This Week Inside The Capitol (8/17/2009)
August 17, 2009
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This Week Inside the Capitol is a weekly e-mail update of bills monitored by California Family Council. This Week is intended as a brief synopsis to alert you about which bills are being heard and when. CFC’s complete legislative analyses about these and other bills can be found at www.californiafamily.org.
After their month-long summer recess, the Legislature returns with four weeks to address approximately 700 bills. However, as before the break, the budget remains a primary focus of legislative leaders. A $1.2 billion budget hole remains, after the Assembly failed to approve all of the “agreed upon” budget fixes. Attempting to narrow the gap, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed approximately $600 million from the approved modified budget. In response, Senator Darrell Steinberg, the Senate Pro Tem, filed a lawsuit against the governor claiming his veto actions were invalid. In addition, the legislative Democrats have vowed to restore $500 million of cuts made by the governor immediately upon their return.
While $1.2 billion has been cut from the Department of Corrections, Governor Schwarzenegger and Legislators must also identify how specific cuts are made without the early release of inmates. Complicating matters, the governor and the Legislature must also devise a plan to reduce the state’s prison population by approximately 40,000 over the next 3 years as required by the Courts.
Over the next few weeks, the battle over California’s culture will also be waged in the Legislature as several measures of great concern to California Family Council remain on the Assembly Floor and in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. The following bills, authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), continue Leno’s efforts to undermine traditional marriage and parental authority.
SB 54 would allow out-of-state, same-gender marriages that were performed before November 5, 2008 to be legally recognized in California. SB 54 was also recently amended and if passed would grant a same-sex couple married in another state all the rights and benefits of marriage in California, with the exception of the word “marriage.”
SB 543 wrongly permits children as young as 12 to receive mental health treatment and counseling without the consent or knowledge of their parents. This measure undermines parental authority and places children at risk.
SB 572 would sacrifice important time in public school classrooms in order to conduct “commemorative” services in honor of Harvey Milk, the first known openly homosexual politician.
Finally, a trio of Assembly Joint Resolutions (AJR’s) will be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee that seek to encourage the United States Congress to take actions that will weaken public health and undermine traditional marriage.
AJR 13 (Ammiano) seeks to remove current safety barriers that remove high-risk patients from being eligible to donate blood. The resolution requests the President of the United States to encourage the Secretary of Health to adopt policies that would repeal the FDA policy that prohibits blood donations by men who have sex with other men.
AJR 15 (DeLeon) encourages Congress to pass and the President to sign the United American Family Act, which would require the United States to permit same-sex partners legal immigration status.
Last, AJR 19 (Brownley) calls upon Congress and the President to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which federally defines marriage as between a man and a woman and allows individual states the freedom to define and recognize marriage according to their preference.
Please continue your efforts to prevent passage of these measures by contacting your Assembly member and the Governor, asking them to vote “NO”. To find your elected representative, visit our Legislative Action Center on the CFC Web site.
You can stay updated on the latest Capitol activities by following CFC on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. All can be found on our new and improved Web site.
Upcoming Committee Hearings
Week of August 17, 2009
Week of August 17, 2009
On the Assembly Floor
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District: Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
SB 54 – Out-of-state Same-sex marriages (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 543 – Minors: Mental Health Treatment without Parental Consent (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 557 – Human Trafficking: Property Nuisances (Yee, D-San Francisco) SUPPORT
SB 572 – Harvey Milk Day: Official Designation (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
On the Senate Floor
AB 6 – Initiatives: Paid Circulators (Saldana, D-San Diego)
AB 73 – Marriage Licenses: Fee for Domestic Violence (Hayashi, D-Castro Valley)
AB 154 – Adoption Assistance: Federal Law (Evans, D-Santa Rosa)
AB 428 – Adoption: Criminal History Records (Fletcher, R-San Diego) SUPPORT
AB 595 – Placement of Children: Criminal Background Checks (Adams, R-Hesperia)
AB 796 – Pupil Attendance: Civic (Political) Engagement Activities (Carter, D-Rialto) OPPOSE
AB 941 – Adoption (Assembly Judiciary Committee) SUPPORT
AB 1068 – Petitions: Signature Gathering (Saldana, D-San Diego) OPPOSE
AB 1143 – Marriage: Name (Ma, San Francisco)
AB 1185 – Birth Certificates: New Issuance - Venue, Gender Change (Lieu, D-Torrance) OPPOSE
AB 1317 – Egg Donation: Advertisements (Block, D-San Diego) SUPPORT
AB 1510 – Public Schools: Parental Access (Eng, D-Monterey Park) SUPPORT
SB 635 – Marriage License: Fee for Domestic Violence Programs (Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Senate Appropriations Committee – 10:00 a.m.
AB 1017 – Sexual Assault Crimes (Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge)
AB 1324 – Foster Youth: Identity Theft (Bass, D-Baldwin Park)
AB 1397 – Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Assembly Judiciary Committee – 9:00 a.m.
AJR 13 – Blood Donations by Homosexual, Bisexual and Transgender males (Ammiano, D-San Francisco)
AB 15 – The United Americans Family Act (De Leon, D-Los Angeles) OPPOSE
AJR 19 – Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) Repeal (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills) OPPOSE
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Assembly Appropriations Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SB 34 – Initiatives: Compensation for Signatures (Corbett, D-San Leandro)
SB 118 – Incarcerated Parents (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
SB 471 – California Stem Cell and Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development Act (Romero, D-Los Angeles) OPPOSE
SB 597 – Child Welfare Services: Foster Care Services and Adoption Assistance (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge)
There are no committee hearings scheduled for the week of August 24
*Note: Not all bills reflect a CFC position. Others are included for informational purposes.
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Visit California Family Council’s Web site for more information about these and other bills.
