FROM
DAILY ONLINE
McKinley’s Homecoming
Buckle up for a Busy Month in Sacramento
W
elcome to the final countdown. On Aug. 1, state lawmakers reconvened in Sacramento after a monthlong summer recess — during which some traveled abroad on trips funded by special interest groups that lobby them on various issues — for the final, frenzied month of the legislative session. Legislators face an Aug. 31 deadline to determine the fate of hundreds of bills. Hanging over the high-intensity process is the Nov. 8 general election, which could affect how some lawmakers — especially those vying for contested seats in the state Assembly and Senate — vote on hot-button proposals. In a preview of the difficult decisions facing lawmakers, hundreds of fast food workers were set to rally at the state Capitol Sunday night in support of a bill that would permit the state to negotiate wages, hours and work conditions for an industry that employs an estimated 700,000 people. A similar measure failed to pass last year. The proposal, backed by labor unions and opposed by business and restaurant groups, has divided Democrats, some of whom are wary of broadly extending liability for labor violations from fast food franchise owners to the corporate chains they work with, CalMatters reporter Jeanne Kuang notes. But that’s just one of the many controversial bills before lawmakers, some of which faced votes as soon as Aug. 1. Here’s a look at some of the key bills CalMatters is watching, broken down by subject area:
• Abortion. With California voters deciding in November whether to enshrine the right to abortion and contraception
northcoastjournal.com/ncjdaily
in the state constitution, lawmakers are considering more than a dozen bills to increase access and strengthen protections. Perhaps the most contentious proposal is Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ to prevent women from being held civilly or criminally liable for their pregnancy outcomes. Opponents have argued the bill would legalize infanticide, which Wicks says is categorically false. • Guns. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling dramatically expanding gun rights, Democratic lawmakers countered with a bill they said would comply with the opinion while also making California’s concealed carry law more restrictive. If passed, it’s all but certain to be hit with legal challenges from gun rights groups. • COVID. Legislators still have to determine the fate of some of the most contentious bills introduced by Democrats’ vaccine working group, including proposals to allow kids 15 and older to get vaccinated without parental consent and another to categorize doctors’ “dissemination of misinformation or disinformation” related to COVID-19 as unprofessional conduct. • Housing and homelessness. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s contentious proposal to force severely mentally ill Californians into treatment and housing is facing critical votes, as is a bill that aims to increase affordable housing construction but has divided influential labor groups. • Nursing homes. Lawmakers will consider a bill to reform California’s nursing home licensing system, whose sponsors say it was watered down so severely they can no longer support it. After a CalMatters investigation last year, legislators warned that “people are dying as we wait.” • Labor and workplace. Legislators have quite a few high-profile labor bills on
northcoastjournal
Digitally Speaking The number of Humboldt County residents who have died of COVID-19 throughout the course of the pandemic, after Public Health reported another death July 27. As the Journal went to press Aug. 2, 15 people were also hospitalized with the virus locally. POSTED 07.27.22
After being kept at an undisclosed location since being removed from the Arcata Plaza in the early morning hours of March 8, 2019, it appears the statue of President William McKinley is one step closer to regaining its place in the sun. The Canton Repository recently reported that the Timken Foundation of Canton, Ohio, which officially took custody of the bronze statue from the city of Arcata, has decided the Stark County Courthouse, where the 25th president once practiced law, should be the sculpture’s new home. Stark County officials have yet to formally approve the plan. Posted 07.29.22 File Photo
their hands, including one to allow their own staffers to unionize and another to force companies to publicly disclose more data about pay gaps. They will also decide, after two Newsom vetoes last year, whether to allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections and to increase payments from the state’s paid family leave program so more low-wage workers can take time off to care for a newborn child or sick family member. • Criminal justice. Amid an ongoing debate over criminal justice reform, legislators will consider a proposal to block prisons, jails and private immigration detention centers from holding people in solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days. They’ll also decide whether to limit prosecutors’ ability to seek either the death penalty or life without parole for accomplices in certain felony murders who neither killed nor intended to kill. • Environment. Not long after Newsom signed a law requiring all single-use
ncj_of_humboldt
ncjournal
packaging and foodware to be recyclable, reusable, refillable or compostable by 2030, lawmakers will determine whether to force online retailers to reduce the use of single-use plastics, such as bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts. • Internet and tech. The Capitol is bracing for a showdown over a pair of bills — both of which face intense pushback from the tech industry — to significantly expand kids’ privacy rights online and to allow public prosecutors to hold social media companies civilly liable for intentionally addicting youth. Lawmakers will also decide whether to slap regulations on the cryptocurrency industry. The votes come as some legislators are set to gather with tech lobbyists later this week at a Napa Valley resort for a two-day event billed by organizers as the Technology Policy Summit. — Emily Hoeven/CalMatters
POSTED 08.01.22
northcoastjournal
They Said It
Comment of the Week
“We have to make sure there’s a whole range of vehicles that are zero emission, and we’ve essentially got just a little over a decade to try to get there.”
“Childs’ website is a treasure!!!”
— Ethan Elkind, an attorney at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at University of California at Berkeley Law on how supply chain issues are slowing production of electric cars, driving up prices. POSTED 08.02.22
newsletters
— Joni Hanson Hammond commenting on the Journal’s Facebook page about last week’s story “Earbirding Humboldt,” which detailed retired Eureka High School science teacher Robert Childs’ efforts to create www.earbirdinghumboldt.com, which catalogs audio recordings of dozens of local bird calls. POSTED 08.01.22
northcoastjournal.com • Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 • NORTH COAST JOURNAL
15
