Political Watch

• Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed two bills penned by Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) into state law. AB 1328 gives California water agencies access to information on potentially hazardous chemicals used in oil and as operations, and AB 1197 will ensure that oil spill management teams are adequately trained in the event of a spill, according to a release from Limón’s office. “After years of numerous legislative attempts with no success, I am grateful that California will now have AB 1328 and AB 1197 that increase environmental and environment protections. [The bills] protect the health of our communities and environment by giving our regulatory bodies the information and the tools they need,” Limón said in a statement. “By addressing the gaps in our environmental regulations, California is leading the way in safeguarding our water quality and public health.” Gov. Brown signed AB 1197 on Oct. 9 and AB 1328 on Oct. 13. Both bills will become law on Jan. 1, 2018.

• With the race for the House of Representatives 24th Congressional District, currently occupied by Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), fundraising has been ongoing all year. Since Jan. 1, and through Sept. 30, Carbajal raised more than $1.3 million, according to the Federal Election Commission website. Carbajal’s election campaign had $262,297 in disbursements in that same time period. Challenging Carbajal in the election is Republican  Justin Fareed from Santa Barbara, who ran against Carbajal in 2016. Records for Fareed’s campaign contributions from the Federal Election Commission were only available from Jan. 1 through June 30, and showed $2,917.35 in contributions and $5,852.87 in disbursement. According to a release from Fareed’s campaign, the 29-year-old candidate has raised $215,564 since he announced his candidacy roughly a month ago. Also challenging Carbajal in 2018 is Michael Erin Woody, a Republican from Morro Bay, who raised $11,200 from April 1 through Sept. 30 of this year. Of that amount, $10,500 were loans made by Woody. Total disbursements made by the campaign in the same time period were $9,026.68.

• U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) and Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) introduced bicameral legislation to protect public lands in California on Oct. 16. The Central Coast Heritage Protection Act would designate nearly 250,000 acres of public land in the Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as wilderness. The act would also establish a 400-mile long Condor National Recreation trail, stretching form Los Angeles to Monterey County. Reps. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) both co-sponsored the legislation—their districts include portions of the Los Padres National Forest. “As our federal public lands and national monuments come under increased threat of oil and gas drilling, it is now more important than ever to act to permanently protect our open spaces,” Carbajal said in a statement issued by his office. “Americans of all walks of life deserve access to our public lands, and we have a duty to protect them,” Harris said in the statement. “Expanding wilderness protections in the Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plain National Monument is about recognizing the economic, recreational, and environmental value of these lands to the Central Coast and to our country.”

• California Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) visited Mary Buren Elementary School in Guadalupe on Oct. 11 in recognition of Red Ribbon Week. Cunningham posted photos on his official Facebook page, along with thanks to the school, saying, “Providing our children with information, while discussing the importance of a drug-free lifestyle is essential for their health and success.”