Category: California legislature

California State Senator, Congressional Candidate Arrested for Drunk Driving

California State Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat from Irvine, was arrested for driving under the influence in Sacramento on May 2 and released the next morning. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) confirmed Min’s arrest to The Epoch Times. According to the CHP’s report, officers stopped Min’s Toyota Camry at 10:51 p.m. for not having headlights…


California Democrat Seeks to Bypass Legislature Over Fentanyl Policy Despite Democratic Supermajority

Following a series of bipartisan fentanyl bills failing to pass in a California Senate committee in April, it seems that the veto-proof supermajority enjoyed by Democrats in the state Legislature is not helping some bills authored by Democratic lawmakers. One frustrated author of a sidelined proposal is looking for alternative solutions, including potentially bringing the…


Orange County Leaders Garner Support for California Bills Against Fentanyl

IRVINE, Calif.—Local law enforcement and government leaders stood by an enlarged photograph of colorful, candy-like pills within the City Hall to garner support for two state bills to address the surging fentanyl overdose deaths on April 28. “Every single day, more than 15 Californians will die because of fentanyl poisoning,” state Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine)…


California Bill to Ban School Boards From Abruptly Firing Administrators Advances

California state senators advanced a bill last week that aims to discourage newly-elected school board majorities from terminating their head administrators—after two Southern California school boards recently opted to fire superintendents just weeks after they took office. State Senate Bill 494 would require board members to wait a minimum of 30 days after they are…


California Democratic Senators’ Debate Stalls Fentanyl Bill Again, Sparks Fiery Protests by Victims’ Families

SACRAMENTO—A series of outbursts echoed in the chambers of a Senate Public Safety Committee hearing on April 25 following comments indicating a bill—designed to warn fentanyl dealers of potential murder charges—would not proceed, with one victim’s family member yelling at the representatives on his way out the door, as democratic lawmakers fought over amended language….


Growing Division Among California Democrats Stalls Fentanyl Bill Again Amid Fiery Protests by Victims’ Families

SACRAMENTO—A series of outbursts echoed in the chambers of a Senate Public Safety Committee hearing on April 25 following comments indicating a bill—designed to warn fentanyl dealers of potential murder charges—would not proceed, with one victim’s family member yelling at the representatives on his way out the door, as Democratic lawmakers fought over amended language….


California Bill That Would Impose Harsher Penalties on Fentanyl Dealers to Be Reconsidered

Along with several other bipartisan fentanyl bills previously shelved by California lawmakers, Senate Bill 44, which would impose harsher punishments on fentanyl dealers, will also get a second chance at life with a hearing for reconsideration by the state Senate’s Public Safety Committee scheduled for April 25. Authored by Sens. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and…


Abrupt About Face From California Lawmakers, Fentanyl Bills to Be Heard April 27

Pressure from the public following a press conference in Sacramento earlier this month protesting the Assembly Public Safety Committee’s shelving of a series of bipartisan fentanyl bills has led the committee to reconsider its decisions, with a special hearing now scheduled for April 27. “I was so incredibly happy and relieved,” Pamela Smith, mother of…


California Nixes Cigarette Ban for Stronger Flavored Tobacco Ban

A California lawmaker has revised a bill that would have eliminated tobacco sales over time and replaced it with a measure that will close a loophole in the state’s flavored tobacco ban. The amended Assembly Bill 935, introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), would authorize the California Department of Health and the attorney…


California Mulls New Tax on Guns, Ammunition

A California bill that would add another 11 percent in state taxes to firearms and ammunition sold in the state passed its first hurdle in the Legislature April 11. The Assembly’s Public Safety Committee voted in favor of Assembly Bill 28, introduced by Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills), despite opposition from several state law enforcement…