Latest news with #Assemblymember
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom signs controversial bill on solicitation of minors
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Wednesday that increases the penalty for some offenders who solicit 16- and 17-year-olds for sex. The new law will allow prosecutors to charge suspects who are at least three years older than the minor they solicit for sex with a felony instead of a misdemeanor on a first offense — often called a 'wobbler' since prosecutors have discretion. The provision targets older 'johns' and avoids charging all younger offenders with a felony. All minors under 16 and those 18 who are victims of human trafficking are already considered wobbler cases under existing law. The bill, AB 379, ran into controversy in the spring when Democrats forced amendments to Assemblymember Maggy Krell's (D-Sacramento) bill in committee, arguing that allowing prosecutors to choose whether to charge an offender with a felony or a misdemeanor on a first offense could potentially harm victims. Newsom joined with a chorus of Republican and public pushback to the change, an uncommon move before a bill hits his desk. 'The law should treat all sex predators who solicit minors the same — as a felony, regardless of the intended victim's age,' Newsom said in a statement. 'Full stop.' Democrats had other concerns about a provision of the new law that would make it a misdemeanor to loiter with the intent to purchase commercial sex, arguing that it could potentially be used to target minorities and the poor. 'When laws are vague, they are ripe for profiling,' Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego) said when the bill passed the Assembly in May, after legislators struck a deal to add the three-year stipulation. The new law also creates a survivors support fund, to be backed by increased fines for offenders and hoteliers who do not report sex trafficking on their premises.
Politico
2 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Sacramento's crude awakening
With help from Jennifer Yachnin, Alex Guillén and Francisco 'A.J.' Camacho BARRELS OF DEALS: California's heading into its third big legislative showdown on gas prices in as many years — except this time both the governor and lawmakers are talking about oil industry priorities instead of fighting them. Instead of targeting oil company profits or regulating their backup supply, Gov. Gavin Newsom is now proposing to ease permitting for more in-state drilling in Kern County — an idea that's gaining traction among lawmakers worried about the planned closures of two refineries that some experts estimate could drive gas prices up by as much as $1.21 per gallon by next August if nothing is done. His energy officials are also holding direct talks with market players to prevent the closures. It's all setting lawmakers up for a reckoning with their stance on oil when they return from summer recess Aug. 18 — and there are signs it may not be that big a political lift. The oil industry is entering the debate with fresh momentum, buoyed by a multimillion-dollar ad and mail campaign that has flooded gas stations, mailboxes and airwaves with warnings about shrinking in-state supply. Newsom's draft bill gives the industry a win on Kern County drilling, but also includes measures they're less likely to like: a fracking ban, a requirement for drillers to plug two wells for every new well they make, and new safety rules for offshore operations. The third piece echoes language in bills by Sen. Monique Limón and Assemblymember Gregg Hart that aim to slow or stop an effort by Texas-based Sable Offshore Corp. to restart an idle oil platform off the coast of Santa Barbara. The proposal came out shortly after the California Energy Commission recommended the measures and right as lawmakers headed off to their summer break — but the latter were already starting to shift in response to affordability complaints from voters. Sen. Henry Stern, one of the Legislature's biggest climate stalwarts, told Republican colleagues in an April legislative hearing he understood their long-standing arguments that California should extract more crude from Central Valley oilfields instead of importing it from countries with lower environmental and labor standards — a moment that representatives from both the oil industry and environmentalists continue to whisper about as illustrative of the shift. 'Call me born again, but I have seen the light on exactly what you're talking about,' Stern said. 'Kern County should be unleashed, and I'm there. … Don't send that to the White House, please.' Now, he sees the outlines of a broad deal emerging incorporating the reauthorization of California's landmark cap-and-trade program, which environmentalists and the oil industry are also fighting over whether and how to tighten. 'I do want to keep an aggressive approach on climate overall,' Stern said Tuesday. 'If you want to hang on to all that, it probably behooves you to try to get to yes or at least a begrudging acceptance of some sort around this current production piece.' The turnaround has left environmental groups divided. Katelyn Roedner Sutter, California director for the Environmental Defense Fund, said she supports Newsom's legislative push, saying she sees it as 'the governor being extremely pragmatic.' 'We need to focus on policy that's going to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,' she said. 'But we also need to focus on policy that is also going to help people's day-to-day lives in an affordable way.' Environmental justice groups are livid, going as far as leaking Newsom's draft bill language earlier this month. Katie Valenzuela, who represents EJ groups, said Newsom's legislation is like 'taking a machete to a rose bush.' But she's seeking to narrow the proposal, instead of outright saying 'no.' That's a break with other environmental groups, like the Center for Biological Diversity, who've long litigated to stop more oil drilling in Kern County — and reflects the prevailing winds in the Legislature in favor of boosting fuel supply. Bill Magavern, policy director at Coalition for Clean Air, said he's also anticipating the Legislature's extensive climate and energy to-do list — including proposals to reauthorize cap and trade, change California's gasoline blend and establish a West-wide power grid — to create a big ball of end-of-session wax. 'I think this is being set up for possibly a megadeal — not something that I'm hoping for, but that could easily happen,' he said. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! WATER WRANGLING: Colorado's top negotiator in a dispute over the future of the West's most important water source is warning that officials need to send less water to California or risk being in perpetual crisis. Becky Mitchell, Colorado's Colorado River commissioner, said Monday that states in the river's lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — would receive too much water under a proposal known as 'natural flow', a concept based on how much water would travel downstream without dams or diversions or other human interventions, Jennifer Yachnin reports for POLITICO's E&E News. Those states and states in the upper basin — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico — face a November deadline to reach a water sharing deal or have federal officials step in with their own plan. Multiple states have said talks are coalescing around the natural flow idea, but questions remain over how much the states could actually use, and how much would remain in reservoirs for storage and hydropower. Mitchell said the lower basin receives about 62 percent of the river's natural flow under current operating plans, a number she said is too high. 'It isn't about winning an argument or losing an argument, but it's about operating the [river] system in a way that we don't all lose the system and the benefits of the system,' she said. — AN, JY CLIMATE POLICY IN DANGER: The Trump administration is rolling back the federal government's scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to public health, a move that would undermine decades of EPA climate regulations and complicate state efforts to reduce carbon. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Tuesday that the agency has submitted a proposal to repeal the endangerment finding, the 2009 study issued by the Obama administration that serves as the legal basis for most of EPA's climate rules, including limits on power plant and vehicle emissions, POLITICO's Alex Guillén reports. The announcement came as the EPA also proposed scrapping all limits on carbon dioxide pollution from cars and trucks. Newsom and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, co-chairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance, blasted the move Tuesday, saying in a statement that Americans seeing the impacts of floods, extreme heat and wildfires 'won't be deceived by the Trump administration's reckless abandonment of science and the law.' But there's little that states can do to stop Trump's assault on the bedrock climate policy, as they're already reeling from the administration's attack on clean energy incentives and California's electric vehicle sales mandate. — AN, AG GOING NUCLEAR: A California startup is taking a moonshot approach as it attempts to build the first small modular nuclear reactor in the country. Kairos Power, based in the Bay Area, is building an experimental reactor in Tennessee that uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant, a technology that is so far commercially untested, Francisco 'A.J.' Camacho writes for POLITICO's E&E News. That's a risky move in an already uncertain market where advanced nuclear ventures have recently stumbled amid cost concerns, as our editor Debra Kahn recently wrote about. One of the company's test reactors, dubbed 'Hermes,' has already secured the first-ever construction permit for a Generation IV reactor from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Kairos has poured the nation's first advanced nuclear concrete. Kairos has also won over some high-profile backers, signing an agreement with Google last year to power data centers. — AN, FC CC-CHANGES: We are thrilled to announce a new member of the California Climate team: Noah Baustin, our new energy and environment reporter. Noah comes to us from the San Francisco Standard, where he covered local government, transportation and public safety, among other areas, as a data reporter on the enterprise desk. He wowed us not only with his series of scoops uncovering municipal corruption — see his stories on a department head who directed city contracts to a man she lived with, bribery at the Department of Public Works and a classic case of familial ties at the Department of Building Inspection — but also with his intuitive grasp of POLITICO's singular blend of policy, politics and power. He's hitting the ground running — please join us in welcoming him and start sending tips to nbaustin@ — Bay Area Democratic Rep. Kevin Mullin and New York Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino introduced a bill to map rising groundwater that threatens to worsen flooding across the country. — July is the worst month for overdose deaths in Los Angeles. UCLA researchers say extreme heat is likely to blame. — Tesla's original founder is dismayed that the company is focused on robotaxis and Cybertrucks instead of cheap EVs.
News18
17-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
‘If A Guy Like This…': Vivek Ramaswamy's 'New York's Soul At Risk' Warning On Zohran Mamdani
Vivek Ramaswamy criticized Zohran Mamdani, warning his mayoral rise could erase New York's identity. American entrepreneur and Republican politician Vivek Ramaswamy sharply criticized Zohran Mamdani, warning that New York City's identity is under threat if the Queens Assemblymember ascends to the mayor's office. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Vivek Ramaswamy said that Zohran Mamdani's political rise would mark the 'death knell" for a city once defined by ambition and achievement. 'If a guy like this becomes mayor… the identity of New York City as we know it will be erased," Vivek Ramaswamy wrote, adding, 'The spirit is receding, and under someone like Mamdani, it could be gone entirely." Vivek Ramaswamy, who rose to prominence in the biotech industry before entering politics, said he moved to New York in 2007 because of its aspirational energy. Today, he says, that energy is being replaced by what he describes as a 'radical left" political agenda. 'We're reviving that American Dream in a new place: Ohio," he said, adding, 'The revival starts next November." Billboard In Times Square Urges New Yorkers To 'Flee' Vivek Ramaswamy's remarks coincide with a digital billboard campaign in Times Square urging residents to reject Zohran Mamdani's 'radical socialist" ideology and consider moving to Ohio instead. The billboard features slogans promoting Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign message of building a nation of 'Victors, not Victims." 'Focus On Ideology, Not Identity', Vivek Ramaswamy Says Vivek Ramaswamy emphasized that his concerns lie with policy, not personal identity, saying, 'The real problem with Mamdani isn't his race or religion. It's his anti-capitalist worldview." While Vivek Ramaswamy acknowledged the role of racial prejudice in public discourse, revealing that he too has been subjected to xenophobic attacks, he earlier said, 'Every time I post a photo, I'm asked to 'Go home'. It's a shame to watch the race-obsessed fringe of the right try to outdo the race-obsessed woke left." view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 18:21 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Al Arabiya
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
California republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter id
Two California Republican state lawmakers launched a campaign Wednesday to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would require voter identification and proof of citizenship at the polls. The proposal would require the state to verify proof of citizenship when a person registers to vote, and voters would have to provide identifications at the polls. Those who vote through mail-in ballots would have to give the last four digits of a government-issued ID such as a Social Security number. 'We do not want to make it harder to vote. In fact, our initiative makes it easier to vote because it streamlines the process to verify someone's identity,' Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who's leading the effort, said at a Wednesday news conference. The Republican lawmakers said the measure would help restore trust in elections where they said people have complained about outdated voter rolls and an inadequate signature review process, with some also casting doubt on election results. While voting by noncitizens has occurred, research and reviews of state cases have shown it to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to sway an election. Voter fraud is also rare. California is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to voter. The California campaign came as congressional Republicans were working to advance their own legislation to overhaul the nation's voting procedures at the urging of President Donald Trump. Across the country, lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to require proof of citizenship for voters, according to National Conference of State legislatures. Opponents argued that the requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, especially the elderly, those with disabilities, and those without drivers licenses. The NAACP and other civil rights groups have argued that it disproportionately harms Black and Latino voters. Democrats in the California Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, in April rejected a bill by DeMaio aiming to enact similar voting rule changes. The statewide proposal also came as the state continued to challenge a local measure passed by voters in the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls. The state last year sued the city over the new rule, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to prohibit local governments in California from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents provide identification to vote in elections. Sen. Tony Strickland, who helped pass the Huntington Beach measure as a city councilmember last year, said he expects a similar fight from state Democrats over the issue. 'The courts would be on our side because we carefully drafted this initiative. It's constitutional,' he said.
Associated Press
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
California Republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter ID
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two California Republican state lawmakers launched a campaign Wednesday to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would require voter identification and proof of citizenship at the polls. The proposal would require the state to verify proof of citizenship when a person registers to vote, and voters would have to provide identifications at the polls. Those who vote through mail-in ballots would have to give the last four digits of a government-issued ID such as a Social Security number. 'We do not want to make it harder to vote. In fact, our initiative makes it easier to vote because it streamlines the process to verify someone's identity,' Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who's leading the effort, said at a Wednesday news conference. The Republican lawmakers said the measure would help restore trust in elections where they said people have complained about outdated voter rolls and an inadequate signature review process, with some also casting doubt on election results. While voting by noncitizens has occurred, research and reviews of state cases have shown it to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to sway an election. Voter fraud is also rare. California is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to voter. The California campaign came as congressional Republicans were working to advance their own legislation to overhaul the nation's voting procedures at the urging of President Donald Trump. Across the country, lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to require proof of citizenship for voters, according to National Conference of State legislatures. Opponents argued that the requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, especially the elderly, those with disabilities and those without driver's licenses. The NAACP and other civil rights groups have argued that it disproportionately harms Black and Latino voters. Democrats in the California Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, in April rejected a bill by DeMaio aiming to enact similar voting rule changes. The statewide proposal also came as the state continued to challenge a local measure passed by voters in the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls. The state last year sued the city over the new rule, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to prohibit local governments in California from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents provide identification to vote in elections. Sen. Tony Strickland, who helped pass the Huntington Beach measure as a city councilmember last year, said he expects a similar fight from state Democrats over the issue. 'The courts would be on our side because we carefully drafted this initiative. It's constitutional,' he said.
