In killing this bill, California Democrats proved they’re lap dogs for Gov. Newsom | Opinion

California Democrats are demonstrating that they view Sacramento as their own little club, where duly elected Republicans have no power. This malignant feature of California’s one-party state results in a legislature that seems to us like a mere puppet of the Governor.

On Thursday, the state Assembly Democrats made a quick and quiet kill of a bill that would have banned non-disclosure agreements in legislation negotiations in a move that was conniving and obvious proof of an unapologetic cabal with narrow membership — you just need a D next to your name.

Assembly Bill 2654, introduced by Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, would have updated the state’s Political Reform Act of 1974 by banning the use of non-disclosure agreements in crafting legislation for lobbyists, the governor’s staff, a member of the legislature or any public official. It was a direct response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Panera-gate” debacle last month.

In that case, secret negotiations on the legislation gifted some fast food outlets that produce bread an exemption from having to pay fast food workers $20 an hour. The groups involved in those negotiations signed non-disclosure agreements — NDA’s – that prevented the public from ever finding out who asked for the exemption, or why and how the exemption came to exist.

The exemption appeared to benefit the Panera fast food bakery change, and with it, an owner of several franchises who happens to be a billionaire campaign contributor to the governor. The Newsom administration has unilaterally claimed that Panera does not qualify from the wage exemption because it does not make bread dough on site, a condition that isn’t in the legislation itself.

We’re not so naive to think that all bill-making happens in public; after all, both deals and sausage must be made. But according to the California Business Roundtable, the California Business Properties Association and the National Federation of Independent Business — all of whom wrote in support of the bill — the previous four California gubernatorial administrations did not use NDAs to obfuscate the process of legislating from the people and the press. While this administration claims to not directly employ or sign such agreements, it has also refused to be transparent and provide Republicans with its records about Panera-Gate, leaving us wondering what Democrats are trying to hide.

NDAs may have their role in the corporate world, but they have no place in the legislative process. They certainly should never be used to withhold pertinent information from the public. In the case of Panera-gate, we don’t know how or why the bread-making exemption to the state minimum wage was crafted. Even the author of the bill says he was not a part of the process.

Fong’s bill would have stopped that scenario from ever happening again, but his efforts were stymied almost immediately by a confederacy of Democrats. Had the governor wanted to see the bill on his desk, this bill would not have died Thursday.

Its public beheading took place before the Elections Committee, where the bill faced an onslaught of disingenuous excuses from the Assembly Democrats garrisoned there, including Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz; Steve Bennett, D-Ventura; Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park; Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside; and Akilah Weber, D-San Diego.

Once there, Committee Chair Pellerin repeatedly attempted to stop the Republicans on the committee from asking questions. The committee’s chief complaint was about the limited time they had to read the bill, a curious excuse given how quick bill changes are routine in the Capitol.

Every single Democrat on the committee abstained with the exception of Pellerin, who voted no. Pellerin later fled the chambers, hiding behind staff as she refused to answer questions from a journalist. The only “Aye” votes came from Fong’s fellow Republicans: Bill Essayli, of Corona, and Tom Lackey, of Palmdale.

“The fact that NDAs are now a tool being used to negotiate and craft legislation … is an unfortunate and disturbing development,” Fong said after the committee meeting. “Non-disclosure agreements are designed to shield information. Now they’re being used to shield information from legislators and from the public.”

If there is secrecy and subterfuge in the California Legislature, it is entirely to blame on the party that controls it. The Democrats’ brazen kill of AB 2654 leaves intact an insider’s club that has grown monstrous under this governor.

This story was originally published April 26, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "In killing this bill, California Democrats proved they’re lap dogs for Gov. Newsom | Opinion."