Legislative Update Under the Dome - Vote Early and Vote Often Bryce Docherty, CAFP Lobbyist

legislative update

Bryce Docherty CAFP Lobbyist

Under the Dome: Vote Early and Vote Often

Elections are all about the numbers. Voter turnout. Voter registration. Polling. Campaign war chest. Political contributions. In close races the candidate matters. After the November 2022 General Election there will be 33 new members of the State Legislature. This represents nearly a 30% turnover with 10 new Senators and 23 new Assemblymembers. Hopefully, family physician Jasmeet Bains, MD (D-Bakersfield) will be one of them! This turnover is a function of legislative term limits, but also the “Great Resignation.” Just this year alone 11 legislators have decided not to seek reelection in November 2022. Additionally, 10 legislators are running for another office from County Sheriff to State Senate to Congress. Four Assemblymembers have already resigned this year and have been replaced in Special Elections. These new Assemblymembers include Lori Wilson (D-Fairfield) in AD 11, Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) in AD 62, David Alvarez (D-San Diego) in AD 80, and Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) in AD 17. CAFP strongly supports Assemblymember Haney. The political makeup of the Legislature is not expected to change drastically. Turnout in a mid-term (Presidential) election is typically lower as well. CAFP can anticipate Democrats maintaining their “gigamajority” in the Legislature with 61 seats out of 80 in the Assembly and 30 out of 40 seats in the Senate.

CAFP under the leadership and direction of FP-PAC are engaged in some of these open seats in the Legislature by supporting Eric Guerra (D-Sacramento) in AD 10, Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) in SD 8, and Dr. Bains in AD 35. Dr. Bains would be the third physician in the State Legislature joining Assemblymember Akilah Weber, M.D. (D-La Mesa) an OB-GYN elected and sworn-in to the State Assembly in April 2021 and Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, M.D. (D-Fresno) an ER physician. Unfortunately, Senator Richard Pan, M.D (D-Sacramento) a pediatrician terms out in 2022.

The General Election excitement has been shrouded in controversy over who will become the next Assembly Speaker. On May 27, 2022, Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) announced that he has secured enough votes from his Democratic Caucus to become the next Assembly Speaker. Assemblymember Rivas is not termed out until 2030, while current Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) terms out in 2024. Assemblymember Rivas would be the first Assembly Speaker in modern history to represent a predominantly rural district. He currently serves as Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee and is Vice Chair of the power California Latino Legislative Caucus.

However, Speaker Rendon is not giving up without a fight. He has refused to step-down and was able to push off a vote on electing the next Assembly Speaker until after the Legislative Session ended, which was on September 1, 2022. Rendon has been Assembly Speaker since 2016. This all makes for riveting Capitol intrigue, as the Assembly Speaker has the sole discretion to appoint policy committee chairs and members of those committees, as well as selecting other Assembly leadership and singlehandedly decides the fate of thousands of legislative bills every year. Although powerful, Rendon has also been characterized as vindictive, indignant, and out-of-touch. He was also blasted by the SacBee in June 2022 for his “hubris” and unrelenting desire to hold onto his power as long as possible. What happens in the November 2022 General Election matters to CAFP. What happens with the Assembly Speakership matters to CAFP. Getting Dr. Bains elected to the State Assembly matters to CAFP. Family physicians cannot afford to take their eyes off the proverbial political ball for one second. The only thing consistent in Sacramento is inconsistency. “If you miss a day ‘Under the Dome’ – you miss a lot!”

www.drjasmeetbains.com https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/01/california-legislature-greatresignation https://a11.asmdc.org/biography • https://a62.asmdc.org/biography https://a80.asmdc.org/about/biography • https://a17.asmdc.org/biography https://www.electericguerra.com • https://www.davejonesforsenate.com https://a79.asmdc.org/biography • https://a31.asmdc.org/biography https://sd06.senate.ca.gov/biography • https://a30.asmdc.org/biography https://speaker.asmdc.org/biography https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article262094552.html