lawmakers are headed to the governor’s desk, including:
• Three bills from Atkins would give prosecutors a new tool to target sex traffickers, allow probation officers to access juvenile justice records for certain research purposes and allow probation officers to display blue warning lights on their emergency vehicles.
• A bill from Assemblyman Todd Gloria would allow students to wear cultural items on Graduation Day.
• A bill from Assemblyman Brian Maienschein would initiate the development of a Continuing Medical Education course for medical professionals focusing on identifying early symptoms of mental illness.
Brown Signs Chavez, Gloria Bills Into Law …
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new batch of bills at the tail end of last week, including two veterans measures from Assemblyman Rocky Chavez and a bill by Assemblyman Todd Gloria aimed at shining light on who’s financing local ballot measures.
AB 376 by Chavez requires various agencies to post info on their websites aimed at assisting and training veterans entering ranching or farming careers.
AB 671 by Chavez authorizes veterans memorial districts to provide services that improve the quality of life for veterans and their families.
AB 187 by Gloria requires political committees formed to support state candidates or ballot measures to disclose contributions of $5,000 or more made to support or oppose local ballot initiatives or referendums.
… Other Bills Die Quiet Deaths
Two of the notable bills from San Diego lawmakers we told you to watch out for died late last week. RIP.
One, from Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, would have added transparency measures to the process by which school funds are doled out. Under the current system, there’s no way to know whether money that’s intended to boost vulnerable students is actually being used to help those students. That’s true in San Diego, and across the state.
And a bill co-written by Sen. Joel Anderson that would have allowed bars to stay open until 4 a.m. was also held. Lawmakers offered a consolation prize that the authors aren’t happy with: They instead decided to create a task force to study the issue.
CALMatters has details on more bills that died in the dreaded appropriations process.
Golden State News
• Tom Steyer, a Democratic billionaire who’s mulling a run for governor, made stops in La Mesa and Bankers Hill on Thursday, where he talked about climate change and homelessness. (Times of San Diego)
• Women are at the center of California’s bail-reform efforts. (Los Angeles Times)
• Lauren Powell Jobs has purchased TV ads attacking President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program. (Recode)
• Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking on partisan gerrymandering. (CBS News)
• Documents show officials were scrambling to understand the extent of the Oroville Dam crisis as it was unfolding because of a lack of lights, cameras and other technology they’d been urged to install for exactly such a purpose. (Associated Press)