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The Thorn West is a state and local news roundup compiled by members of DSA-LA. Our goal is to provide a weekly update on the latest developments in state and local politics, and to track the issues that are most important to our membership.
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Issue No. 92 - January 14, 2022
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- Governor Gavin Newsom has released his first budget proposal for the next fiscal year (here), with a record-breaking $45 billion surplus. CalMatters has an early breakdown of what’s inside.
- AB 1400, the statewide single-payer healthcare bill, passed out of the Assembly Health Committee, 11-3. It will be voted on in the Appropriations Committee, on January 21. The Newsom budget contains funding to make MedCal insurance available to all undocumented residents, closing a loophole that excluded those aged 26-50. Newsom campaigned on a single-payer system and the two proposals don’t compete, but he has struck a cautious note while bragging about creating “universal access” to health care.
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- Despite the surge in COVID infections stemming from the omicron variant, LA Metro resumed fare collection on its buses on January 10, as scheduled. Fares were suspended to allow boarding from the rear, but transit activists argue that bus rides should be made permanently free. A Metro survey is soliciting feedback on its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
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- A study published in the Los Angeles Times revealed that two-thirds of Kroger employees struggle to afford basic needs. Employees of Kroger-owned supermarket chains are striking for higher wages in Colorado
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- Despite the surge in COVID infections, which include numerous outbreaks in the city’s shelter system, the city council approved 70 more sites for 41.18 enforcement on Wednesday, with only councilmembers Nithya Raman and Mike Bonin voting no. Organized public comment in opposition provoked councilmember Kevin De Leon to baselessly accuse activists of literally bribing unhoused people to resist services.
- The surge in COVID cases was justification enough for delaying the greater Los Angeles homeless count by one month.
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Police Violence and Community Resistance
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- Despite calling for the resignation of current sheriff Alex Villanueva in 2021, the Los Angeles Democratic Party will not endorse any of his opponents in the 2022 election until after the primary. As Knock LA has reported, Villanueva’s two most serious opponents in this race have problems of their own. Neither was able to meet the endorsement threshold. Candidates for sheriff are required to have law enforcement experience, per a 1989 state law that was written to keep criminal justice reformers out of office. SB 271, a 2021 proposed law that would once again allow civilians to run for sheriff, appears now to have been entirely rewritten.
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- Newsom’s budget earmarks $22.5 billion for fighting climate change and protecting at-risk communities from changing weather patterns.
- Meanwhile, Newsom has effectively backed out of the debate on the state’s controversial proposal to slash financial incentives and add fees for new home rooftop solar systems.
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