Five issues to watch in the California Legislatures final month
SACRAMENTO BEE CAPITOL ALERT SECTION
AUGUST 21, 2017 6:00 AM
State lawmakers return from summer break today to a once-in-a-lifetime
solar eclipse and tens of thousands of people crowding into Capitol Mall
for a free concert to urge passage of a trio of criminal justice
bills.
Monday also marks the beginning of the end of session. Legislators have
one month to get their bills to the governors desk before the Senate and
Assembly call it quits for the year. Itll be a busy time with plenty of
action. Heres our take on issues to watch as the session
resumes:
Housing: This tops the Legislatures agenda this month, with
Democrats hoping to reach a deal that includes long-term funding for
affordable housing construction and regulatory changes to speed the
development process. Democratic lawmakers say a housing package
could
be announced as soon as this week. At the core of the debate is
financing: Can Democrats muster a two-thirds vote for a real estate fee
and persuade Gov. Jerry Brown to sign off on a multibillion-dollar
housing bond measure?
Sanctuary status: Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los
Angeles, is leading the effort to make California a sanctuary state by
limiting the ability of local law enforcement to cooperate with the
federal government on immigration enforcement. His Senate Bill 54 has
prompted emotional testimony and pits the state against the Trump
administration. The
bill
sailed
through the Senate and appears likely to pass the Assembly with a
majority vote. But its unclear where Brown stands on the measure.
Earlier this
month
he
mentioned changes that would be very important in an interview,
but offered no more. The Governors Office is in talks with de Leons
staff, yet both camps declined to discuss Browns demands. The bill is
next up in Assembly Appropriations on Wednesday.
Money bail: Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, wants to do away
with the money bail system as we know it. Proponents argue that releasing
only defendants who can post the allotted bail discriminates against the
poor. The proposal instead bases pre-trial release on an assessment of
the offenders flight risk and danger to public safety. Bail agents, law
enforcement
and
others argue that posting bail is imperative to ensuring that
defendants show up in court. The Senate passed the bill in May, but a
twin version of the
measure
died in the Assembly the next day. Now bail reform is back in the
Assembly and must clear the Appropriations Committee before it gets a
second shot on the floor.
Drug pricing: Americans say they are fed up with the rising cost of
prescription drugs, and California
legislators
are attempting to tackle the issue with a series of bills that would
require drug companies to notify purchasers before prices rise, establish
more accountability for cost increases and limit gifts from
pharmaceutical companies to doctors. Lawmakers face heavy opposition from
drug companies, who have a record of killing legislation in the Golden
State.
Marijuana: Once Californians legalized pot in November, the clock began
ticking for the state to come up with regulations to draw the industry
out from the shadows and establish a system to capture tax dollars from a
multibillion-dollar market by Jan. 1, 2018. Brown already signed the
heaviest lift,
a
budget trailer bill that established a single regulatory system for
medical and recreational pot sales, in June. But lawmakers also want a
say, and collectively introduced nearly 50 additional bills that ban pot
businesses from advertising on branded clothing (SB 162), prohibit
companies from falsely advertising the county in which marijuana is grown
(SB 175), require drivers to submit to chemical tests to determine
intoxication (AB 702) and allow cannabis businesses to deduct business
expenses from their state income taxes (AB 420) among countless other
topics that will continue to shape the budding industry.
Full story at this link:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article168277612.html