California Prop. 36 leaves Democrats divided. Why members of the Black Caucus oppose it
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PROP. 36 DIVIDES DEMS
This November, one California ballot measure will pit Democrat against Democrat more than any other: Proposition 36.
Last week, a number of legislative Democrats, including Sens. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield; Dave Min, D-Irvine; Josh Newman, D-Fullerton; Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park; and Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana; and Assemblymembers Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano; Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove; Blanca Pacheco, D-Downey; and James Ramos, D-San Bernardino, came out in support of the ballot measure, which would reinstate tougher criminal penalties for certain drug- and theft-related offenses.
This week, it’s the “No On 36” crowd’s turn.
Speaking in front of the Capitol on Monday were a number of Democratic lawmakers from the Legislative Black Caucus, including Assemblymembers Mia Bonta, D-Alameda; Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles; Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles and Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, as well as Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles.
Also speaking were Assemblymembers Ash Kalra, D-San Jose and Alex Lee, D-San Jose, who are not members of the Black Caucus.
In a statement, Bryan said, “We are not going back. For decades, communities have been calling for us to invest in safe solutions that address the root causes of poverty and desperation. Prop. 36 is a return to the bipartisan failures of the 1980s and 90s. We can and must do better.”
He added that “every dollar we spend criminalizing poverty is a dollar we could’ve better spent ending it.”
That echoes a sentiment made by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who also has criticized the ballot measure as being costly for Californians and one that will lead to overcrowding of state prisons once again.
But despite the disagreement dividing Democrats on Prop. 36, even some of that ballot measure’s proponents say they don’t want to return to the old way of doing things.
In a statement from the “Yes On 36” camp, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, also a Democrat, said, “I have one absolute point of agreement with the advocates gathering at the State Capitol today — the last thing we want to do is go back to the era of mass incarceration. What we seek is a new era of mass treatment.”
Mahan added that “there is a certain irony that last week elected leaders championed a series of retail theft bills, almost all of which rely on incarceration as the remedy. At the core of Proposition 36 is the principle that treatment is the most compassionate, and cost-effective response to the triple epidemics facing California — homelessness, retail thefts, and drug overdoses.”
NEWSOM VETOES AIR POLLUTION MEASURE
Being Senate majority leader didn’t protect Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, from having one of her bills vetoed by Newsom.
On Monday, Newsom issued a legislative update, announcing his signature on dozens of bills and his veto of one: SB 674.
That bill makes a number of changes to the refinery fence-line air monitoring program intended to provide for more pollution controls for neighboring communities.
“While I share the author’s desire to protect communities from air pollution, local air quality management districts are already carrying out the necessary action to do just that,” Newsom wrote in his veto statement.
But it wasn’t just that.
As is often the case in Sacramento, it was also about the money.
“Additionally, because this bill mandates these districts to implement highly prescriptive measures, it might be found to require state reimbursement of implementation costs at a time when we just recently closed a $44.9 billion shortfall for the 2024-25 fiscal year. There is no state funding identified or available in the state budget to support these efforts,” Newsom wrote.
In a statement, Gonzalez called the veto “a devastating blow to the years of hard work and advocacy by communities affected by refinery air pollution.”
“Fenceline communities urgently need improved air monitoring, and it shouldn’t be this difficult to establish a system that provides them with the most basic necessities — transparency and information about the toxic chemicals being released into their neighborhoods. I am deeply disappointed by this outcome, but we cannot walk away from this issue. Our communities demand and deserve stronger protections,” Gonzalez said.
BIDEN IS COMING TO CALIFORNIA
Who doesn’t love Santa Ynez in August?
Count President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden as fans; the two headed that way after Biden spoke Monday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
According to White House sources, the Bidens will stay in the beautiful rolling hills of the posh Central Coast community until Sunday, when the president and first lady return to their Delaware abode.
The Bidens appear to be big fans of vacationing in the West. Last year, they vacationed in Lake Tahoe.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Once again, Sacramento lobbyists convinced a select powerful few to side with those who prioritize greed over the safety of our children. They should have made the courageous choice to stand with the overwhelming majority of my colleagues in the legislature who would have voted to protect our kids.”
— Assemblyman Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, discussing the Senate Appropriations Committee’s decision to quietly kill his bill designed to crack down on adult-oriented websites, in a statement.
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(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed two Democratic Assemblymembers as belonging to the Legislative Black Caucus. Neither Assemblyman Ash Kalra nor Assemblyman Alex Lee belongs to that caucus.)
This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 4:55 AM with the headline "California Prop. 36 leaves Democrats divided. Why members of the Black Caucus oppose it."