• The office of Gov. Jerry Brown filed a brief in a legal case that challenges Brown’s Pension Reform Act of 2012, arguing that government agencies should be allowed to adjust pension benefits for current workers, The Sacramento Bee reported on Nov. 22. The law, currently challenged by the union that represents Cal Fire firefighters, originally allowed changes to public employee pensions for those hired after Jan. 1, 2013, and required those employees to pay at least half of their own pensions among other changes. “At stake was the public’s trust in the government’s prudent use of limited taxpayer funds,” the brief states, according to the Bee. The current shortfall in CalPERS and CalSTERS pension funds has passed the costs on to municipalities and government agencies that bought into the funds, including Santa Barbara County and multiple local cities and school districts. According to the article in the Bee, the League of California Cities Chief Lobbyist Dane Hutchings said, “The governor has one year left and he, like others, sees the future and wants to try to make some meaningful reforms.”
• U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Kamala Harris (D-California) joined Democratic women senators in signing a letter that called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to pass the Dream Act before the U.S. Senate recesses in December. The letter emphasized the impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on DREAMers who are women and their families. “Women make up 53 percent of DACA recipients,” the letter states. “According to the largest survey of DACA recipients, about one-quarter are parents of American citizen children. The futures of these mothers and their U.S. citizen children have been thrown into uncertainty. If Congress does not act to protect them, hundreds of thousands of women will lose their status and face deportation.”
• California 37th District Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) issued a statement on Nov. 20 detailing her recent visit to Washington, D.C., and talks she had with legislators regarding abuse among lawmakers and businesspeople with power, referencing the “#MeToo” campaign online. “We have each found our own voice and path resisting and fighting against the culture and actions that create this abuse of women,” Limón said in the statement. “For the past weeks I have worked with our California Legislative Women’s Caucus and our speaker of the Assembly to identify not only immediate responses but to ensure that the hard work of change is sustained far beyond my time in office.”
• California 35th District Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) and 17th District Sen. William Monning (D-Carmel) sent a joint letter to the California Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 20, expressing disappointment in the commission’s proposed decision to deny $85 million in funds from the Community Impacts Mitigation Program and to reduce severance funds to the Employee Retention Program. The original joint proposal, the letter argued, would protect the Central Coast from economic and revenue losses. “The greater San Luis Obispo region will be dramatically impacted by the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and the original Joint Proposal provides the best avenue to prepare for all associated impacts,” the letter said.
• California 35th District Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham’s (R-Templeton) office will host a toy drive for local kids in need. Two drop-off events including refreshments are planned for Dec. 2. The first is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cunningham’s District Office, 444 Higuera St., SLO. The second event is from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Elwin Mussell Senior Center, 510 E. Park Ave., Santa Maria. More information is available at (805) 549-3381.
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 7, 2017.
