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.
|
Issue No. 115 - July 1, 2022
|
- An amendment to the California State Constitution explicitly protecting the “fundamental right to choose to have an abortion” was approved by the state legislature this week and will appear on the ballot this November, after receiving two-thirds approval in both chambers of the legislature this week. Full text here.
- Last Friday saw the passage of AB 1666, which prohibits state courts from cooperating with out-of-state civil suits against anyone who receives or provides abortion-related care.
- This week the state legislature also approved the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This includes a $100 million funding package to support abortion access across the state, including $40 million to cover costs, including in-state travel, for those who could use assistance. However, this funding is only for Californians; it cannot be accessed by the large number of patients likely to travel to California from states where abortion has become illegal.
- The state budget also resolved a long-standing conflict over how to provide inflation relief: qualifying Californians will receive payments of $200 and up, depending on income and family status. The checks will not be tied to car ownership, and will not be accompanied by a suspension of the gas tax, as had been proposed.
- The budget also contained the first released funding numbers for CARE Court, a proposed bill racing through the legislature that would give the state the draconian ability to compel medical treatment for unhoused people with mental health disabilities and even to force people into state-run conservatorships. The New York Times had additional coverage this week. Opposition letter to the legislature from Disability Rights California here.
|
- Two weeks after the race was decided, Gil Cedillo has finally conceded in the CD1 council race. His concession did not congratulate or acknowledge Eunisses Hernandez, his opponent and partner in the democratic process, in any way. Cedillo has been absent from council meetings for the past two weeks.
|
Police Violence and Community Resistance
|
- Despite vague efforts to curb LAPD violence against protestors following the George Floyd protests, DTLA-area protests in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade were marked by numerous police assaults against both protestors and press. According to LA Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray “[f]rom my perspective, it was one of the most violent protests I've ever covered.” ACLU-SoCal gathered much of the disturbing footage, and in a letter to Chief of Police Michel Moore suggested that LAPD behavior resembled “targeted retaliation.”
- The City of West Hollywood voted 3-2 to defund and divert $1.6 million from its contract with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department toward its Security Ambassadors program. This statement from JusticeLA celebrates the decision as an historic step in the right direction.
|
- California's eviction moratorium expired today. While this means that some stronger tenant protections in Los Angeles County are now triggered, in the past week both the City Council and County Board of Supervisors have requested reports suggesting they are considering a meaningful curtailment of local eviction protections. Keep LA Housed has a little more information on what might happen and how to make your voice heard.
|
- Healthy Streets LA has led the effort to place a measure on this November’s ballot compelling the city to implement its own Mobility Plan. In response to that action, city council has been considering a similar ordinance that could potentially obviate the need for a public ballot measure. That process took a step forward this week, with a unanimous vote in favor of drafting the ordinance.
|
- SEIU-UHW, a California union for healthcare workers, had also successfully gathered signatures for a citywide public ballot measure raising the minimum wage for health care workers in the city to $25 an hour. Instead, this week, city council voted to pass the measure directly.
- Similarly, the council voted to approve the Hotel Worker Protection Initiative, which Unite Here Local 11 had gathered signatures for. The measure prevents hotels from forgoing daily room cleanings to cut labor costs, and mandates that hotel workers be supplied with panic buttons to protect them from guests. The council’s approval, once again, obviates the need for a public vote.
|
|
