• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act in the House on Dec. 4. According to a statement from Carbajal’s office, it’s the first time a chamber of Congress has voted to federally decriminalize marijuana. “For too long, our federal marijuana policy has lagged behind popular public opinion and the policies embraced by forward-thinking states like California,” Carbajal said in the statement. “The MORE Act is a long overdue measure which decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level and expunges nonviolent federal drug convictions. Today, we voted to finally reverse decades of discriminatory marijuana policy, invest in the communities most affected by the failed war on drugs, and allow for a well-regulated industry to grow our economy.” The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the federally controlled substances list, authorize a cannabis tax that would be used to address needs in communities impacted by the war on drugs, and would expunge low-level federal cannabis convictions and arrests.
• A state-imposed regional stay-at-home order for Santa Barbara County took effect at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 6 and will remain in place for at least three weeks until the situation is reevaluated by the state the week after Christmas. Central Coast counties like San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara were placed into the Southern California region in the state’s new regional framework, which requires a stay at home order for any region with less than 15 percent ICU bed capacity. According to a statement from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, the Southern California region as a whole had just more than 13 percent of ICU beds available on Dec. 4. “I am dismayed, but not surprised, that the ICU capacity decreased so drastically and quickly in the Southern California region,” Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso said in the statement. “The sharp decrease in ICU capacity is a consequence of the increasing case rates we have been seeing throughout the state and region.” Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) released a statement on Dec. 3 criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s choice to lump Central Coast counties in with Southern California, calling it “arbitrary, irrational, and bordering on punitive.” “As of now, we have plenty of hospital and ICU capacity here on the Central Coast,” Cunningham said. “We cannot be shutting down local businesses—many of which have spent tens of thousands of dollars to retrofit their operation in order to comply with yesterday’s public health orders—because of limited ICU capacity in counties hundreds of miles from our community.” With the new order comes a multitude of closure requirements. Playgrounds, salons, personal care services, museums, movie theaters, wineries, bars, and more must close entirely. Recreational facilities and gyms must operate outdoors only, retail may only operate at 20 percent capacity, restaurants can only offer take-out (no dine-in service, even outdoors), and places of worship must hold services outdoors.
• On Dec. 4, Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Julia Brownley (D-Ventura), and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein released a statement announcing that the Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act was included in the final version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The bill requires new safety measures for small passenger vessels following the Conception boat fire that killed 34 people in 2019. “It was a preventable tragedy and, as legislators, we knew we needed to act right away to prevent future loss of life,” Carbajal said in the statement. “Nothing can ever make up for the loss we experienced that day, but I’m proud to honor the memory of the 34 lives lost by working to make sure a similar tragedy never happens again. I look forward to seeing this crucial bill signed into law.”
This article appears in Dec 10-17, 2020.
