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Should California referendum law become harder to use?

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Should California referendum law become harder to use?


In abstract

California enterprise pursuits more and more use poll measures to dam or delay legal guidelines imposing new laws. Progressive teams wish to make such actions harder.

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During the last decade, as Democrats achieved complete management of the state authorities and their insurance policies took a flip to the left, those that oppose the ideological development have more and more used the one avenue nonetheless out there – poll measures to overturn what legislators and governors have wrought.

Current elections have seen a spate of initiatives (to jot down new legal guidelines) and referenda (to dam legislative legal guidelines) sponsored by enterprise pursuits to overturn the Capitol’s decrees. Proponents have included the tobacco, bail bond and plastics industries, in addition to ride-hailing providers akin to Uber and Lyft.

Subsequent 12 months, voters are sure to face two different business-sponsored measures: referenda by the quick meals and oil industries to dam newly enacted laws on their operations. Others may very well be added. As an illustration, have been Gov. Gavin Newsom to reach imposing fines on gasoline refiners for exceeding revenue limits, one other oil trade referendum is probably going.

New legal guidelines being challenged by referenda, together with the 2 already headed for the 2024 poll, are suspended till voters render last judgment.

Understandably, progressive politicians and their allies, notably labor unions, dislike enterprise use of poll measures to thwart their legislative good points. Because the syndrome has developed, there have been efforts to make putting measures on the poll harder.

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A number of systemic adjustments have been enacted, affecting the method on the margin, however there hasn’t been a profitable frontal assault. In 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a invoice that will have banned paying signature gatherers on a per-name foundation, utilizing the identical phrases he utilized in his 2011 veto of comparable laws.

“Per-signature fee is commonly essentially the most cost-effective methodology for gathering the a whole lot of 1000’s of signatures wanted to qualify a poll measure,” Brown wrote. “Eliminating this feature will drive up the price of circulating poll measures, thereby additional favoring the wealthiest pursuits.”

Contrarily, those that would make qualification of measures harder, or not less than dearer, contend that it’s the present course of that favors these with the deepest pockets (i.e. enterprise teams), and that their cash encourages paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about proposed measures to steer them to signal petitions.

Does that happen? Completely. Nevertheless it additionally occurs when labor unions and different left-leaning curiosity teams flow into their measures and when politicians themselves use the poll course of.

Proposition 47, a 2014 measure sponsored by Brown, was particularly misleading, claiming that it will scale back penalties just for non-violent felons, when it additionally benefited those that commit sure sorts of rape, home violence and different heinous crimes.

The newest effort to kneecap those that resist the Legislature’s progressive laws was unveiled Monday – a invoice to require that unpaid volunteers collect not less than 10% of signatures on all referenda and on initiatives looking for to repeal or amend not too long ago enacted legal guidelines.

Meeting Invoice 421 additionally would require paid signature gatherers to bear necessary coaching, register with the state for the particular measures they’re presenting to voters, put on badges, and use distinctive identification numbers that will enable their petitions to be traced again to them.

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Study extra about legislators talked about on this story

State Meeting, District 55 (Culver Metropolis)

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State Meeting, District 55 (Culver Metropolis)

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How he voted 2021-2022

Liberal
Conservative

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District 55 Demographics

Voter Registration

Dem

66%

GOP

9%

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No celebration

21%

Marketing campaign Contributions

Asm. Isaac Bryan has taken not less than
$190,000
from the Labor
sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents
24%
of his complete marketing campaign contributions.

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The coalition of progressive teams advocating AB 421, and its writer, Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, a Culver Metropolis Democrat, argue that the proposed adjustments would make the poll measure course of fairer and extra clear.

It’s fully doable that AB 421 will likely be enacted, however paradoxically, enterprise pursuits might problem it by referendum.

Furthermore, it might run afoul of a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court docket determination overturning a Colorado regulation that banned a statute towards paid signature gatherers. It declared that petition circulation is “core political speech” and the usage of paid signature gatherers is “the simplest, elementary, and maybe economical technique of reaching direct, one-on-one communication with voters.” 

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California

What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz

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What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz


California has plenty of options when it comes to finding a place with your preferred weather. If you like cool weather, some cities spend nearly the entire year below 70 degrees. If you hate the rain, there are locations that average just a few inches per year.

The Chronicle gathered data about temperature, precipitation, air quality and extreme weather for 61 places across California, including the 20 most populous cities with data available. In total, 53 of the state’s 58 counties are represented in the analysis.

While there may not be a perfect match with everything you’re looking for, this quiz will help pinpoint a place that gets close.



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California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years

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California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years


A California woman died of rabies after allegedly being bitten by a bat in her classroom, according to Fresno County health officials.

The woman, later identified as Leah Seneng, 60, marks the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992.

“In general, rabies is a disease that affects the brain, and it is very rare. But when it develops, it can cause very serious consequences,” said Dr. Trnidad Solis, Fresno County Health Department’s deputy health officer. “It’s transmitted through saliva; it is not airborne.”

RABIES PATIENT BECOMES FIRST FATAL CASE IN US AFTER POST-EXPOSURE TREATMENT, REPORT SAYS

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Leah Seneng, 60, was the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992, according to county health officials. (GoFundMe)

Seneng, who was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, was bitten by the bat when she was attempting to rescue it in her classroom, local outlet ABC30 reported.

She first came into contact with the bat in October, but did not display symptoms until approximately a month later, according to Fresno County health officials.  She was admitted to the hospital and died four days later.

Bryant Middle School

Leah Seneng was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, California. (Map Quest)

PEANUT THE SQUIRREL EARMARKED FOR EUTHANASIA BEFORE BEING CONFISCATED AND WAS RABIES-FREE: REPORT

“The most frequent route of transmission is through the bite of an animal that has rabies. With rabies, unfortunately, there is no cure. So, when symptoms develop, there is no treatment, and often when it develops, it is often fatal. So we want the public to know that prevention is key to preventing rabies infection,” Solis said.

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Fresno County officials do not believe there is a threat to public health at this time, but are working with the Merced County Health Department to identify any other possible exposures and administer vaccines.

Rabies vaccination syringe held in gloved hand.

Health experts recommend people and pets get vaccinated for rabies. (iStock)

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Seneng’s coworkers have set up a GoFundMe account to assist her family during this time.



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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu

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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu


  • Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
  • Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
  • Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.

Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.

Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a “best by” date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a “best by” date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.

“We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm’s first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.

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She said there had only been an indication that there might be a “trace element of something possible,” emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company “hold delivery of further products” until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think


raw milk

Containers of Raw Farm raw milk on a shelf at Berkeley Bowl on November 25, 2024 in Berkeley, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.

There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.

There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.

Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its “war” against raw milk.

Over the summer, “Carnivore MD” Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.

California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it’s generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can’t be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.


raw milk smoothie

Dr. Paul’s Raw Animal-Based Smoothie includes Raw Farm kefir milk, beef organ powder, as well as blueberries, honey, bananas and other ingredients. It’s $19.

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Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images



Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul’s $19 smoothie were “playing Russian roulette with their health,” and ignoring pasteurization, “the single most important food safety firewall in history.”

California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.

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The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.





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