Thursday, February 22, 2018

Capitol Update
Thursday, February 22, 2018

Water Storage NOW

Earlier this week, Assemblyman Brian Dahle (R, Bieber), Senator Jim Nielsen (R, Tehama), and other Republican legislators wheeled over 4,000 signed petitions to the California Water Commission, urging them for immediate approval of funding for two reservoirs- Sites and Temperance Flats. Californians were promised water storage solutions when we passed Prop 1 in 2014. Supposedly, $2.7 billion of that bond would go toward water storage, specifically the Sites and Temperance Flats reservoirs. Another drought may be in our near future, yet the California Water Commission is blocking the funding for these much needed storage projects. Californians voted and passed Prop 1 with the promise of new storage. Where is it? Continue to hold our representatives accountable by supporting our Republicans fighting for what our state needs: critical water storage now. Click ◼ HERE (using Dropbox) to share pictures and videos from the California Water Commission meeting this week on your social media. Use hashtags like #BuildWaterStorageNOW and #CADeservesBetter.
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Democracy Restoration Package

Assemblyman Haper (R, Huntington Beach) has introduced a series of legislation to help protect the heart of our democracy, our elections. As we navigate this new era of Vote By Mail only elections (by 2020, all statewide elections in our state will be exclusively “vote by mail”), these bills aim to protect our votes and strengthen our democratic process.

  • Assembly Bill 2880 will allow local governments to contract with the Fair Political Practices Commission to administer and enforce local campaign finance and government ethics laws.
  • Assembly Bill 2881 will streamline the recall election process by removing costly and unnecessary delays.
  • Assembly Bill 2882 will reduce the amount that membership organizations can receive from earmarked contributions to donate to a candidate or ballot measure from $500 to $100.
  • Assembly Bill 2883 will require ballot harvesters to provide a receipt containing detailed information to voters to ensure every vote is counted.

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Bill Updates

Here are some bills we are tracking and where they are in the legislative process. When the bills move to a hearing date, get ready to call, write, and tweet those committee members!

  • AB 1745 (Ting, D): Ban On Gas Powered Vehicles- Assembly Transportation Committee
  • AB 1756 (Brough, R): Gas Tax Repeal- Assembly Transportation Committee
  • AB 1866 (Fong, R): Complete Transportation Funding WITHOUT Raising Taxes- Assembly Transportation Committee
  • AB 1884 (Calderon, D): Plastic Straw Ban- Assembly Natural Resources Committee
  • SB 827 (Wiener, D): Higher, Denser Transportation Housing- Senate Transportation and Housing Committee
  • SB 834 (Jackson, D): Ban on New Pipelines, Piers, or Wharfs in State Coastal Water: Senate Natural Resources Committee
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Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.