California State Senator, gubernatorial candidate Toni Atkins missed key retail theft bill votes

While the California Senate passed a series of public safety bills last week intended to get tough on organized retail theft, it did so without the vote of former Senate President pro Tem and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Toni Atkins.

Atkins, D-San Diego, missed the high-profile votes because she was away on excused “legislative business,” according to a statement from the Secretary of the Senate’s Office.

Atkins’ Senate office spokeswoman, Meredith McNamee, said in an email statement to The Bee that Atkins spent last Thursday at the official opening of Panda Ridge at the San Diego Zoo, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.

“Senator Atkins has been advocating to get pandas back at the zoo since 2019. It was a very important event for her district and she spoke during the ceremony as the senator representing the area. It was unfortunate that the ceremony was scheduled at the same time as session but we didn’t have control over that,” McNamee said in a statement.

Atkins is one of several prominent California Democrats seeking the governor’s office. Other Democratic candidates include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Controller Betty Yee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, both Democrats, also have expressed possible interest in joining the race, as has Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Atkins’ absence last Thursday meant she did not vote on Assembly Bill 1779, which expands the authority of state district attorneys to prosecute theft cases across multiple regions; Assembly Bill 1972, to strengthen efforts against cargo theft; Assembly Bill 1802, which makes permanent a special statewide criminal task force to tackle organized retail theft and Assembly Bill 2943, which would strengthen criminal penalties related to organized retail theft.

Her absence had no effect on the bills’ ability to pass. All four were approved with unanimous or near-unanimous support. Only Sen. Lola Smallwood Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, voted against any of the bills, voting no on AB 2943.

All four bills moved back to the Assembly, which is set to vote on them Monday afternoon. If approved they will head to Newsom’s desk for a signature.

Atkins has not publicly commented on the package of retail theft bills. However, she has received substantial donations from organizations which support the bills, including $50,200 from the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) between 2009 and 2019, according to the Digital Democracy project from CalMatters. Atkins has voted with PORAC 79% of the time between 2015 and 2023.

This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 2:06 PM with the headline "California State Senator, gubernatorial candidate Toni Atkins missed key retail theft bill votes."