www.montereycountyweekly.com october 12-18, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 There’s been a flurry of activity out of the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom lately, as his Oct. 14 deadline to sign or veto bills approaches. It’s his chance to give his blessing (or not) to what the Legislature passed in their 2023 session. And the list of new laws is long, covering everything from the esoteric (tax exemptions on personal property used in space flight) to the mundane (adjusting licensing fees on professions such as veterinary technicians). It was also the first legislative session that had Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, in the influential chair as Speaker of the Assembly. Rivas’ role has changed to that of managing the flow of bills through the Assembly, meaning his own slate of bills was shorter than usual— but freshman Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, says his leadership will have a major impact for marginalized people, specifically in funding for Pajaro. “It’s one of those things you know is going to have real human impact,” Addis says. (Rivas also authored resolutions declaring School Breakfast Week and Stuttering Awareness Week.) State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, introduced more than a dozen bills that have been signed into law. They include Senate Bill 540, which requires the state Department of Cannabis Control and the Department of Public Health to produce a brochure about safe cannabis consumption (yes, brochures are still a thing, and they are still sometimes mandated, whether or not you read them). Laird’s SB 272 anticipates the reality that is climate change, and directs local governments in the Coastal Zone to develop sea level rise plans by 2034. Most relevant to locals is his SB 38, authored in response to fires at lithium ion battery facilities in Moss Landing that raised community concerns and questions—and also a 12-hour shelter-in-place order due to potentially harmful fumes as a battery pack burned itself out. SB 38 accepts that there is a certain inherent risk to such technologies, but that the community needs to be aware of the risk. The law requires battery storage facilities to develop an emergency response plan (in coordination with local emergency response agencies) and to establish a notification and communication procedure. Those plans will be submitted to the county and city where the facility is located, making them publicly accessible to all. “Increasing the state’s battery storage is essential to reaching our clean energy goals,” Laird said in a statement, “but we also have to ensure that these facilities have safety systems in place to protect the health and well-being of workers and surrounding communities.” For Addis, it was a productive first legislative session. Her slate of legislation covers a range of topics, from justice for survivors of sexual assault to bilingual education to tax-exempt bonds to expand residential care facilities for seniors. Assembly Bill 452, co-authored with State Sen. Nancy Skinner, removes a statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual assault to file civil claims seeking damages. The bill came about after a constituent came forward with a story about being time-limited out of filing a claim. “There is so much shame. It really does stop people from coming forward,” Addis says. “To lift [a time limit] will allow survivors’ voices to be heard.” Not all of her bills will be chaptered into law. She introduced a successful parental leave bill that would lengthen time off for California State University employees, but Newsom vetoed it on Oct. 7, citing the cost, as well as ongoing labor negotiations with the California Faculty Association. Two bills by Addis concerned with ocean health— one would establish monitoring of offshore wind facility construction and operations, and one would guide kelp restoration—are stalled in the Senate and will be taken up again next year. But it’s not so much the list of bills that Addis says was satisfying in her first nearly-year serving as a state lawmaker. It’s constituent services. “Our staff spends a lot of time with constituents, unlocking money from the Employment Development Department or the Franchise Tax Board,” she says. “That’s been one of the most gratifying pieces—seeing how we are able to serve constituents right at home.” Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com. On the Floor As the legislative session wraps up, here’s what local lawmakers achieved. By Sara Rubin Spooky Tale…Squid’s put Squid’s tentacle in Squid’s beak and said something dumb, but never on video, thank Poseidon. Not true for CSU Monterey Bay Vice President of Administration and Finance Glen Nelson, who put foot in mouth during a meeting on Sept. 21 that sparked anger on campus. The comment came during a board meeting of the University Corporation of Monterey Bay, a separate nonprofit supporting CSUMB. Nelson, who serves as the corporation’s executive director, was reporting on former Fort Ord military housing used for students and faculty. Per an agreement with the Department of Defense, DoD tenants can continue to live there until they move out. Once the number of DoD tenants drops below 10 percent, CSUMB will have access to all of it. “I don’t know if we want to call people in the middle of the night and scare them and tell them their house is haunted so they’ll leave, or what, but we’re working on a process,” Nelson said. A video clip on the anonymous Instagram account @mb_confess spread the comment widely and drew harsh criticism by people worried that veterans were in danger of being kicked out of their homes. One student, Akif Khaled, released a rap video on YouTube slamming Nelson. Nelson apologized for his comments and expressed his and the university’s commitment to veterans. Squid expects ghost hunters may start lurking the halls to look for any mischief. JAIL PASS…Squid’s colleagues have been reporting on inmate conditions at Monterey County Jail— particularly the substandard health care that recently saw Wellpath, the jail’s for-profit health care provider, hit with a court order for falling out of compliance with a 2015 class-action settlement. But that hasn’t stopped the County of Monterey from tooting its own horn over the routine passage of a state inspection of the county’s jails and holding facilities. On Oct. 3, a press release hailed the “remarkable results” of this year’s inspection by the California Board of State and Community Corrections. In July, inspectors visited to evaluate compliance with state standards on corrections operations and inmate care. “We are proud to announce that the results of these comprehensive inspections were exceedingly positive,” the county boasted—citing how inspectors found “NO items of noncompliance” (the allcaps emphasis is theirs) with the state’s “minimum standards” for local detention facilities “This is a complete 180 from the previous reporting [by regulators] during the previous [sheriff’s] administration,” Sheriff Tina Nieto claimed in a statement. That’s all good news welcomed by Squid. Yet Squid still finds such back-slapping unbecoming in a year when five inmates have died at the jail on the new sheriff’s watch. But still, there’s politics. the local spin SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “It is going to have real human impact.” Send Squid a tip: squid@mcweekly.com
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