Election workers get protection + Biden gets sued + Crime is a problem, Californians say

Andrew Sheeler
·5 min read

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

NEWSOM SIGNS LAW PROTECTING ELECTION WORKERS

With Election Day six weeks away, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill intended to protect election workers from harassment.

SB 1131, by Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, gives election workers the option of keeping their home addresses confidential. The signing comes as they face threats and harassment, particularly from deniers of the 2020 presidential election results. As the bill has an urgency measure, it goes into effect immediately.

“One of the byproducts of an increasingly hostile and polarized political environment has been an alarming rise in threats to election workers and other civil servants,” Newman said in a statement. “With midterm elections nearing, the safety and peace of mind of hardworking election workers should be a top priority.”

According to a 2021 report from the Brennan Center for Justice, a sponsor of the bill, a third of local election officials say that they are concerned about harassment or pressure on the job and feel unsafe as a result. One in six say they have been threatened.

The bill allows election workers to enroll in the California Secretary of State’s Office “Safe At Home” program, designed to protect survivors of domestic violence and people who work at abortion clinics. Alternatively, they may enroll in a program that allows state and local agencies to respond to public records requests without disclosing the address of the election worker.

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PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION CHALLENGES BIDEN STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS

Sacramento-based libertarian law firm the Pacific Legal Foundation has made a name for itself challenging some of California’s most progressive laws. Now, the group has a new target for legal action: President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.

The firm has filed a legal challenge in federal court in Indiana, where it is representing a plaintiff, Frank Garrison, a public interest attorney who works for the group and who was on track to have his own student debt erased through a separate federal program for public servants, according to a report from CBS News.

Biden’s plan would cancel $20,000 of Garrison’s debt, but also incur a tax liability from the state of Indiana the group argues, according to CBS.

“Nothing about loan cancellation is lawful or appropriate,”the suit alleges. “In an end-run around Congress, the administration threatens to enact a profound and transformational policy that will have untold economic impacts.”

CRIME IS A PROBLEM, A MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIANS SAY

California politicians discount voter concerns about crime at their own peril. Nearly two-thirds of Californians believe it to be a problem, according to the most recent survey from Public Policy Institute of California.

That includes 31% who believe it to be a big problem, the PPIC says in a recent blog post, up seven percentage points from February 2020.

“The perception that violence and street crime are a big problem is widely held,” according to the post.

The perception is more widely held by women (36%) than by men (25%), and by Republicans (40%) than by independents (27%) and Democrats (26%).

“Have things gotten worse? More than half of Californians say that crime in their local community has stayed about the same in the last 12 months. Four in ten Californians think that it has increased; few think that it has decreased,” according to the post.

CONSUMER WATCHDOG ASKS NEWSOM FOR A SPECIAL SESSION ON GAS PRICES

As California continues to struggle with high gas prices, one advocacy group is calling on the governor to convene a special session on the subject.

Consumer Watchdog wants the California Legislature to address why state residents are paying nearly $2 per gallon more than the national average.

“The oil industry has declared war on the state of California and is raising prices unreasonably to punish the public and lawmakers for enacting tough new laws,” Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said in a statement.

Court is calling for the state to impose a windfall tax on the oil and gas industry.

“The oil refiners don’t have added production costs. They are simply charging more because they can and want to. That’s gouging,” he said.

MAKE LUNAR NEW YEAR A HOLIDAY, AAPI GROUPS URGE NEWSOM

Should Lunar New Year be a state holiday?

More than two dozen state and national Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups are calling on Gov. Newsom to make it so, by signing AB 2596 into law, granting official state recognition for the holiday.

“California is home to the country’s largest Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population but has yet to recognize an official holiday that celebrates their culture,” said Justin Zhu, executive director of Stand with Asian Americans, in a statement.

Newsom has until Friday to sign.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Every elected official who votes on our incarceration budget and has oversight authority should tour our prisons regularly with formerly incarcerated people.”

- Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, via Twitter.

BONUS QUOTE OF THE DAY

Evening talk show host Jimmy Fallon had a little fun with California’s new law banning employers from testing their employees for off-hours marijuana use.

Best of The Bee:

  • Most California employers will soon be required to share salary ranges with potential hires as part of statewide effort to promote pay equity among workers, via Lindsey Holden.

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Tuesday that shields from prosecution those who have lost pregnancies, via Andrew Sheeler.

  • Women across California should no longer be forced to pay a premium when purchasing toiletries and other products, under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday outlawing the so-called “pink tax,” via Maggie Angst.

  • Gov. Gavin Newsom’s public slugfests with the governors of Texas and Florida over immigration and abortion are generating national attention. But perhaps even more importantly — assuming he has further political aspirations — his more aggressive demeanor is endearing him to influential Democratic insiders, via David Lightman and Maggie Angst.

  • To clear up some of the confusion around Props. 27 and 26, here are the fact-checked claims of the various sides, via Ari Plachta.

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