Assembly Republicans Introduce ‘California Promise’ Priorities, Solutions

By Katy Grimes

‘We can have a California that is affordable to live in, safe for our families and where our kids get the best education’

In October, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher first introduced Republicans’ “California Promise.” He enumerated the many serious issues Californians are feeling, including the high cost of living in California, rising crime, criminals released early, rapidly expanding homeless encampments, highest-in-the-nation gas prices, high food costs, water shortages, wildfires, the failing education system… issues the Democrat supermajority in the California Legislature doesn’t want to address, so they kill Republicans’ bills.

Under Democrats’ failed one-party rule, the California Dream is slipping away for most Californians, Gallagher said in October. He said by highlighting the most important issues impacting the California people and the state, and showing the Republican solutions, California Promise aims to get the state back on track.

On the first day of the new 2023-2024 legislative session Monday, Assembly Republicans held a press conference to announce their priorities, along with several specific legislative proposals. Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said the “California Promise” package of solutions is desperately needed to address a number of the state’s biggest issues, from affordability to crime, homelessness, education, water and wildfires.

“Republicans are here in Sacramento to make something abundantly clear: We can have a California that is affordable to live in, safe for our families and where our kids get the best education,” Gallagher said. “The Democrat super-majority has two options… They can either stand in the way of progress, or they can join us to help better the lives of millions of Californians. Republicans are the party of innovative solutions and we are ready to act on Day 1.”

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher and Assemblyman Jim Patterson are returning Assembly members, along with newly elected Assemblyman Juan Alanis, Assemblywoman Diane Dixon, Assemblyman Bill Essayli, Assemblyman Josh Hoover, Assemblyman Joe Patterson, Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez, and Assemblyman Tri Ta. They said the issues plaguing California continue, from the highest in the nation taxes, the cost of living, crime and public safety, highest in the nation transportation costs, public education and holding schools accountable, early release from prison of convicted criminals, water storage and conveyance, wildfires, human trafficking, and homelessness.

Here is Assembly Republicans’ California Promise:

Affordability

Repeal Gas Tax:

1. Gas Tax Holiday – Suspends the state’s gas tax for one year to reduce gas prices by ~50cents/gallon. Enacts a “gas tax holiday” to provide immediate relief at the pump, and backfills lost transportation revenues from the state’s General Fund. Joint Authors: Asm. Vince Fong, Asm. Juan Alanis, Asm. Josh Hoover
2. Gas Tax Annual Increase Suspension – Allows the Governor to suspend the annual gas tax increase due to hardship on low-income and middle class families. Provides an escape hatch to prevent gas taxes from automatically increasing as Californians struggle with record high gas prices and 40-year high inflation. Author: Asm. Diane Dixon

Housing/Homelessness:

1. Encourage Housing – Provide a property tax bonus to cities and counties that approvemore housing by redirecting funds from the document-recording fee (SB 2, Atkins, 2017). Incentivize locals to provide more housing production rather than imposing state mandates will speed the permit and review process, thereby increasing affordability for Californians. Author: Asm. Josh Hoover
2. Regional Shelters for Homeless – Budget request to redirect funding that has been recently drawn back from counties and cities to fund existing and newly-created regional Joint Powers Authority (JPA) trusts that provide shelter and services. Author: Asm. James Gallagher
3. Homeless Encampments. Legislation that would ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools. (*there are some penalty concerns that it would be a ticket that the homeless could not or would not pay. If we make it a misdemeanor it would come with a short jail sentence.) Author: Asm. Josh Hoover

Energy:
1. Repeal Nuclear Moratorium – Under this proposal, development of new nuclear energy

facilities in California will be permitted once again. Nuclear power is reliable, safe, and clean, and California desperately needs such a resource to overcome its electricity challenges Author: Asm. Devon Mathis

Tax Cuts:

1. Working Families Tax Credit – Provide an additional income tax credit to helpworking taxpayers afford the expense of child care. Reduces state income tax an additional $500.00 for taxpayers that have child care costs. Joint Authors: Asm. Laurie Davies and Asm. Jim Patterson
2. Renters Tax Credit Expansion – Change the income eligibility for the Renters’ Tax Credit to allow more taxpayers to qualify for the benefit. Allow more taxpayers to receive this benefit by increasing the income level to reflect the median income in California. Author: Asm. James Gallagher
3. Lower Income Tax Rates for the Middle Class – Reduce the tax burden on the middle class by reducing income tax rates for those middle- and low-income taxpayers. Allow taxpayers to keep more of their wages. Author: Asm. Juan Alanis

Public Safety

1. Early Release Transparency – Requires the record of a prison inmate’s early release calculation to be made available to the public upon request – Provides that the calculation for a particular inmate’s date of release from prison is a public record which must be disclosed upon request: This would provide that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may not withhold these types of records from public disclosure. Author: Asm. Diane Dixon
2. Increase Penalty for the Sale, Possession for Sale, and Transportation of Fentanyl – Increase penalties for possession for sale, sale, transportation, and importation, or offering or attempting to commit those acts with regard to fentanyl, a powerful opiate drug.: This proposal would increase the penalties associated with illegal drug trafficking of this dangerous drug. Joint Authors: Asm. Jim Patterson, Asm. Juan Alanis, Asm. Josh Hoover

3. Restore Pre-Prop 47 Felonies – Increase penalties for serial theft crimes: Reenact thepenalties which existed for the crime of committing petty theft with multiple prior theft- related convictions which existed prior to their repeal by Proposition 47 of 2014. This change requires approval by the voters. Joint Authors: Asm. Josh Hoover, Asm. Laurie Davies
4. Human Trafficking – Requires the Office of Emergency Services to create grants for prosecutors to use “vertical prosecution” in human trafficking cases: This would, conditional on an appropriation by the Legislature, provide funding to up to 11 counties to use a system in which the same prosecutor handles all stages of the human trafficking case, saving the victim from being traumatized by having to deal with multiple prosecutors and allowing that prosecutor to develop expertise in these cases. Author: Asm. Kate Sanchez
5. Victim Restitution – Expand direct restitution paid by convicted criminals to their victims to include “non-economic damages” in additional violent felony offense cases: This would add criminal offenders who commit rape, stalking, kidnapping, mayhem, human trafficking, and one kind of child sexual abuse omitted from existing law to the existing child sexual abuse exception to the general rule that direct restitution orders do not apply to the victim’s “non-economic damages.” Author: Asm. Tom Lackey
6. Gun Violence – Restore the mandatory nature of the 10-20-Life law firearms enhancements: This will ensure that anyone who brandishes, discharges, or inflicts great bodily injury with a firearm during the commission of a specified violent felony will be held accountable. Author: Asm. Bill Essayli
7. Sentencing Enhancements: Exempts firearms use-related sentencing enhancements from a current law requirement judges must dismiss a sentencing enhancement if it is “in the furtherance of justice.” Instead provides that a judge would not be required to dismiss the enhancements for criminal defendants who commit felonies while armed with, or while using, firearms during the commission of a felony, ensuring these criminals will serve longer sentences. Author: Asm. Tri Ta

Education

1. Curriculum Transparency Revised – Promotes transparency of school curriculum: Requires local education agencies to notify parents about their right to review curriculum. Ensures that parents know they may review school curriculum. Author: Asm. Joe Patterson
2. Education Act – This proposal will allow students to transfer to another school within a district or to another school outside of the district if the school the student attends is in the red or orange performance band in two or more of the state measures for three consecutive years on the school dashboard. Establishing this accountability will allow the students affected by a struggling school to choose another school within the district or in another school district; this will increase education equity for our students who will suffer if they are forced to remain in struggling schools. Author: Asm. Josh Hoover
3. Freedom to Choose Excellence in Education Act – This proposal will allow students in the lowest performing subgroup at a school to transfer to another school within a district or to another school outside of the district if the school the student attends is in the red or orange performance band in two or more of the state measures for three consecutive years on the school dashboard. Establishing this accountability will allow the students most affected by a struggling school to choose another school within the district or in another school district; this will increase education equity for our most vulnerable students who suffer under the achievement gap and are most likely to suffer if they are forced to remain in struggling schools. Author: Asm. Bill Essayli
4. Money Follows Student – Require supplemental and concentration grants to follow pupils to their school site would ensure those funds generated by those pupils are spent on personnel and programs to serve those pupils. This would enact the “backpack” method of distributing supplemental funds, rather than allow the “dump truck” policy to continue. Author: Asm. Kate Sanchez
5. Protecting Students from Drug Overdose – Require schools to have an opioid antagonist (Narcan) onsite to rescue students from an accidental overdose: Requires each school to have no less than two doses Narcan onsite to be available to aid persons suffering from an opioid overdose. Ensures that our schools are prepared for the potential of an opioid overdose, which is becoming more common as Fentanyl is flooding into California and doses have been made to look like prescription drugs and even candy. Author: Asm. Joe Patterson

6. CTE Expansion – Expand and stabilize career technical education (CTE): Increases funding for the
Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program (CTEIG) and provides funding for regional career technical education coordinators. Expresses the state’s commitment to effective programs for our working class families through high quality CTE. Author: Asm. Josh Hoover

Water & Fire

Water:

1. Water Project Shot Clock – Require Timely Department Permitting Decisions for WaterSupply Projects Require state agencies within the Natural Resources Agency to make determinations on permit applications needed for the construction or operation of a large water supply project. Author: Asm. Devon Mathis
2. Codify Water Storage Goals – Codify the goal of achieving 3.7MAF (million acre feet) of new water storage by 2030 and 4MAF by 2040 set in Governor Newsom’s administrations “Water Supply Strategy.” Author: Asm. Devon Mathis
3. Water Projects – Expedited Judicial Review – Add water storage and conveyance projects that increases water supply to the types of projects that can benefit from an existing streamlined judicial review process for lawsuits under the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA). Reduces costs and delays by expediting lawsuits under CEQA for projects that provide water to Californians. Joint Authors: Asm. Bill Essayli, Asm. Vince Fong
4. Guaranteed Funding For Healthy Forests & Water – Constitutional Amendment for Base Level of Funding for Water, Forests: Require 3% of General Fund revenues for the State’s water infrastructure needs (1.5%) and for Healthy Forest and Wildfire prevention activities (1.5%). Places guaranteed funding for critical investments needed to ensure available water for the environment and people. Places guaranteed funding for environmental health of our forested lands, which will combat wildfire risk and spur workforce development in rural areas of the state. Author: Asm. Juan Alanis

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

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