The California State Legislature is on legislative recess until August 14, and when lawmakers return, there will be five weeks left of the 2023-2024 legislative session to tackle critical issues facing the state. Since January, California Senate Republicans have scored multiple victories in our fight to fix California. San Francisco Chronicle’s Emily Hoeven got it right in her column, “California Democrats are taking absurd positions on crime and housing — making Republicans somehow relevant again.”
“Despite being in the super-minority, I’m proud of the work California Senate Republicans have accomplished so far in the legislative session,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego). “We remain united and laser-focused on addressing the issues that matter most to the nearly 40 million people who call California home. We’ve shown that we are eager to work in a bipartisan manner to help fix California while also fulfilling our duty as the loyal opposition to call out the majority party on measures that will move California backwards.”
Media outlets have taken notice. Over the past seven months, they highlighted California Senate Republicans’ accomplishments, and went after the majority party’s numerous missteps. Below are just some noteworthy articles to highlight Senate Republicans in the news:
Holding Child Sex Traffickers Accountable. As reported by CalMatters,“California Democrats resisted a child trafficking bill — until they couldn’t,” thanks to intense pressure from California Senate Republicans, the public, and media outlets. Authored by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) and co-authored by the entire Senate Republican Caucus, Senate Bill 14 would classify sex trafficking of minors a serious crime under California law. After initially rejecting the measure to hold child sex traffickers accountable, Assembly Democrat lawmakers did the right thing and moved the bill forward. The Los Angeles Times reports “California Democrats reverse course after killing bill to stiffen penalties for child sex trafficking.”
Combatting Fentanyl. Fentanyl is killing over 100 Californians per week. As Democrat lawmakers on the Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees continue to refuse to act on the crisis, Republican lawmakers continue to fight for change. From pushing for increased penalties on repeat fentanyl dealers to raising awareness about the issue, “California Republicans are hammering Democrats over fentanyl…” as reported by the Sacramento Bee.
Bringing Transparency to Government. California Senate Republicans worked across the aisle to secure multiple audits of various failing programs that will bring transparency to how government is spending taxpayer dollars.
- Homelessness: In their article, “California legislators request audit of billions in state homeless spending,” The Center Square and the Sacramento Bee report how Senate Republicans worked diligently with our Democrat colleagues to secure an audit of California’s spending on the homeless crisis. Under the Newsom Administration, California has spent more than $20 billion over the last five years on homelessness, while the population of unhoused Californians has exploded to more than 172,000.
- Sexually Violent Predators: Under the leadership of California Senate Republicans, “California [will] audit placement service for released sexually violent predators,” as reported by Center Square News. The audit will focus on East-coast based state contractor Liberty Healthcare, the organization responsible for poorly overseeing the sexually violent predator release program that threatens public safety in unsuspecting neighborhoods.
Fighting Against Higher Energy Costs. As Democrat politicians and environmentalist push to add a “fixed charge” onto electricity bills, California Senate Republicans are leading the fight against the proposal that will increase costs for Californians. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that “California Senate Republicans blast income-based fixed charge on utility bills.” We are calling the income-based fixed charge a “regressive tax.”
“Since January, we’ve accomplished a lot in our fight to fix California,” Leader Jones said. “Once we return from recess in August, much work remains. We’ll continue to work with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help move this state forward while we remain fierce in our opposition to any efforts that further degrade the quality of life here in California."